Jedi Robe -- what material should I use?

My husband and I are going to a costume ball and I am going to make him a Jedi robe... what would be a good material to use for that?

Any suggestions on patterns would be helpful too!

Thanks!

 

Wool.

Pattern.

 

Thank you! This is great info!

 

Wool can be heavy and hot though. I went to the fabric store and just looked up and down the aisles. I ended up with a cotton type material that looks very good. Plus, it's easier to wash than wool.

Here's some pictures of my robe, the color is lighter than it shows in the pictures:

PicOne

PicTwo

PicThree

 

Looks good! You did a good job.... thanks for the info

 

I am allergic to wool so that was out and had heard that it can be soooo hot. I have read that one could get poplin... I got some cotton/poly stuff I think... it was in scrap pile so it wasn't labeled... I was really concerned about getting a really dark brown in a tough fabric...make sure you get at least 5 yards, though.

 

A good alternative is to use "double nap" flanel for the robe. They come in different shades of brown and all sorts of colors as well. Wal Mart is a good bet. Also for tunics, use unbleached cotton. These are good fabrics because they let you "breathe". Using synthetic materials like linen not only looks cheesy but you will be hot and prespire a lot. I am not too keen on the types of fabrics out there but this has been my experience. I think you will like the double nap flannel. I think it's a cotton material. Check out http://www.outerrobes.com for reference. You may just want to fork out the dough. Good luck!

 

Oops, SkalenFehl, you seem to have been misinformed...

linen isn't synthetic; it's a natural fiber.
(And doesn't look cheesy at all -- most linen weaves drape quite elegantly.)



-sg

 

Hi surlygirlie...

Yes, I can see where I erred. I did not mean to use the word synthetic. I have seen "bed linen" cotton used for tunics among Jedi fans. If I remember correctly, George Lucas' prop costumers used what is called raw silk for the Jedi tunics and robes in the movies, but it is a rare material and probably exclusive, in which case the materials I recommended are quite suitable alternatives. As for something else like a gown or whatever you were referring to for linen, is another case. My apologies for misrepresenting my point. As I stated, I am not very keen on the different types of materials. But I agree with you. Linen does drape nicely.

 

I used either wool suiting or costume wool (cant remember which I actually used it was so long ago). It is a nice smooth wool, not scratchy, reliativly easy to find in my area, and was not so hot as normal wool (as i have a SERIOUS problem with heat).
Also, I believe the material used for the original costumes was indian homespun. Here raw silk is SUPER easy to find and made a wonderful alternative.

 

Mmm, raw silk is delicious stuff, and actually not that expensive. Dharma's got it for $5.15 a yard. Someday, if ever I make another Jedi tunic, I'll probably make it out of raw silk. Ooooh.....idea!

Caitlin

 

The double nap flannel works real well for robes. I got some for mine at Wal-mart and then used the instructions from Amber's Jedi Meditation Chamber, and it came out quite nicely.

You can check out pics here: RMFF Costumes

 

I love raw silk. If you're going to make tunics out of it buy a whole bolt from Dharma. You WILL use the whole thing and it's their best deal. And it dyes wonderfully.

For the robes I still stand by wool as a fabric choice. I have yet to see a robe made out of something else that I thought looked convincing.

 

I've got to chime in and add that a thick wool is the best. I do not really like gabardine much for a robe, it doesn't look quite substantial enough in person. Wool does breath, so it's not always so much hotter than other fabrics, surprisingly. A wool/acrylic blend would be ok, it's cheaper but hotter.

For the tunics, I've use crinkle cotton (double thickness) for Obi-Wan, and it has a great texture and has that "thick" look that Obi's tunics do, and then I use linen for the others. I don't use a blend, as I can get the real stuff. I really like the linen, it feels really nice and it looks really nice. It does just flow.