Wednesday, March 31, 2010

Update on Battlestar Galactica Warrior Uniform

I'm 99.9% finished with my Colonial Warrior uniform (I just have a bit of hand sewing on the inside to finish), so I thought I'd post a progress picture:

Monday, March 22, 2010

More Senate Guard Observations

When I first started researching this costume to make it for my husband (over two years ago now!) I just assumed that the Senate Guards wore an inner cloak like the Royal Guards did.

This behind the scenes image shows a Royal Guard (on the right) without his red velvet robe, you can clearly see the burgundy colored robe with sleeves:

However, one time while watching "Star Wars: The Phantom Menace" I noticed a scene where the Senate Guards were on Naboo with Chancellor Palpatine. The wind was blowing the outer robes while the Guards were walking and it was very clear to me that they were wearing some sort of blue pants! I couldn't find any picture evidence of this, and I lack the programs that would allow me to do screen captures from the DVD, so I put the movie in my DVD player and took a digital picture. The images are pretty rough, but you can see what I saw: the Senate guards do not have an inner robe, they wear pants! It appears that the "shirt" and "pants" are all one piece like a coverall. The coverall does not appear to have a waist, there is no kind of belt, and no pockets. I did notice that one Senate Guard is wearing his pants tucked into the top of his boots while another is wearing the pants untucked.
(Click on an image to see it larger)
In this image, the Senate Guard on the right of the image is taking rather large strides. The wind is blowing his robe away from his legs. Pants can clearly be seen (untucked):



The Senate Guard on the left just behind Palpatine is another good example of clear evidence that he is wearing pants. If you watch the movie, the robe blows enough to show his waist...I believe there is no waistband, which leads me to believe this is a one-piece coverall sort of thing. His pantlegs are tucked into his boots:



The other Senate Guards in the background are also good evidence that they are wearing pants (tucked or untucked).

Another noteworthy thing that I noticed in several pictures, and should be replicated by anyone making/wearing this costume is that the sleeves of the under-"coverall" are worn OVER the gloves. (This can also be seen in the screen captures of mine above.)




*Update*

I learned something new that was pointed out to me. Senate Guards also used Force Pikes! See this image from "Star Wars: Attack of the Clones"





Friday, March 12, 2010

Battlestar Galactica Colonial Warrior: Progress!

At long last I'm finally able to start work on my classic BSG uniform! Here is my progress so far:



Now, I will be working on the collar. I still have quite a bit of hand sewing to do to the front quilted panel and the Velcro. Thanks to Mark Bradley, I've been able to look at a screen used tunic, which has helped me figure out how the original uniforms were constructed.

When I finish, I plan to post up a detailed tutorial. :)

X-wing mini-tutorial

How to sew your own X-wing flight suit (if you got your pattern from me).

You will need:
  • (Depending on the size you are making) 6-7 yards of orange trigger fabric in "seville orange" or similar bright orange color.
  • About 3 spools of matching orange thread
  • Black thread
  • Approx. 36" black zipper
  • Black 1" Velcro
  • Optional white or orange Velcro for Comm pad.
  • Interfacing
If you have the Kwik Sew coverall pattern, you can follow the basic guidelines for sewing the coverall together. Otherwise, it's pretty common sense. If you need a specific instruction, feel free to email me.

First, you need to prep the pockets. Zig zag or surge the raw edges, turn them under 1/2" (unless otherwise noted) and press. Double top-stitch the tops/hand openings of all the pockets. Attach the Velcro to one half of the pocket flaps and then sew the pocket flaps together, trim, turn, press, and double top stitch the sides and bottom edges (leave the top of the flap for now).

You will also need to attach the Velcro for the sleeve cuffs & collar, then sew the two pieces together. You will need to take into account that you will be taking up a seam allowance, as well as the top stitching, so be sure to inset the Velcro far enough to be free of those things. Also, be sure to use interfacing on the collar. Once the pockets, flaps, cuffs, and collar are prepped and ready, you can move on to the suit.

You can begin by sewing the pockets to each sleeve. If desired, now is the time to sew Velcro in the center of the comm pad pocket window (on the sleeve, not the pocket) to hold your comm pad.

Next, sew the lower two pieces of each front "shirt" section together, then sew on the yoke. [*Be sure to zig zag or surge all seams, press, and top stitch (where applicable) after every step.] Once you have the fronts sewn, you can add the scoop pockets.

Next, sew the front pants sections together, following the Kwik Sew guidelines. Sew the waist band sections to the pants sections (the waist band only gets a single top-stitch). Then, attach the leg pockets and pocket flaps. You will need to sew the scoop pockets in place first, then the first set of cargo pocket flaps. Then, use the placement of the Velcro on the flap to determine where the Velcro needs to be placed on the pocket. Sew the Velcro to the pocket, then attach the pocket to the pant legs. Repeat for the second set of pockets.

After the pants pockets are attached, you can sew the shirt front to the pants front at the waistband. Attach zipper according to Kwik Sew directions. Note that you will not be putting a snap at the neck, your zipper should be long enough to reach all the way to the collar.

Sew the shirt back and front sections together at the shoulder. Be sure to carefully fold the extra fabric to create the proper tuck in the shirt back.


Sew the sleeves in place. (I thought I had gotten a picture of it, but it must have gotten lost/deleted from the camera...) Be sure to sew the raw edge of the tuck to the sleeve, keeping the folded edge free. This is a tricky step, and can bunch, so be prepared to pick out your stitches and redo this until you get it right.

Sew the pants back sections together, then attach the waistband. Attach the pants back to the shirt back at the waistband.

Sew together at underarm, sides, and crotch seams. Be sure to leave an opening at the end of the sleeve seam, where marked, at the wrist. Turn under the hem at the wrist opening twice and top stitch. Also, be sure to leave an opening at the waist band on each side seam to insert elastic into the casing in the waistband at the back of the suit. Insert elastic, pin in place, and stitch the rest of the seam.

Attach the sleeve cuffs and collar. Clip, turn, and press cuffs and collar, double top stitch. Attach the corresponding Velcro on the opposite ends of the cuffs and collar.

Hem the pant legs.

That's it, you're done!