Saber Forum

So I've been wanting to do a grey Jedi costume for Halloween for a while now, but I've never made a costume before and don't know what fabrics to use. I've sewn before, so I'm not really nervous about that. My main concern is getting a fabric that looks good, and will hold up to a lot of moving.

You can't go wrong with cotton and linen for the main parts. I bought a Jedi costume and the undertunic is cotton, the outer tunic, tabards and obi are linen. It lays really well, has significant feel and just looks good.

SFD is right: cotton and linen are excellent materials to use.  To illustrate, here's a pic of my own gray Jedi robes:

(https://image.ibb.co/dx7VCp/IMG_20180825_140026521.jpg)

And here's one featuring the tunic:

(https://image.ibb.co/ix3sQ9/IMG_20180825_140139972.jpg)

And it's always a pleasure to meet a fellow Gray  ;)

Did somebody set Grey Jedi? My robe is cotton, the obi and pants are cotton too, the rest is a cotton blend I think. But other then needing to shorten the sleeves on my robe it all works great. (https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20180914/43b7a04c3778a25c65adf9115167523a.jpg)(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20180914/fd0466eea4c5bdb1db1ec948012fcb5d.jpg)

Sent from my XT1650 using Tapatalk

I've said it before but...your ensemble looks BADASS Tx!  And the color scheme is spectacular, especially complimented by your saber  :)

Point brother!

Thanks for all the feedback. Wish me luck.

-Texture- is one very important thing to keep in mind when you are making your costume. I spent probably a few months researching various fabrics before deciding on what I wanted to use. If you look at all the Jedi costumes in Star Wars they all have a texture that you can see from a distance, this not only makes it easier for the camera to pick up but also adds some realism to the overall look of the character. I used cotton gauze that I dyed brown for my tunic. It shrinks like crazy after a wash though, so you have to take that into consideration. The "folds" of the gauze are, in my opinion, some of the best looking texture for a Jedi costume (pic below).

For the Tabards I went with a fabric that had a kind of checkerboard weave, the fabric is actually cut from a tablecloth. I was browsing my local Walmart clearance aisle and found it for sale. I grabbed it because the pattern looked great and it was actually cheaper than buying two yards of similar fabric in the same type. That's something to keep in mind, always be on the lookout for good fabric and don't limit your mind to actually buying it by the yard. Fabric shower curtains can work out depending on the pattern, tablecloths are my personal favorite to use.

Unwashed and un-dyed cotton gauze on the left, dyed and washed cotton gauze in the middle (lovely texture, right?), and the checkerboard fabric for the Tabards on the right.

(https://i.imgur.com/7Ut0Gi2.jpg?1)

As some have mentioned, linen is a a great fabric to use because of its cooling properties, but it can be pricey so striking a balance between cost, looks, and comfort can take some time.

I forgot to ask, do you have a pattern already picked out that you're going to use?

We have a very similar color scheme.  ;D

I think. It was gonna be a little darker, kind of a light grey tunic with darker gray tabards and an almost black cloak if that's what you mean by pattern.

I could be wrong, but I think by pattern he means the actual pattern you lay on the fabric to cut out the pieces.

Great costume pics, TheDutchman and tx_tuff. Also, cool stuff on the fabrics, Saso Is-kor. That's one thing I love about this forum; it's so much more than sabers. You ask a question on a variety of subjects and people are there with answers, advice and pics.

Agreed, I've been pointed towards the right places from costumes to electronics and even reading material.  Love this community that doesn't just focus on the sabers themselves even though they are really important, but also focuses on everything else even personal issues.

I should have been more specific, my bad. As Scifidude79 mentioned I meant the actual design patterns. As tedious as picking the right fabric is, I think deciding on the right pattern drove me even crazier, especially with keeping an eye towards accuracy but still making it my own. If you need assistance with any of that stuff definitely post it up. Echoing what many have said, we love to help out.

Oh lol. I kinda do, I was following along with Dreycon Dell's guide, with a little improvisation from a guide I saw on youtube, I can't remember who the video was by though. I'm thinking about buying one of the simplicity patterns. If you have any other recommendations for tips and patterns I'll gladly hear them.

Ok, cool! I just took a good look at Dreycon Dell's guide and it looks pretty solid. Just to give you some more info and to get an idea of what another pattern looks like, I used the classic "Simplicity 5840" (pic below) for my tunic and false dickie that goes just underneath, it's probably a pattern you've come across and is I would say the most common pattern used. I don't think I have any daytime photos of my costume so I promise I'll spend some time tomorrow to take some and post them here so that I can elaborate better on what I did.

