USING AN A-LINE IN A JEDI TUNIC

Ani-Chay Pinn April, 2005

— Jedi are like snowflakes; no two Jedi dress exactly alike. —

The basic Jedi costume is a simple but distinctive, non-tailored style. But one size
does not fit all. Straight up and down side seams work great on svelte Obi-Wan
and Qui-Gon, but can look like a sack on more curved figures. Even the simplest
design sometimes needs a little fitting to accommodate the whole range of body
shapes that can be found in the human population. An A-line tunic is one of
those accommodations.

There is one basic reason for an A-line tunic: hips. If you have hips that are
significantly wider than your waist, consider using an A-line. While there is a lot of
variation in length, a typical Jedi tunic will go down past the widest part of the
hips. Making a straight-line tunic wide enough to fit leaves too much fabric
bunching up at the waist and hanging off the shoulders. Slitting the side seams
will allow the tunic to fit better, but this variation has not been seen (at least by me)
in any of the Star Wars movies, and so wouldn’t be consistent with a standard Jedi
style. The A-line allows the tunic to fit the body properly without looking fitted and
also fit within the observed Jedi standards seen in the movies. Figure 1 shows the
difference.

Your actual hip measurement isn’t that important when considering an A-line. It is
the difference between your hip and waist measurements that matters as shown
in Figure 2. Hips are a female characteristic. The general rule is that a male
figure is a triangle with the point down; a female figure is a triangle with the point
up. The straight line tunic looks fine hanging off of the shoulders of the triangle
pointing down. But gravity’s pull is no friend to the triangle pointing up without a
little extra room for the base.

If there are only a few inches between your hips and waist and your front or back
profiles are not noticeably wider below the waist, then a tunic with straight up and
down side seams will look fine on you; an A-line would look more like mini-skirt
than a tunic. However, if your figure is something similar to a pear, go for the A-
line.

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 Straight-Line Jedi Tunic

A-Line Jedi Tunic

JEDI TUNIC -- Figure 1

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 Generic Male Generic Female
(a triangle, point down) (a triangle, point up)

JEDI TUNIC -- Figure 2

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One final note. Only enhanced hip measurements are adjusted for with this
pattern. No extra accommodations are made for enhanced bust measurements
(that other primary female feature), because I frankly don’t have much to
compensate for. You will need to experiment with your own fitting adjustments for
that.

Fabric

Before you can make a tunic, you need to buy some fabric. There are a few
basic rules to follow:

Type of Fabric:
Natural fibers; cotton, linen, silk or blends of these. There are also some good
natural fiber/polyester blend fabrics that feel very nice and are easier to wash and
care for. Go by feel when selecting a fabric; if it feels at all synthetic, don’t use it.
You want something that looks simple, even a little primitive and roughly woven.
The fabric should be opaque and not see-through, but try not to get something
too heavy since you will be wearing an under tunic under it and tabards, obi and
robe over it.

Color:
Any shade of white or cream, except bright white; Jedi prefer muted colors. Earth
tones; almost any type of brown or tan are good, again as long as it is not a
bright color. Jedi want to be inconspicuous. A black tunic is almost always a Sith
tendency in Old Republic Jedi, though Luke Skywalker’s wardrobe had gone
entirely black in Return of the Jedi and he still brought his dad back from the dark
side.

Amount of Fabric:
2-4 yards or more, depending on your height and weight. Try looking at the back
of a pattern for a long sleeve bathrobe about the length you want and see how
much it uses. You’ll likely need more than that because the sleeves are wide and
you need extra material for the overlapping front pieces. Lay out your pattern
pieces to figure out how much fabric you will need.

Accessories:
Don’t forget to buy a couple of spools of matching thread to go with the fabric.

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The best way to be sure about how much fabric you need to get is to make the pattern pieces that you'll need
and try them out by laying them out on the floor. Base your estimate on different fabric widths, and don't forget
that you'll need two sleeves and front pieces.
Always pre-wash your fabric before you do anything else with it because natural
fabrics will shrink. Some fabrics wrinkle terribly in a dryer. If you don’t want to iron,
consider a natural looking wrinkle-free blend. Or consider letting your tunic dry on
a line. If you’re at all unsure about what washing will do to your fabric just safety
pin a small scrap of it to a towel or something, wash it and see what happens.

Pattern

The pattern pieces are shown and described in Figures 3-6. Many of the
measurements are based on your own body measurements like height, shoulder
and arm length, etc. The best way to be sure about how much fabric you need
to get is to make the pattern pieces that you’ll need and lay them out on the
floor. Base your estimate on different fabric widths, and don’t forget that you’ll
need two sleeves and front pieces. The cheapest way to make pattern pieces is
to tape newspaper pages together, mark them with a wide, felt pen and cut
them out.

Most of the adjustable dimensions are based on heights and lengths; pay close
attention to your waist measurement and make sure that the front and back
pieces will fit comfortably around your body. Use a shirt that fits you to compare
to your pattern pieces. The neck band can narrow or wide width, but the narrower
the neck band is, the closer it will fit to you.

The curve of the hem of the front and back pieces have always been a problem
for me. I never quite get them right and I need to trim the tunic to get it even
when I’m ready to hem it. I always add extra fabric at the bottom so I can trim it.
And if you have a larger rear end relative to the rest of you, then the back piece
length will need to be longer than the front. Using the hem of an A-line skirt that
fits you can help as a guide, but only if it’s no longer than a knee length skirt.

Construction of the Body of the Tunic

Unless otherwise noted, all sewing is done with a simple straight stitch. If you have
a fabric that has sides that are different (an “outer” side and an “inner” side of the
fabric) then always double check to make sure that the “outer” sides are facing
each other when sewing two pieces together. In the figures, the “outer” side of
the fabric is gray; the “inner” is white.

