Luke ROTJ brown cloak ( robe cape etc)

[BRRogers]

Found some material that is a great modern alternative for Luke’s Cloak… not without a drawback, which I’ll go into when I have time in the next post or so.
The facing fabric is fantastic and drapes well- it really looks the part and is very close in color to what we see… if we could pony up interest for a custom fabric run (3,000 yards ) then the issue could be corrected… whelp- anyway…

This is just a personal project thread, but I do hope to well document the construction process and (maybe) make an actual ROTJ cloak specific pattern *available* for this community to see-download.

As always, happy for discussion and reference.

For clarity I am opting to develop my own pattern as the ones available have completely different seaming requirements and construction.
First picture is the one where I’m getting hyped!

It’s also a fantastic ‘Luke’ dropcloth for saber photos.

 

[Poikilotherm]

In any case I am 100% satisfied with the fabric so far, even with that currently unsolvable problem, the fabric looks great to the naked eye.

To celebrate the 40th anniversary of the return of the Jedi, BRRogers saw that I was making my life-size ROTJ Luke and kindly helped me out by providing me with information on making cape fabric like I did. Luckily I hadn't made the cape yet.

I've been talking to BRRogers for a while about the cape build and process to share, and since I only wanted a specific display pose, and referenced some cape photos, I finally decided to use a tour size cape shape for my cape instead of the few full-coverage cape looks in the movie or behind the scenes.

I'll share the problems and solutions that my seamstress and I encountered when using the fabric for the cloak as more interested people flock to this thread.

Here are some images of the capes made with the fabric under different lighting, thanks again to BRRogers for helping to make this happen.

 

[PoopaPapaPalps]

This damn thread! I've been seriously entertaining making a RotJ Luke outfit for myself lately, and this only further pushes me to do it!

 

[Psab keel]

These look fantastic! If the fabric is double faced you could you line it with itself so both sides have the correct texture/ color. It will obviously thicken up the material but it's an option at least without having to shell out thousands to have something custom woven. That said, the material you sourced looks great and appears to have the correct texture and drape to the real thing!

Here's some shots of my most recent Luke ROTJ commission I made for another Luke fan. I made the Pants, Shirt, Silk Vest, Wool Cloak, and Belt (the buckle was from an Etsy vendor who weathered it beautifully). For the shirt and pants we opted for high quality Cotton vs. the Wool Gabardine, both for comfort as well as better affordability.

Our very own ThreadSketch who recently debuted it at a convention in her home state. The cloak was made a few years back when I first sourced the loose knit wool fabric and at the time my reference images seemed to indicate two different style of hood. One with a top center seam and one without. I've since learned that all the versions had this top seam, so going forward any I make will have it.

Photos were generously provided to me with her permission as well as the permission of the photographer. Also please be sure to check out the incredible photography of Camaryn of Camera-Man Photography: Camera-Man Photography (@camera.man_photography) • Instagram photos and videos.




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[ThreadSketch]

*truth sketchy emerges from her well to shame mankind myself*

I find it so interesting that the silk portions of the costume photographed so blue as opposed to the charcoal color they have in real life. I guess it's just my camera guy's unique settings. (It obviously captured colors with extra saturation because my skin tint looks a lot more orange here than it did in person, lol.)

This cloak feels incredible, it's somehow weighty despite being so loosely woven and the softness gives it a really special sensation compared to a prequel Jedi robe.

I'll contribute an extra shot I really loved:

(The vest and sash also look much truer to life in color here. )

 

[Psab keel]

I knew I was missing one of the shots ThreadSketch ! Thank you so much for your willingness, and that of your photographer, to share these. I'm so glad you're pleased with everything. You look great in these.

 

[ThreadSketch]

 

[ThreadSketch]

In any case I am 100% satisfied with the fabric so far, even with that currently unsolvable problem, the fabric looks great to the naked eye.

To celebrate the 40th anniversary of the return of the Jedi, BRRogers saw that I was making my life-size ROTJ Luke and kindly helped me out by providing me with information on making cape fabric like I did. Luckily I hadn't made the cape yet.

Man, the jumpscares this figure would give me if I walked by it every morning! Unholy cow, that doesn't look artificial, that looks like Mark freaking human being Hamill standing there. Did you craft this head sculpt or was it someone else? Because lordy, that's beautiful. That's the most lifelike recreation I've ever seen. I'm losing my mind a little looking at it LOL.

 

[Psab keel]

It is eerily life like!

 

[Poikilotherm]

Man, the jumpscares this figure would give me if I walked by it every morning! Unholy cow, that doesn't look artificial, that looks like Mark freaking human being Hamill standing there. Did you craft this head sculpt or was it someone else? Because lordy, that's beautiful. That's the most lifelike recreation I've ever seen. I'm losing my mind a little looking at it LOL.

Yes, especially at night when the house has only downlights illuminating the interior, he looks very intimidating! But I always have a smile on my face at the moment. The bust was made by Godaiking for the ESB/ROTJ series only, and I put him on a 175cm tall mannequin.

These look fantastic! If the fabric is double faced you could you line it with itself so both sides have the correct texture/ color. It will obviously thicken up the material but it's an option at least without having to shell out thousands to have something custom woven. That said, the material you sourced looks great and appears to have the correct texture and drape to the real thing!

When making the hood I had the tailor make three designs for the fabric, one of which is what you said, the fabric overlap which will cause the fabric to be very thick and thus lose some of its penetration and drapability.
In the end I went with the original hood, but that's only good enough for a mannequin that's only on display in a house, but probably not a good choice for people who are actually Cosplay, unless they really don't care that the cloak is very thick! It always reminds me of the image of the cloak floating up when walking so people can see the difference on the reverse side.

 

[ThreadSketch]

Yes, especially at night when the house has only downlights illuminating the interior, he looks very intimidating! But I always have a smile on my face at the moment. The bust was made by Godaiking for the ESB/ROTJ series only, and I put him on a 175cm tall mannequin.

Well, so many kudos to Godaiking for that, because wowza. (And to you for making the cloak compliment him perfectly!)