Wednesday, October 19, 2016

Jedi Costume for Judah

The boys have become more particular about their Halloween costumes as they have grown older. When they were little it was easy to throw together a "good enough" outfit the day of Halloween to take them trick-or-treating. We've done a pirate, a railroad man, cowboy (multiple times! Malachi never wants to be anything else. . .) and one year they wore their 14th century clothes and cloaks and went as hobbits. Their first year they went as the 3 spirits of Christmas, which was so much fun!

This year Malachi is going again as a cowboy, little David as Darth Vader (he wanted to be the Titanic up until his birthday, but he received a Darth Vader mask and helmet as a gift and that has made his Titanic obsession fly out the window) and Judah wanted to be a Jedi.

Judah was very particular. It had to be a REAL Jedi costume. Not just something that "looked sort of like a Jedi". Judah did research all on his own and I did research and he came up with the various articles of clothing I had to make and I had to figure out how to make them.Then Judah accompanied me to shop for fabric and he picked out a linen blend for the robe and cheap, coarse, natural muslin for the tunics, obi and tabard. We got 3 yards of 60" fabric for the robe and 8.5 yards of 36" fabric for everything else, and we used every bit of it.

I've been working on it over the past week or two and today I finished the robe so I can finally say that this costume is done! It was a really fun project and I think my kid looks pretty darn awesome in it!

The trousers are simply a pair of tan corduroy pajama pants that were mine, but I was willing to sacrifice for a good cause. ;) Fortunately, my son is about the same size as I am so he can wear them without any alterations. The under-tunic has a wrap front with no fastenings; it simply overlaps across the chest. It has a high V neckline and 3/4 length sleeves and is cut on the square.

The overtunic has slightly shaped armscyes and sleeve heads but is otherwise cut on the square. It has a very large overlap in the front and the neckline is cut straight down from the shoulder to the hem, like a bathrobe. The shoulders are tucked like Obi-Wans tunic but can be let out for additional length in the sleeve/body when Judah gets bigger.

Then finally the obi (belt) goes on, which is made of 3 layers of the muslin with a layer of cotton batting to give some stability to it. It's just a wide rectangle that hooks closed in the back with hooks and eyes. The long rectangular tabard goes over the shoulders and tucks into the belt in front and back.


I had 3 yards to make the robe and was worried it wouldn't be enough material. I cut it on the square, though, so had *just* enough! It's made very much like an SCA style T-tunic, with a hood and a front opening. The hood is pleated to fit the neckline so it has a nice drape around the neck. I'm very pleased with how it came out!


To finish off the outfit Judah is wearing my winter boots and an old leather belt that is fastened in the back. We'll probably hit the thrift shops and look for a wider belt and taller boots. He also needs a blue light saber but he really doesn't want a "fake" (plastic) one. He's been studying youtube videos on how to build a realistic looking metal one. We'll see what we can do before Halloween.

Love,
Sarah

5 comments:

  1. He looks darn awesome indeed! And may I say how adorable it is that he did research and helped pick out fabrics? SO ADORABLE.

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  2. What a gem of a child, doing his own research - the nerd must be strong with him. And the costume looks fantastic!

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  3. He looks great! You both did a great job with the research, fabrics and construction. DId you consult padawansguide.com in the research stage? It's a wonderful resource for the SW universe's clothing. If I remember right, in the Jedi accessories area there should be links on how to make realistic lightsabers (including in metal).

    I hope they all have fun on the night!

    Annie

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  4. Wow! This turned out amazing!! What a fun project! I loved reading all the construction details as well. :D

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  5. Love the details in all the costumes, amazing sewing!

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Thank you for your lovely thoughts!