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Post by Jan-Qui Coran on Feb 8, 2006 20:19:16 GMT -5
I ordered a swatch from fabricsclub.com because the calcutta there looks so yellow & they call it yellow calcutta. I'm hoping it'll be a more natural color.
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Post by Jan-Qui Coran on Feb 14, 2006 0:51:13 GMT -5
I just got my calcutta from fabricsclub.com. IT WILL NOT WORK for a Jedi tunic. It is VERY YELLOW. The material itself would be great if it were a natural color, beige or tan. Think of a child's crayon basic yellow & that is about what the color actually is.
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Post by Ani-Chay Pinn on Feb 15, 2006 0:03:23 GMT -5
If the material is cotton you might still be able to do something with it. You could put it in with some brown or tan dye and the resulting color may be fine for a Jedi tunic. A very wide variety of browns will work. You could try bleaching the color out and then dying but you would need to be very careful with that. Too much bleach could hurt the fabric and the dye may not come out evenly.
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Post by Nova Darklighter on Feb 15, 2006 0:20:38 GMT -5
Most dye companies make a non bleach dye remover, for redyeing or over dyeing. It might be nice if you over dye the yellow with a chocolate brown, but, that's just a guess, and it's your money.
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Post by mattkym on May 16, 2007 13:28:28 GMT -5
Isn't that fabric that could be used for Anakin ROTS outer tunic?
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Post by Koda Vonnor on May 16, 2007 14:18:28 GMT -5
I used calcutta for my Kyle Katarn shirt. It's 55poly and 45cotton if I remember. I like the weight and the crinkle texture stays well through washings without shrinking across the crinkle each washing, which can happen with all cotton. It's kind of a trade-off between coolness and convenience.
It certainly does soak up the sweat though. The costume has neoprene rubber wrist bracers covered in vinyl. My forearms get real sweaty and the lower sleeves are just soaked when I take off the bracers. I wear an all-cotton t-shirt under it, so the rest of me stays pretty cool. It's just the bracers.
~ Koda
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Post by Kryy Jacobi on May 16, 2007 17:45:39 GMT -5
Yecch -- that's exactly what it's like peeling off a fencing jacket and lamé in hot weather... Summer is a-comin'.... I'm doing my outer tunic in the calcutta in "sand" -- actually a khaki color. My local Hanthingy's had bolts and bolts of this color last year and I got it for a great price, including some extra yardage for "experimentation". (100% cotton version) Pros: 1.) Pre-washed it in HOT water and it got a nice crinkly texture that "stays". 2.) Doesn't need ironing. ;D 3.) You can pin in hems, tucks, etc., and "finger press", let the garment hang on the hanger a day or two to "set" and then sew. 4.) You can easily remove stitching from mistakes made in step #3 and the fabric won't be marred. 5.) Nice thick texture won't "wilt" when you're hot and sweaty from wearing a costume made of fabric with a nice thick texture AND especially with a wool robe over it. (No wonder they filmed the movies in Australia in their WINTER....) 6.) Being a natural fiber, it DOES breathe so you can too! 7.) It can be dyed, as discussed above. Cons: 1.) That nice thick texture IS a bit bulky.. to accommodate for a female figure, my tunic has some extra tucks in strategic locations, which would probably look neater/tidier in a lighter weight fabric. 2.) It looks a lot like the Obi-Wan fabric but is cheaper, which is "comforting" for a "nervous" first-time costume-maker. However, the texture is much heavier.... 3.) Did I mention the fabric is heavy? Seriously, I do like the calcutta a lot, and I would not hesitate make another tunic out of the same stuff, but I'd probably cut the pattern a bit smaller to take out some of the bulk. Here's my "unorthodox" tip for sewing... I did something very unorthodox when sewing my outer tunic to help with the stretching problem. (OK, I still have to put on the skirt...) When I made the inner tunic, I used the crinkle cotton "gauze" which I loved but had serious problems with stretching -- especially attaching the neck band to the front pieces that cross over, which are cut on the bias. When I cut out my outer tunic pieces (crinkle cotton a/k/a Calcutta), to the face of every seam allowance I taped that blue masking tape one uses when painting -- the easy to remove blue masking tape (DON'T use regular masking tape which is TOO STICKY!!) I used the 1" wide tape and cut (w/office shears NOT fabric shears) in strips 1/2" wide and taped along the edges, leaving a bit of clearance for stitching (assuming one uses 5/8" seam allowances). You can tear the tape in short pieces to go around arm holes or other curves. Then stitch and remove the tape as soon as you're done sewing (so you don't forget ) This really helped with the stretching issue -- I had almost NO problems with fitting the pieces together. Two pieces of advice -- 1.) I would probably NOT try this on silk, but it was great for the cotton. 2.) I would not leave the tape on the fabric for more than a couple of days MAX. -- you have to plan ahead and not cut out too much to sew at one time.
