Robe Rant

[Ani-Chay Pinn]

So, I decided to get just the right fabric and make a robe one more time and get all the part right this time and here are some things that are appearing on the mock-up....


-- Qui-Gon's robe hangs more straight up and down on him and makes him look taller. My first robe is done like this and while it's tough to make me look taller, it does make me look thinner from the side. The hem is shorter than Obi-Wan's and never seems to touch the ground.

-- Obi-Wan's robe tends to 'spread' out at the bottom and makes him look shorter. It billows out bigger than Qui-Gon's and this is the feature I want to get. The hem is longer than Qui-Gon's and only sometimes touches the ground, but usually not.

-- Don't have any curve under the arm where the sleeve connects to the body of the robe. It makes the sleeve look too short. A right angle corner there looks good.

-- Jedi sleeves are just huge. When Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon are standing in front of the Queen on the spaceship on their way to Tatooine they've got their sleeves in front of them and you can really see how far they hang down. They look like they have a lot more of an angle, like 'angel' sleeves than I thought. And generally, they hang down to the fingertips.

-- Same goes for the hood. It literally hangs halfway down the back. Fortunately I got that right on the first robe, so I don't have to do any tweaking.

-- Don't make the collar at the neck too big; otherwise the whole robe will hang too far down off your shoulders, exposing the collar and back your tunic.

-- Hidden pockets are good and they're easy to hide in a Jedi robe. Sleeve and front facings are good places to put them, especially the long, skinny pocket for a lightsaber blade.

-- I'm going to see if there is some way to hide some kind of elastic in the hood so you can keep it from sliding off your head by fixing a strap under your chin. The Jedi MUST have something that does that! I can accept the miracle-fabric impossibility that their robes dry completely from soaking wet in 2 minutes, but there HAS to be something that keeps that hood on.

-- $1/yd fabric is good for making a robe mock-up, but there are limitations to what you can do with thin fabric when trying to simulate wool.

-- I may regret it, but I like the way a robe looks if it hangs a little long. I just hope I don't get my hem stepped on too much.


I'm using coffee liqueor brown 80% wool/20% nylon fabric because whenever possible all my costumes must be capable of going through my washer and dryer.

Anybody else run into these things?

[Nova Darklighter]

All kinds of different styles and details from one Jedi to the next. I made my robe with lots of billow & flow, straight wide sleeves, set in. Other has "raglan" style sleeves. Revamped several bits of my robe before CIII, much happier w/ it since I took it apart & remade the things I disliked.

[Ani-Chay Pinn]

Raglan sleeves? I've never seen that. That would take any seams off the shouder, but still allow you to use smaller fabric pieces to make the robe. I hadn't really thought about it, but the robe is so large that the folds and the hood would cover up most of the seams.

And I have to amend the 'angel' sleeves observation....the sleeves on the robe are so large that when you have arms folded in front of you even straight sleeves 'look' like angel sleeves just because of the way they hang. And straight sleeve are much easier to hem.

[Nova Darklighter]

Exactly, there are some that say there are Raglan seams in Obi wans Ep I robe visible on a full size cardboard standup display. can't say, as I haven't seen the one they're talking about, it was an advertising pc. Has anybody else seen or noticed these seams? It's also possible that it might have been used for an early photo shoot and then replaced for the film.

[Leda EmBorr]

Yeah I made one robe with angel sleeves and forget it... never again.

I think the straight sleeves look more Jedi anyway... with angel sleeves I feel as though I look like I'm in the choir or something!

And I think the raglan sleeves are easier to do the shoulder tucks on... just my opinion, given my skill level, or lack thereof! lol!

[Jan-Qui Coran]

ok. pockets/ How & where would you put pockets again? I'm trying to picture a lightsaber blade pocket in the robe. I haven't done a robe yet but these ideas are very interesting to add when we do a muslin version so that we can get all the sizing correct. I will be using wool.

[Ani-Chay Pinn]

I have made pockets that are inset into the side seam of the robe. If the inside of the pocket material is the same as the robe then they don't show.

The other two places for pockets are the front facings and the sleeve facings. The edges of the sleeves and the edges of the front opening of the robe are folded over and hemmed down, so you don't have a raw edge there. I make that inside, folded over part extra wide. That's where the pockets go. I sew the pockets onto the facings before I fold over and hem them so there is no stitching on the outside of the robe. You can make them any size or shape you want, but I wouldn't expect to carry anything very heavy like lots of change or the robe will sag where that pocket is. But the stiffer the fabric, the more you can put into a pocket

For the sleeves, you need a velcro closure at the opening to make sure that nothing comes out when you move your arms. You want to orient the pocket openings so that they are at the top of the pocket when your arms are hanging down at your sides.

