Jedi / Light Side Qui-Gon Jinn's poncho

Does anyone have a pattern for Qui-Gon Jinn's poncho or know where I can get one? I've had a look around and I can't find one. I did look in the index but there doesn't seem to be any Qui-Gon Jinn threads.

Also, a pattern for a Jedi hood would be good.

 

I made a Qui-Gon poncho; it's simple, but you have to start with the right piece of material.

I did not see any seams on it in TPM, so I looked for a single piece of fabric, for you have to use something that is extra wide, greater than 60 inches / 150 cm. This could vary depending on how tall you are. I don't know where they found a piece of fabric big enough to fit Liam Neeson; he's huge. Maybe it was specially made.

The shape of it is a big diamond with the long points hanging down in front and back and the short points hanging down at the sides. Also the diamond edges are curved inward a little going into the points.

To make the pattern I sewed together some big pieces of cheap fabric, cut a neck hole (horizontal to the short axis of the diamond), hung it over a dress-maker's dummy and cut it until it looked right. It will be a little longer in back than in front. And don't make the neck hole too big, it doesn't hang right if you do. With the pattern, I just cut out the poncho from the fabric and sew a tiny hem along the edges and the neck hole.

I used a cotton/linen rough-woven blend of fabric. pre-washed a couple times to get all the shrink out of it. I think they used a silk/linen blend for the movie. The border is printed in the movie. So I cheated, marked it off with making tape and drew it on with sharpies. I did not use black; that looked very harsh to me; I got the multi-color pack and used blue and purple and brown and orange.

- And the Jedi hood is just one yard of material - 60 in wide. Folded over.
- Cut a rounded corner and one end of the fold. The non-rounded edge, folded-over side will be the front of the hood - folded over a facing on that.
- Sew the back side (with the rounded corner) together.
- The bottom of the hood is the edges of the original piece of fabric
- You will have to pleat the bottom of the hood to get it to fit the collar of the robe. But it will come out very large and full.

In TPM Qui-Gon's hood goes halfway down his back, it's so big.

 

How big is it from side to side and point to point? It'll probably be easier to find something that width than some as wide from point to point.

 

Maybe they used a Blanket like what they did with the Jedi Outer Robes?

 

The poncho is longer in back than in front. From the top of the back of the neck opening:

110 cm (44 in) to back point
95 cm (38 in) to front point
90 cm (36 in) to side point - poncho is about 180 cm (72 in) wide

I am about 160 cm tall (5 ft 3 in). The size will vary depending on how tall you are. I had to cut my poncho diagonally for it to be one piece since the fabric was only 62 in wide.

A blanket would be big enough, but I don't know where you could find a blanket that:

- doesn't look like a blanket
- is light enough to wear comfortably in normal weather or indoors.

The neck hole is NOT a simple slit. It is curved a little bit in back and more in front. I don't know if this is what they had in the movies, but straight slit neck openings are always uncomfortable to me; they always press on the front of the neck.

I'd recommend getting really cheap fabric, sewing it together into a big piece and experimenting. The neck hole should only be big enough to fit your head through. If it's too big, the poncho will pull and sag in uncomfortable ways.

 

Thanks. I'll have to work out a few things and then see if I can get the right fabric in the right size. I'm not sure what kind of fabric to get though.

I do have another vaguely related question. As the poncho doesn't normally have a hood and I'd like one, I thought I'd use a zip to attach one. I don't know how I'd do it though. I'd put the zip on the hood and I don't know how to do it so that the zip is hidden both when the hood is attached and when it's not.

 

I would pick a natural fiber that has a rough texture. The one I made was a lightweight cotton/linen blend that has a rough texture that roughened more after I pre-washed it. A synthetic fiber might give you problems with putting a border on it since they don't dye well.

I really don't know how to hide a zipper like that. Covering flaps tend to get caught in the zipper. The best I can think of is to tuck the hood in under the poncho when you want to hide it.