Luminara's Robe: Trouble Shooting

Luminara's Robe: Trouble Shooting

Attempt 1:

I didn't expect Luminara to be an easy costume to replicate, but I was surprised by how difficult it was to source a suitable fabric for her robe! For my first attempt, I dyed some stretch velvet that had a similar pattern to that of her cloak brown with Rit Dyemore. However, as you can probably tell, the velvet still had a white sheen that just didn't look right. 
Stretch Velvet, Undyed (reference)

Side by side comparison (outside)

Side by side comparison (inside)

Attempt 2:

When I went back to the drawing board, I paid special attention to the texture and consistency of the fabric. Luminara's robe is made of devoré velvet-velvet that has been eaten away in certain places by a special acid-and therefore is neither smooth nor solid. In certain reference photos, the background behind Luminara is visible through little holes in the fabric of her robe, such as the photo below:
(Credit to the Rebel Legion KJO reference Gallery)

I also sought out a brown fabric that had a similar texture to that in the photo below: 


(Credit to the Rebel Legion KJO reference Gallery)

After wandering around my local fabric store for an hour (and wondering if I was going to have to shell out the big bucks for some actual devoré velvet), I found exactly what I was looking for in the carpeting section of all places.

This fabric has an uneven texture...


...is loosely woven on one side...

...and is an appropriate shade of brown. I bought 4 yards of the fabric (the fabric was 60 inches wide) and using a stamp made out of EVA foam, stamped out a pattern with PLAID black fabric paint.I've included some photos of the finished product over my tiered, broomstick pleated skirt because I wanted to demonstrate how the robe lies over the garment. (I have no idea why I chose to make that expression).

Front:  


Back:

 Now in comparison to the reference photos:



(Credit to the Rebel Legion KJO reference Gallery)

(Credit to the Rebel Legion KJO reference Gallery)


Not too shabby! In the future, I may add some additional panels to the robe in order to make it a little more voluminous, but overall, I'm happy with the way that my robe turned out.












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