Jedi Under-tunic question

Hi All-

I'm new to the forum and in the process of putting together a Jedi costume...and I have a question (okay, about a billion of them, but this is the one that comes immediately to mind).

I have a friend who sews well who is going to make me a tunic, tabbard, and obi (assuming that the line I have on a used set doesn't work out), but she's shying away from an undertunic because they're "fitted". Since she's doing this as a favor to me, I don't want to push it.

So, what I'm wondering is, has anyone had any luck with just buying a shirt off the rack somewhere and using it as their under-tunic? Where did you find it...and what does it look like? V-neck long sleeved t-shirt? Mock turtle neck?

Sewing is just not my gig, so I'm not even going to *try* to make it myself.

Thanks for any help you might offer...

Lisa

 

The undertunics aren't really all THAT fitted...just the sleaves taper more than teh outer tunic

Good luck though!

 

Primodo is correct, the under tunic is not necessarily that fitted.

That said, the guy I made a Jedi outfit for, did go ahead and prepurchase a shirt for his outfit...I will find out what and where he got his as soon as i can.

Unless you want a perfect copy of a screen costume, you can make it look however you like. If you want little of it seen, try a V-neck, if you like the higher collar--use a mock turtle. Its really up to you. With the number of different jedi we have seen onscreen, it seems personal preference.

 

I am certainly going to make an undertunic. For the pattern just use a regular tunic pattern or a karate "gi" pattern altering the sleeves to be tight and extra long for the bunched up look. I am using a very lightweight cotton material. Cotton gauze material works really well for this. An excellent alternative if you feel you will get too hot under all the Jedi garb is to use the Simplicity pattern #5840 and make the "dickie". Go to your fabric store and check it out to see what I mean.

 

Thanks, everyone, for your help with this. It's hard to find a balance between "personal preference" and reasonably accurate...the more I read about costuming, the greater the gap seems to grow between what is acceptable and what is "right".


Lisa

 

OK, I'm going to pretend that warm weather is around the corner and I want to start thinking about upgrading my Jedi costume.

I want to start with the inner tunic, and I went looking for fabrics. Lo and behold not only did the large local fabric store have crinkle gauze but also silk noile!!

So I can buy the material for my new outer tunic (a later project) as well.

But to focus on the inner tunic, I found this at one of those sites which aren't to be linked to. I copied the pic to a different server.

[image=http://dragobit.com/inner-tunic-big.jpg]

What are the expert opinions on this? Basically which pattern do you think I should use to make it?

I could modify Simplicity 8311, as that seems to be the most common suggestion, but I thought there maybe another pattern which requires less modification. Perhaps a more generic shirt pattern?

 

Here is Stubbzilla's under tunic

[image=http://www.azeem2000.com/auctions/anakincloseup.jpg]

 

Yes, modify the kimono pattern, which is the same one you use for the outer tunic. Make the inner one a little closer fitting, shorter and make the sleeves narrow and long so they "ruck" up around your wrists.

The best way to do the latter is to "cut on the bias". The grain of the fabric runs the same way as the salvage (edge). The bias is 90 degrees from that. When the sleeve is cut on the bias, it will stretch a little. That way you can make the wrist opening almost the same size as your fist and still have it fit over your hand.

 

Mock turtlenecks were mentioned...
well, that's what I wear as my undertunic. I found a mock turtleneck at Wal*Mart that was a nice tan color, nearly the color of my tunic. Works perfectly well, although a darker one would give better contrast. I ended up with a light tan one because the darker ones weren't available in my size at that time.
At any rate, a mock turtleneck IS screen accurate. Remember, the first Jedi we ever saw onscreen, Obi-Wan "Ben" Kenobi, as played by the late Sir Alec Guiness, wore a mock turtleneck as his undertunic.
Also, in the prequels, Jedi Council member Eeth Koth also goes for the turtleneck look, although his collar is very loose and baggy. Looks like they might've used a regular turtleneck for him, unrolled the collar, then bunched it down and possibly stretched it out.
At any rate, it's a screen accurate look that's also inexpensive and very easy to find.
Hope that helps.

 

Thanks for the reply Jedi_Kai.

I still wonder if there is some other pattern which is a closer match to the shirt-style in the pic above though.

If I were to modify a pattern the closer the match the easier it'll be.

I'm not in a rush to make the new tunic, but I've never seen the material I want in that store before. I suspect its a "spring" thing, with crinkle gauze being a light fabric afterall.

What I want to do is at least buy the material now, so finding a pattern that will let me figure out how much to buy is the key.

 

I have a question. When I sit down in my Jedi costume my tunic and undertunic come open. It looks like in the picture posted by Woofer the undertunic is velcroed to itself. Is that correct? Any help would be hot.

 

Argarathoo, any number of closures can be used to eliminate "gaposis" -- velcro, snaps, and in a pinch, safety pins (to name just a few).
If you're having gapping problems, I recommend putting your outfit on, and testing the placement of closures by using safety pins first. Then, when you've got a placement plan, sew in your closure of choice (I prefer snaps to velcro, as velcro can lose its grab over time) and voila! No more gaping open.


-sg

 

thanks for the advice. Now I wont be flashing anymore of the lady folk.

 

Better you flash a lady jedi than a lady jedi accidentally flash you, eh?

Or not. Depending on personal preference.

Lisa

 

ROTFLMBO!!! Oh boy. I prefer a hug though.

 

Woofer,

This pattern is as close as I've found so far:

Folkwear Napali blouse

I searched my favorite on-line fabric place (Phoenix textiles (fabric.com) and they don't have gauze. You're right, it's a seasonal thing. Sometimes you can still find it in the sale shelves, usually in the back of stores.

 

Well I bought the gauze on Wednesday, using the measurements from Simplicity 8311 I figure I need about 5 yards, so I went extra safe and bought 6 metres.

I'm sure its overkill, but better to be safe. The other factor is my Jedi costume is black, and for the under tunic I wanted a silvery grey colour, and they didn't have that, so I bought white and plan to dye it. We all know what 100% cotton does in hot water, so again I erred on too much.

Thursday (today) I'll be buying the silk noile (payday!), and again I plan to go probably a good metre more than I expect to need, possibly 2 so I know I'll have more than enough for the obi and tabards as well.

All this just so I have the material now, I probably won't even start to make the updated costume for at least a few months.