With this particular Simplicity tunic pattern, I found that the sleeves were not long enough (I was going for the traditional length of it coming to your knuckles when the arms are at your sides, the actual pattern was about 2 inches short if I remember.) Other than that modification, I made the tunic as it instructed.

The false dickie is a pretty straightforward piece and required no modding.

The Tabard pattern included didn't really work because A) it flares outward at the shoulders instead of all being one long rectangle and B) it only goes as far as the belt and I wanted the tabards to extend past the tunic in the front and back. In the end, I ditched the pattern and just made one myself (really easy, because as I mentioned they are just two very long rectangles if they are traditional tabards.)

The Obi pattern was garbage so I went with Rebel Legion's "How to make a self-scrunching Obi" pattern and it worked better, plus it looked a ton more accurate.

I didn't use the actual cloak pattern provided because my character is more of a "fighting" Jedi but from what I've heard it requires extensive modification to even resemble a normal Jedi cloak. Hopefully a few other people who have made one can chime in regarding that piece.

(https://i.imgur.com/1WNvSiE.jpg)

As I said, I'll post a few pictures tomorrow to better illustrate as well as talking about props like pouches and food capsules. I actually have two tutorials on both of those on the forum here:

Pouches: http://www.saberforum.com/index.php?topic=37304.0 (http://www.saberforum.com/index.php?topic=37304.0)
Food capsules: http://www.saberforum.com/index.php?topic=38006.0 (http://www.saberforum.com/index.php?topic=38006.0)

Ok, this is what the false dickie looks like, made to the specs of Simplicity 5840. It's worth noting that this particular pattern only really covers what we call the "outer tunic" of the Jedi costume. The inner tunic (the sleeves that you see inside the really wide sleeves in the movies) is nonexistent in this pattern, and the false dickie is just that, false. It's only meant to be worn to show that tiny little "V" shaped sliver underneath the outer tunic to give the impression that you are wearing something underneath. I kind of like that, because it means I stay a lot cooler in costume, but as far as accuracy to actual movie costumes, it's not accurate at all.

(https://i.imgur.com/VMGy1p1.jpg)

Please forgive all the wrinkles below, I usually spend a little time ironing it or hanging it up outside my overstuffed costume closet before I wear it to a convention or whatever. I left out the Jedi belt, because showcasing the actual pattern was my intention. Pictured here are the brown outer tunic, the barely-visible false dickie by my neck, and the obi and tabards in the same checkerboard fabric. Taking a look at Dreycon Dell's pattern, he has a very pronounced flowing "skirt" at the bottom of the tunic and that is pretty accurate to what the costume looks like in the movies. Simplicity 5840 is very form-fitting in comparison, it hugs the hips a lot more which gives the tunic a streamlined appearance. If you want a pattern that allows you to move around well (I think you may have mentioned that above) then this pattern may not be for you. I actually plan on modifying the tunic pattern a little bit in the future for a second tunic so that it's closer to the movie costumes.

(https://i.imgur.com/Y9d39tc.jpg)

Questions, comments, complaints? We are more than happy to assist.  ;D   

All I gotta say is that it looks dope! I may have to keep looking around for a different pattern because I'm a big guy, and let's just say form fitting clothes aren't my friends lol. In a couple of the videos I watched, the person would trace their body onto the material and cut it out and sew it. Here's a link

https://youtu.be/S21x_vySPkI?t=2m20s (https://youtu.be/S21x_vySPkI?t=2m20s)

I like the color scheme on your costume, Saso Is-kor.

Looks very good there.
Nice work on that

Looks interesting, can't say I've used that particular method. Might be a little tricky to get the right shapes for the pattern but on the cool side, once you make it you have effectively created the pattern to be used over and over again.


Thanks! Yeah I went for a kind of reverse color scheme, for most Jedi the tunic is some beige color and the tabards are a darker color (or everything is the same color.)


Much appreciated, Therion.  :)

Okay, so my sewing machine is kaput. So any recommendations for a budget sewing machine?

Great looking ensemble Saso!  I like the inverted color scheme  ;)

Thanks Dutchman!


I can only point you to this link:
https://wiki.ezvid.com/best-budget-sewing-machines

You might try local thrift stores if you want to grab a used one.