For the front facings, the pockets will just look like regular pockets, just on the inside front of your robe. For a lightsaber blade pocket:

-- measure your blade and cut a piece of fabric the same length and 2.5-3.5 times the blade diameter in width. I like to finish the edges of my pockets before sewing them on and that can take a little extra and you need the blade to fit into the pocket. The bottom edge of the pocket should be curved, the top straight.
-- when sewing the the blade pocket on the robe, it should NOT lay flat like a regular pocket. It should bulge outward from the fabric to accomodate the diameter of the blade (the bulge will be on the inside front facing of the robe, so the shape of the blade won't be obvious on the outside). How much it bulges depends on how fat your blade is.
-- for pocket placement, just use a jacket or coat and reach over and inside your sleeves as if you were taking something out of the pockets and see what's comfortable for you. That will define where to pin the tops of the pockets before you sew them on.

[Jan-Qui Coran]

Thanks. The pockets make sense for small stuff. The only thing I was thinking of for the lightsaber was, if you bend down, if the blade happens to still be in its pocket, it could be a bit awkward, possibly. Something for me to meditate on.

[Ani-Chay Pinn]

Yes, you have to be careful how you sit and bend when you have the lightsaber blade in it's pocket. That's the drawback.

I used a heavy cotton twill robe for the EP III opening and since most of the time the lightsabers were out I didn't have to worry about how the robe was hanging. But I had to put them away and take the batteries out for the movie (can't have your lightsaber accidentally going off during the film). The batteries and the blades had their own pockets. In fact, that robe has a thin pocket on one side for an EL blade and a wide pocket for an FX blade on the other side, since I had both at the movie premier. It doesn't do much for hiding the FX lightsaber since it's all one piece and the hilt sticks out. You have to hold the robe around you for it not to show. But it does give you some place to put the thing. The cotton twill is a little stiffer than wool twill and is better at hiding a blade in it's pocket.

One trick is to put the blade in the pocket and then take the robe off and carry it when you need to sit down. It's still stiff but doesn't look as odd as it might if you sit down with it.

[JediKai]

My robe is not lined. For that reason I did not sew the blade pocket to the robe. I used stitch-witchery, an iron-on product that fuses the two fabrics together.

My blade pocket runs just behind my left arms-eye all the way to the hem (I'm short). I can even sit with the blade in the pocket.

[Cara Drume]

Hidden pockets, huh? Okay, then. Who snuck into the theater with treast stashed in the pockets?

[Jauhzmynn Enz]

I don't use a pocket for the blade, I'm too short and the blade pokes me in the shoulder, or armpit. Most of the time I go without a blade in the saber.

[Ani-Chay Pinn]

I'm just tall enough to be able to conceal the blade in my robe. Sitting is a little bit of a challenge without it looking odd, but it can be done.

The stitch-witchery is a terrific alternative to sewing pockets in if you don't have a facing. The facing does take extra material and you do need to tack it down. I use a blind-hem stitch that I have on my sewing machine, so there are only tiny stitches that don't show on the outside of the robe. And I do iron the folded-over edges down, too. But you can use stitch-witchery to hold facings down, too. In fact. whenever I get a new shirt that has buttons down the front, I always use it to flatten the facings down.

We didn't sneak any snacks with us to the movie since they gave us dinner beforehand.

[Jan-Qui Coran]

Thanks. I have scabbord I made for my blade to carry over my shoulder but under my robe, which works ok, it's better than carrying it all the time. But since I plan to make at least 2 more robes I'd probably have to put a lining in the robe, which wouldn't be a bad idea then I could have some hidden areas. My seamstress & I will have to work this out to see if it's possible. I have melton wool I'm going to be using. I also have a robe made by mystic merchant-that one is also a possiblilty of lining it--maybe for next year.

[Ani-Chay Pinn]

Melton wool is pretty heavy. You might want to re-think making a robe out of it unless it's thinner than usual. Just drape it over your shoulders to get an idea about how much it weighs. My robes are made from medium, jacket-weight fabric. Also medium weight fabric will billow nicely behind you; I don't think heavier stuff would do that. And even though I have large facings on the front and sleeves (and in the hood), my robes are not lined. That would be too much to wear with my whole costume. All the the inner seams are finished and the facings are held in place with blind hem stitches.