Nerd parenting, always good for a laugh :D

[DesertRose]

So my daughter is 21 years old and a youth counselor for her church.  She pinged me on Facebook to ask if I could help her sew 30 Jedi robes.  I asked her why in the name of all that is holy did she need 30 Jedi robes?  She told me it was for a youth trip in June, that all of her youth are going to be her Padawans for an activity during their annual retreat.

We decided to sew tunics with tie belts instead of robes because a) the Padawans don't wear full robes as a general rule, b) tunics are easier to sew by far, and c) many of their activities are going to be outdoors in central Florida in June, so robes would be entirely too darn hot.

But now I get to help sew 30 Padawan tunics by the middle of June, and we can't start right away because we can't make them all the same size because the youth kids range in age from 11 to 18 and range in size rather widely, so DD has to measure them for the tunics.  The things nerd parents do for their nerdy kids, LOL.

I figured this fandom would appreciate that, even if this is a fantasy fandom and Star Wars is closer to science fiction.

[Jerusha]

One could be thankful that they are not going as her Knights of the Round Table.  Think of all that chain mail!   

[Evie]

One could be thankful that they are not going as her Knights of the Round Table.  Think of all that chain mail!   

LOL!   

DR, when I made my Jedi outfit years ago, I used a kimono costume pattern.  It may have been by Simplicity, though I don't recall for sure, but it was a pattern that came out before there was a commercial "Jedi tunic" pattern available.  Simplicity 5840 came out after that, and may look even closer to what you're going for:



At any rate, my kimono pattern was very "one-size-fits-most," IIRC.  It might have come in small, medium, and large options, but since the tunic is an open front garment that overlaps in front, there's a fair bit of leeway in the fit.  For the obi and tabard (not really a whole tabard in my outfit's case, more like sashes lightly tacked down at the shoulder with hidden stitches), I just made three long rectangular, lined sashes out of lightweight muslin.  (Yeah, it's a very Budget Jedi costume!  )  The pattern shown above looks like more of an Anakin style costume; mine was more like Obi-Wan's. 

If your Jedi Master daughter wants to wear a robe but doesn't want to melt in the Florida heat, there are lighter weight fabric options to choose from.  One nice thing about Jedi robes is that there isn't one standard design for them.  My Jedi Healer robes are actually not wool or even flannel, but a fairly lightweight Healer Green cotton blend.  An ivory or light beige robe rather than a brown one would also help.  Although yes, the outfit is still warmer when the robe is worn, so I can understand the desire to leave it off for a June event.

If she needs a lightsaber, plumbing bits and flashlights can be cobbled together quite nicely.

Here are some photos of how mine turned out.  (Please excuse the poor photo quality on these, and that cheesy plastic lightsaber in the American Jedi photo.  )

Healer_Shaya by evian_delacourt, on Flickr

Lobby Jedi and Healer by evian_delacourt, on Flickr

American Jedi by evian_delacourt, on Flickr

[DesertRose]

Evie, DD has her costume already sorted out, in true nerd-girl form. 

We're probably just going to make belted v-necked t-tunics for the kids to make life simpler.  It's going to be enough work sewing thirty v-necked t-tunics with belts in time for the event.  And Kiddo decided we should make the tunics short-sleeved, even though canonically they're long-sleeved, due to Florida in June, where it's liable to be 90+ degrees Fahrenheit (in the 30s Celsius) even in the shade.

I sat down and started trying to calculate how much fabric we're going to need.  We're going to have to buy it by the bolt to do thirty of the silly things.  We need about 4.5 yards for the belts alone, and that's cutting the belts to be about 2 inches wide when finished, which isn't really as wide as a Padawan's belt should be.  It doesn't need to be perfectly authentic because the tunics are going to go on over their regular clothes for the activity anyway.

For lightsabers, she's going to buy green and blue pool noodles and cut them down and make handles for them.

[Evie]

When dealing with kids or youth groups, foam pool noodle 'sabers are probably safest.   

For a summer meeting of our local Star Wars group, I once substituted a sleeveless ivory V-necked blouse for the full tunic and sashes getup, because--you know--Alabama in summer. 



That outer robe came off almost immediately after the pictures were taken, again because SUMMER.  Since Jedi costumes are so diverse, apart from the mostly neutrals palette, that worked just fine, so I can easily imagine short-sleeved tunics on Florida padawans.  (As you can see, I didn't even go with a neutrals palette, since I look ghastly in browns.  Jedi costuming lets you get by with breaking all the "rules," just as long as there's something in the final product that still looks recognizably "Jedi.")  And for one-time use, I wouldn't even bother with a fully lined belt and/or sashes.  Just turn the edges and machine hem them if you don't want them to fray, or don't even bother with that step if it's too time consuming.  The pool noodle lightsabers should make it pretty obvious what the kids are supposed to be, anyway, no matter what style of tunic they end up wearing.

You may be able to find cheap belts or scarves that could be used as sashes at the local thrift stores or dollar stores, if that saves any money over having to sew your own, though it probably won't.  Those are great sources for costuming bits and bobs, though.  Never know what's going to turn up at a thrift store. 

[DesertRose]

I hear ya about looking ghastly in brown; it's not my color either.

We're probably just going to grab 4.5 yards of brown fabric, cut 4" wide strips, double them over, hem them, turn them inside out, and hem the edges for the belts, and grab a couple of bolts of tan or ivory fabric for the tunics and sew v-neck t-tunics as stated above, due to having to produce so many in such short order.

And yeah, the pool noodle sabers will make it pretty obvious what they're supposed to be.

I'm sure there will be pictures, because Kiddo feels it obligatory to document everything with the camera in her phone. 

[Laurna]

This sounds like an overwhelming, umm, fun project. 
I haven't worn my Jedi costume for a few years, but I loved the clothes. My sister and I were Jedi librarians in full brown split-skirts and tan tunics with sashes.  Maybe I should finish that Jedi robe I bought fabric for....
Keep us posted on how it all goes. Next time the kids can use the same tunics for medieval Deryni sorcerer apprentices.

[DesertRose]

Well, as it transpires, Kiddo and the youth minister decided to order t-shirts for the kids to wear, due to the expense of buying that much fabric and the amount of work it would be to make that many tunics in that short a time frame.  I will still have to help her make a Jedi master outfit (probably without the robe due to Florida in June) for the other youth counselor who's going on the trip, and I'm going to have to modify my Princess Leia belt (the white-and-silver deal she was wearing for most of the original film) to fit Kiddo's best friend, but the belt modification will be easy; I just have to move two snaps so the belt fits her rather than me.  (I'm something like 9 inches taller than Kiddo's best friend and bigger through the hips/behind area.)

So whew!  I DON'T have to help sew thirty Jedi tunics and belts.  (We might still do the belts for the kids to put over their t-shirts, but the belts will be easy.)

Still, nerd parenting is always good for a LOL.

[Elkhound]

For the robe, can't you just use a snuggie worn wrong-way-round?

[DesertRose]

Entirely too darn hot, Elkhound.  This is for a youth retreat in central Florida in the middle of June. 

Unless the other youth counselor insists he needs a robe, we're probably just going to do tunic, trousers, and belt for him.