"Temporary" weathering question

[Xxblackbird]

Does anyone have any tips or techniques on how to weather a fabric heavy costume without leaving any permanent marks or scarring? This is a "dry clean only" kind of suit.

My Girlfriend has a custom Jedi costume she's had for about a year and a half. She wears it to Cons and some parties and such, but she wants to look battle worn and ragged for a Con this weekend.

I'm sending her out today to get some Chinchilla Dust Bath stuff from Petland that's a good cheap stand in for fullers earth. Of course we're going to add some grimy makeup and fake blood to her face.

Here's a shot of the costume:

We ditched those bracers (which I made in the car on the way to the Con) because they kept falling off.
The suit consists of a light cream colored tunic, a brown tabbard, maroon obi, brown skirt and brown cloak.

She's mentioned that she wants some frayed looking edges, dirt, blood and general crud on it. The only way I've ever weathered things is with paint, bleach and mud so any help would be appreciated.

 

[Shendorion]

How do you fray something temporarily?

There's a lot of layering in the costume. Can you get your hands on some of the fabric used to make it? If so, maybe you could fray and distress some of the spare fabric and fold it into the garments to look as if they're torn and stained. Short of that, it might be simpler to just remake the costume in a poorer fabric and distress it instead of the original.

 

[ThrowingChicken]

What about baby powder for dust?

 

[Xxblackbird]

How do you fray something temporarily?

There's a lot of layering in the costume. Can you get your hands on some of the fabric used to make it? If so, maybe you could fray and distress some of the spare fabric and fold it into the garments to look as if they're torn and stained. Short of that, it might be simpler to just remake the costume in a poorer fabric and distress it instead of the original.

I thought of that. That may be how I do it. Adding small patches of torn and stained fabric around the seams and so on.

Baby powder is an interesting idea. We got some of the chinchilla dust today and it's light gray, almost white. I also got some artists charcoal I'm going to grind up. So a bit of baby powder, gray dust and black charcoal will be a nice combo I think.

I'm going to look around for some washable Halloween blood we may be able to use.

I also think I'm going to make a big gross looking bloody bandage to wrap around her arm.
We're going to have some blood running down her face from her scalp, nose and maybe mouth. She's going to give herself a fake black eye with eye shadow and make her face look sooty and dirty. I also think we're going to mess up her hair so it's half up and half down.
I'm going to weather her saber with some craft paint. We'll probably leave her boots alone because they're expensive and leather.

She said she wants to look beat up and like she's on the run. Sort of like she just barely survived Order 66 and has been hiding in the wilderness. She said she wanted, "Almost feral looking. Desperate and nearly dead."

 

[ThrowingChicken]

I worry about the charcoal. Sure it will come out?

 

[Xxblackbird]

Nope.
I have an old robe that I've outgrown that doesn't work well with her costume either. I'm probably going to try it on there first to make sure it comes out.

 

[Xxblackbird]

I wanted to pass on my final experience with the temporary weathering.
I spent a long time working with the charcoal and the chinchilla dust.
I tried rubbing it directly into the fabric. This worked well for the charcoal, and the chinchilla dust did a good job of making it look a little dusty but just about all of it instantly fell off.
I tried wetting portions of the suit to see if it helped. The chinchilla dust took to it well and made some convincing looking stains but the charcoal dust didn't seem to work at all on wet fabric.

I worked on it for a few days and made it look filthy and awesome.
Then she took it outside and shook it out a little... and just about everything came out. You can barely tell I did anything. And that cloak is made of some kind of super fabric that refuses to wrinkle or stain.

Anyway, she made up for it by putting baby powder in her hair, dirtying up her face, hands and saber and adding a big nasty bloody head wound. I made a bandage for her arm that looked alright. It looks a little layered with some spots that kinda look scabby and other parts that look wet. You can tell the inner tunic and tabbards are a little dirty, but it's not entirely convincing.

I'm glad to say the stage blood she got from a local business called Magic Makers, the charcoal dust, the chinchilla dust and baby powder all washed right out without leaving a mark.