Creating a cheap and effective Jedi Cloak? How do i do it?

Wishing to create a Jedi Cloak with hood and all.

Need it for a movie me n some mates are doing.

Posting from Perth, Western Austraia.

How do i do it? Someone point me through it.

 

Amber's Jedi Meditation Chamber has great instructions on creating a Jedi robe here. As for doing it "cheap" (kind of a dirty word around here), it all depends on the fabric you buy.

There are also some threads linked in the Costumes Forum FAQ about making Jedi outfits and robes.

Caitlin

 

Well here in the states I haunt JoAnn fabrics bargain bonaza section when they have it all for half price, then I buy loads of the cheap polyester gaberdine, it makes wonderful robes

 

You will need about 7 yards of fabric and you can find a "Jedi/LOTR rip off commercial cloak pattern that will serve the purpose.--If you find a *cheap* but suitable material in the wrong color--you can always dye it the right color. You may want to consider investing a little bit more $ into it to start with, that way it will look better and last longer. Cheap material will look...well, cheap.

Good Luck!

 

Hi,
I have no idea if you guys have Walmart, but I bought some great $1 a yard black fabric there for my robe. This was one of the first things I ever made, and I created it using both Amber's directions (for the hood and sleeves) and the Simplicity robe pattern.

Here are some pics of my sister wearing it:
Jedi Pictures

I also just bought some tan material from Walmart, perfect for Yoda's robe.




ecila

 

While I hate me too posts, me too:

Wal-Mart rocks. Hit the bargain racks and whatever fabric stores are in your area. Buy lots and lots of fabric for the robe. The problem I see with most bad robes is that they aren't big enough. Your average (good) robe should be able to wrap around your body 1.5-2 times. The hood is huge. Don't just buy what you think you need, buy everything they have. I picked up 12 yards of robe fabric for $2/yard at Wal-Mart.

Outer Tunic: We modified the tunic pattern on Simplicity 5840 by making the wrist end of the sleeves much wider as well as lengthening the tunic so it went down to my knees. I don't have any pics at the moment, but the resulting tunic is pretty good and accurate. The sleeves go out to my knuckles.

Inner Tunic: Rather than suffering through the added heat of wearing a true inner tunic, my mom made the dickie (a fake collar that looks like you have another layer under there) from Simplicity 5840. As far as the sleeves go, I'm still debating whether or not I will have traditional bunched inner tunic sleeves or go with some kind of leather guantlets.

Sash and Tabards: These were pretty much drawn onto the fabric with a chalk pencil or a regular graphite pencil. I did Anakin Ep2 style tabards made of vinyl that looks like snake skin leather and made two long strips that go from the back of my knees, up and over my shoulderes, and back down to the front of my knees. The sash is dark brown (same material as robe) and is just two long recatangles sewn togethor.

Robe: I used Simplicity 9887 for the robe, but also modified it. For one thing, we cut the robe body pieces out as one piece so there wasn't a seem going across the chest area. I disgarded their hood pattern and used the method described at both Amber's Jedi Meditation Chamber and The Padawan's Guide. Basically you cut a 25" x 45" rectangle, fold it hamburger wise with the folded edge being the top of the hood, then cut a round piece off the top rear corner (unless you want a pointed hood like Obi-Wan in Episode IV: A New Hope), then sew it onto the robe and line the seem. The sleeves were modified, we ended up hacking off the big extra stuff that goes way past the the wrist along the bottom (you'll know what I mean when you see it) and we did end up cutting the sleeves out of two pieces instead of one.
After all the hemming and lining, the sleeves go out just past the edges of my fingers.

For the robe I recommend buying AT LEAST 10 yards of fabric. Actually I think you should buy everything they've got. I see allot of ugly robes and the problem is they just aren't big enough. Both robes I've made can wrap around my body twice and the hood and sleeves are also very large. If you buy allot then you have room for mistakes, since even the most experienced costumers make them. Check the bargain racks/bins at Wal-Mart, Hancock's, Jo-Ann's, etc. I bought 12 yards of perfect Jedi robe fabric for a mere $2.00/yard.

I also recommend you cut the robe extra long and hold off hemming the bottom edge until AFTER you have your boots. Most boots that people use will have some kind of a heel (since they are usually riding boots or based on that design). You want to make the length just right for when you have the boots on. The mistake I made with my first robe is that it was just the right length when I stood in my shoes but was too short in boots. You should also finish your tunics and tabards before hemming them as that too will effect the final length of the robe.

Here are some websites and threads on this forum that can help:

Websites:
Amber's Jedi Meditation Chamber
The Padawan's Guide
[LINK=http://www.jedi-academy.com

 

Wait a second.. you spent $300 on boots but you could only come up with $24 for a Jedi robe? *fails to see the logic*

MasterJurneeOne: Just keep in mind that you do get what you pay for.

 

I spent $250 on my boots. I only needed to spend $24 on my robe. My boots are made to order and all leather, so they natually cost allot more than any robe, or any other part of my costume.

 

Its the accessories of the Jedi costume that cost the money...belt, pouches, food capuls, boots, covertec clip and saber, plue whatever else you want

My costume cost 75 in fabric...oh how I wish I knew about bargin bins

 

Well I hate to think what my Jedi outfit cost.

Material wise total for the inner robes was about £70 + dyes etc makes the 2 inner tunics total cost around £85

My outer robe was made from taditionally woven wool, normally used in re-enactment costumes and was pretty expensive. The material for that cost another £80 alone.

Add on the cost of the belt (which I made and dyed myself) and thats another £35.

Another £25 odd for the leather to make the pouches and added boot tops for my boots and total cost in materials for my costume works out to £225 (about $310 worth)

Then add in the custom EL sabre and you can easily double that (actually the sabre cost about £300 so......)

Yep the accessories do add up and I didnt have to buy boots specially as I already had an old pair I could modify.

Dont skimp on the material you buy or it just wont look 'right'.

[image=http://homepage.ntlworld.com/sparta/memgroup.jpg]

[image=http://homepage.ntlworld.com/sparta/engarde.jpg]

 

Use polar fleece and the Simplicity pateren for samurais and "space people".

 

Wow Jeffrek, awesome robe, looks real well done!!

 

Polar fleece? For a film?

Can you say HOT!!! Even compared to wool or denim that is going to be blisteringly hot.

Check out this thread for more info and links:
The Complete Jedi Costume

 

i guess i need to ask one question here....are you slender or large? my i purchased my padwans costume directly from an outlet that carries offical deluxe star wars costumes. i got him an anakin with the vinyl tabbards. cost about $65...i used the belt from the offical jedi equipment set, sanded down and repainted the buckle. the robe also was offical deluxe and cost $45 bought one of the anakin interactive lightsabers and removed the blade and voila...a jedi padawan. note that this will only work if you are a slender to average person. i could wear the robe and not close it and i am a very large person. it all depends on how much you want to spend. i had a costumer make my robe for about $200 in brushed chocolate brown denim. i also paid a lot for boots $325...but they were custom made for me and my design. my belt and lightsaber i made myself using various sites for pictures. made my own food caps. about the only thing i ordered by mail were the pouches...very hard to get ones that look right...for information PM me. so like i said..you can spend a lot or a little depends on your size and the size of your pocket book.