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Post by Ekeia Iclo on May 29, 2007 20:48:28 GMT -5
Wow, its so nice to know I'm not the only one who used Calcutta. I thought it was a miracle finding it because, well, south Texas isn't known for carrying heavy fabrics at anytime of the year. However, I wish it was either darker or lighter then the color I have now because it blends in perfectly with my pants and that just kind of bugs me if you know what I mean. It's wierd, but at least I'm not the only one using it, so thats good. Just as long as I'm not the only one wearing a Calcutta tunic to Disney World, and I'll be just dandy.
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Post by Kryy Jacobi on May 30, 2007 17:27:47 GMT -5
You might consider dyeing or tinting your fabric. I made a new dark brown undertunic but decided it looked a little orange-ish with my khaki tunic (it sort of clashed), so I over-dyed it with dark brown Rit dye to which I had added a little leftover olive. (OK, I paint with watercolors, so I get into the mixing colors thing...)
You really can't tell that it's that much darker but the new shade is more compatible with my outer tunic.
Joanne online also carries a commercial "tea dye" that won't "eat" your fabric as the acid from a real tea dye would.
Just a couple of ideas.... seems like none of us can resist tweaking our costumes. ;D
P.S. My outer tunic, tabards, and obi are the "sand" color to which you refer -- the bolt I used had a definite khaki (green-ish) tint, but I bought some yardage later that did not.
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Post by mattkym on Jun 16, 2007 19:38:13 GMT -5
I guess if people prefer thicker crinkle cotton, I guess you use Solid Calcutta. Someone who does Anakin ROTS uses Calcutta. and likes it ever since.
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Post by Darcu RyMal on Jun 16, 2007 23:22:45 GMT -5
I made all my own costume (tunic, tabards, obi) from calcutta (natural colored) purchased at Jo Ann's and this stuff was MUCH easier to work with than the crinkle cotton from Wal-Mart. I tried both, but ultimately, the usability of the linen won-out hands-down. It wasn't much more expensive (got it on-sale at $2.50/yd), it wears great, isn't too hot, and it's wash-n-wear without worry of losing any of the crinkle look.
I also think it looks pretty spot-on when viewed "live" as opposed to on film. The gauze-style fabrics always seem to pull and tug the wrong ways unless you line them with muslin or something before you attempt to work with them.
Anyway, I just wanted to drop my 2 credits to say that I am very happy with the color, texture, and wearability (new word?) of the linen calcutta.
MTFBWY... ~Darcu
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JediKai
Message Board Member
TJA Savior
Posts: 5,560
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Post by JediKai on Jun 16, 2007 23:33:33 GMT -5
I agree, I'm liking the look of calcutta. I'm going to look for some.
However, I still like the gauze for undertunics. The only part that shows is the collar, on which I use interfacing for body, and the cuffs, which are rucked. It is a very lightweight layer under the tunics and tabbards.
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Post by mattkym on Jun 17, 2007 1:37:08 GMT -5
I don't find my local fabric stores really reliable for me when it comes to Jedi tunic. My locals Joanns don't carry any Calcutta fabric and neither does Walmart. While walmart doesn't carry bubble gauze fabric. However, I still may need to search for my other local fabric stores.
But hopefully, I'll get to find Calcutta.
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Post by Darcu RyMal on Jun 17, 2007 10:38:08 GMT -5
I used the crinkle cotton from Wal-Mart in a brown for my RotS under tunic, but I'm going to re-do that one to make it more screen-accurate. I found the crinkle cotton shifted far too much for my liking, and no matter what I've used to fasten it to try to keep it straight, it still moved a lot.
I've got to look around for the proper fabric and make certain to do the 3-overlap neckline of the RotS under tunic this next time.
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Post by Ekeia Iclo on Jun 18, 2007 7:44:38 GMT -5
I don't find my local fabric stores really reliable for me when it comes to Jedi tunic. My locals Joanns don't carry any Calcutta fabric and neither does Walmart. While walmart doesn't carry bubble gauze fabric. However, I still may need to search for my other local fabric stores. But hopefully, I'll get to find Calcutta. I don't know when you were looking, but when I was first looking for fabrics, I was looking in the summer. Wrong idea. While in the end, I did luck out, it was only luck as I went to every fabric store from San Antonio to Houston, and finally found the fabric up in Amarillo. Tells you how hard good material can be to comeby. Although, everyone that worked at the fabric store all told me "Look in the Winter. That's when the heavier fabrics are in stock." If your not in a rush, I say patience. But who knows, you may find it if you keep looking. Personally, I say Calcutta can be both the wait and just the luck. It's worth it.
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