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 Basic Pattern Pieces for Jedi Tunic
(for two sleeve pieces) (for two front pieces)

Sleeve
Front

Tie (for one back piece)

(four pieces)

Collar
Back
Band

(one piece)
JEDI TUNIC -- Figure 3
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 Length from
Sleeve your shoulder
to hand or
longer if you
want a large
hem at the
end of your
Collar
sleeves Band

60 to 80 cm (24-32 in) Length:

depending on your arm length around
length and height, plus your neck plus
1-2 cm (3/8-3/4 in) the length
seam allowance down the front
of the tunic
down to
Tie your hip
60 to 80 cm Width:
(24-32 in) 8-15 cm
depending on (1.5-3 in)
your arm length
and height, plus
1-2 cm (3/8-3/4 in)
seam allowance

JEDI TUNIC -- Figure 4

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 Length from your neck to shoulder
plus 10-15 cm (4-6 in) seam allowance
and extra material for tuck at shoulder

30 to 40 cm
(12-16 in) Length from your
depending shoulder to mid
on your arm thigh, or desired
length and Length tunic length,
height from your plus 3 cm
neck at the (1-1.5 in)
shoulder to for hem
the bottom
of where you
Centerline

wish the
bottom of the
V-neck of the
tunic to be
Front

The hem of the tunic

should match for both
front pieces
(allow extra
material at hem
if yu're not sure) JEDI TUNIC -- Figure 5
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Length from your center back to shoulder plus 10-15 cm (4-6 in)
seam allowance and extra material for tuck at shoulder

30 to 40 cm
(12-16 in)
depending
on your arm Back
length and
height

This edge should match

the edge on the front
pieces when they
are laid flat together Lay this
edge on
fold for
cutting
fabric

The hem of the tunic should

match for both front pieces
(allow extra material at
the hem if yu're not sure)

JEDI TUNIC -- Figure 6

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Sew the back piece to the two front pieces as shown in Figure 7. The neck opening
should be around 15 cm (6 in) depending on how large your neck is. Be careful not to
make the neck opening too large or the tunic will not fit right.

Sew front pieces to back piece only at the

shoulders. Sew inward from sleeve edges
only to the end of the front pieces

Back

Front

Front

JEDI TUNIC -- Figure 7

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Attach the arms to the body of the robe as shown in Figure 8. Make sure that the
sleeves are centered on the shoulder seams.

Front Front

Sleeve Sleeve
Back

Center sleeves on
shoulder seams and
sew onto body of robe
at shoulders

JEDI TUNIC -- Figure 8

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Sew up the side seams from the bottom hem up the sides to the ends of the sleeves
as shown in Figure 9.

Attach the neck band to the tunic as shown in Figure 10. Sewing the neck band over
the shoulder seam is a little tricky. Pin the band onto the tunic and try it on. Try
making the width of the seam allowance at the back of the neck narrower than on
the rest of the band. This should make the neck band fit better, but this could also
depend on your body type. Experiment with the fit of the neck with the pinned collar

Sew side seams together from hem to ends of sleeves

JEDI TUNIC -- Figure 9

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 Center collar band to the center back of the tunic and sew
down around the edge and around to the front sides

JEDI TUNIC -- Figure 10

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Now finish attaching the neck band as shown in Figure 11 by folding over the
neck band and sewing it down. For best results, pin and try it on for adjustment;
then press the fold down before sewing. Sew the band down by sewing close to
or in the indentation of the seam you already have between the band and the
tunic; stitch, “in the ditch”. It doesn’t have to be exactly sewn along the seam
line, especially if your thread color is a close match to your fabric, but it will
make the stitching on the collar less noticeable. I have sewn the collar down
with two lines of stitching just to make sure it is firmly in place and the result looks
fine.

Finish the sleeves as shown in Figure 12. First tuck extra sleeve fabric in at the
shoulders and pin. Try it on and see how you like the fit. Make sure that there is
enough fabric left at the end of the sleeves so you can hem them the way you
like. I prefer a wide hem at the end of my tunic sleeves,, but this is not
necessary. With the shoulder tucks pinned down, tack them in place with a
couple of lines of stitching. The tabards of the Jedi costume will cover these up
if they’re in the center of the shoulders. Hem the sleeves to desired length.
Generally, Jedi tunic sleeves tend to go all the way down to the end of wrist but
not over the hand.

Trim off, fold over and finish the front ends where of the tunic as shown in Figure
12 as well.

Attach the ties as shown in Figure 13. Trying on the tunic is especially important
here. The ties give you an adjustable fit when wearing it, but you want to make
sure that the obi and belt of the Jedi costume will cover up the ties when you
put them on.

Try on the tunic and check the length. Use a mirror, have a friend help or use a
dressmaker’s dummy to make sure that the hem is even. The hem will be
narrow because it has a curved edge, so trim it if it’s too long. Hem.

Done.

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 Collar
Collar

Tunic Tunic
Fold collar over and sew down,
sewing along the first seam
between collar and tunic; press flat

JEDI TUNIC -- Figure 11

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Tuck in sleeves at the shoulders, leaving enough length
for desired length and

Hem sleeve to desired length

Trim and sew over

edge of front side edge

JEDI TUNIC -- Figure 12

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 Put tunic on and
pin it closed
as you would Tunic is worn
wear it. Then attach left side over
the ties where tunic is the right
pinned. Two ties are on
the outside edges. One Hem sleeve to desired length
is on the inside left
side. One is on
the outside
left side.

Trim bottom edge

to desired length
if necessary and hem
(use a narrow hem for the curved edge)

JEDI TUNIC -- Figure 13

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