I see. But for the "weathering" I meant for a cosplay/costume replica, would that throw off the colouring? Would a very light uniform grey "weathering" make the fabric you sell on Thread Lair look more like the Outer Tunic/Tabards/Obi do on screen and the production stills?
For the fabric I sell that's used for the Outer Tunic, it can easily be dyed given that it's a cotton/ linen blend if you want a different shade. You could also enhance the edges with a very mild wash of watered down acrylic paint for weathering. One thing to keep in mind is that the sheer/ loose weave of the real fabric (and my own) is that when you layer it on top of itself the color becomes more prominent. To illustrate this, here is a close up of the Episode 3 Tunic set where the upper torso is actually unlined and you can see the color of the tunic below it.
This was likely done to keep Ewan cooler with one less layer of material, especially given that the cloth tabards are double layered. Notice the "dickie" is brown, but the body of the tunic is cream colored, similar to the Outer Tunic. If the layer below was all brown, you would see that color "bleed" through the loose weave of the Outer layer. The first image shows the swatches from Episode 2, but notice how the brown of the cloak/ robe fabric "bleeds" through the sheer crinkled fabric of the Outer Tunic. The remaining photos show the Episode 3 Tunic layers.
One other interesting thing to note is that for Episode 3, I'm guessing they likely used black bias tape to reinforce the loose weave of the tabards and sash on the interior. Note that the edges of the tabards look just a tad darker, which means they are either airbrushed with subtle weathering to make the seams "pop" with a touch of color, but the more likely explanation is that when constructing them, they used bias tape. Note in the last photo that even under direct light, the edge of the tabard appears a touch darker, which leads me to believe that there is a darker layer sandwiched between the layers of guaze type fabric.
Bias tape is used to cover raw/ unfinished edges to either keep material from fraying (which this loose weave stuff will do without any finishing like serging or zig zag stitching) or to give a nice professional looking finish/ decorative finish to the edge of material. The other advantage of the bias tape is that it would help this loose weave to retain it's shape, yet retain some of it's stretch. Open weave fabrics, especially ones like the stuff they used for Obi-Wan's tunics, has a tendency to stretch. It drape beautifully given the looseness, but it can stretch out of shape which is a problem with all of the layers and their very structured cut. Bias tape on the interior would help prevent this, but also keep the fabric from unraveling, so it would serve a dual purpose.
I know those were long explanantions, but I hope that might help answer your questions.
Dr. Jones SR:
Color is notorious for shifting in different lighting conditions. I find that selecting fabrics that ride the line between two shades, say grayish brown for example, are the sweet spot you should aim for in many cases. Hans ESB jacket is the perfect example of this. It appears bluish, but in reality it's a charcoal gray with hints of steel blue. Though as you pointed out, ultimately you have to go with the color scheme that suits your eyes/ preferences and people often go with the way the materials appear on film. I've done the same on many occassions when I had little other reference, or like in your case, the references vary so drastically, you just have to select which looks best to your eye, balanced with whatever material you can source that looks close enough.
Something else I try to consider is how the material photographs under flash photography. As much as I like certain shades in person, if I'm taking pictures of my costumes with a flash, I could drastically alter the color by adding that burst of light. Sometimes I'll reject certain fabrics because they always read a shade I don't want. While I make the costumes to look how I want, I have to consider the photography because so much of the work needs to be shot for either illustration purposes, or for display, so that will often determine why I'll choose one material over another.
