ANH Ben Kenobi Tunic pictorial observations

[Ben Kenobi (Paul Moomey)]

This thread is to document my attempt at a more screen accurate Ben Kenobi tunic, tabbard and obi-sash. My current costume is formal/canon RL approved, however I have always wanted to construct one that had screen accurate material. For the last several months I have been on a worldwide internet search for that material. I was largely unsuccessful until I ran across a new thread here in the RL forum documenting the ANH Obi-Wan Kenobi WIP by BobaFuss (Doug). He had been successful in finding screen accurate material where I had failed. I immediately contacted him and was also able to obtain similar material at the same shop in Toronto Canada. Mine is a little lighter shade of beige than his. I would like to extend a huge THANK YOU to Doug for pointing me in the right direction.

I have been taking screen shots of old Ben Kenobi from my Ep.IV Blu Ray with my Canon digital camera which has given me a lot of detail insight into the tunic. Between my screen shots and the pictures of the display of the Ben Kenobi costume from the Magic of Myth (MoM) tour I think I am ready to put it all together.

Because the MoM tour costume was covered by the outer robe I was not able to determine a lot of detail such as where the seams are and what the detail of the back of the costume looked like. The Blu Ray helped a lot in this regard. The three main areas in the film giving the most detail of the shoulders and back were 1) Ben and Luke in Ben's hut, 2) Ben training Luke with the remote in the Falcon, and 3) Ben in the cockpit of the Falcon as they approach the Death Star.

First and most significantly I believe the movie costume has no seams around the shoulder nor on top of the shoulder or the middle of the back. I have attached pictures which include the left and right shoulders as well as the back of the costume without the outer robe.

Pic 01
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As you can see in pictures 1 to 6 there are no seams around the shoulder or on top of the shoulder.

These pictures also solved another question I had - that being what direction the weave of the fabric followed on the upper body of the tunic. This question was somewhat difficult to answer just by looking at the MoM pictures because on the upper part of the tunic I wasn't sure if I was looking at the tunic or the tabard (which has a vertical weave pattern as it hangs down either side of the body). The MoM picture showing the close-up of the belt buckle (picture 7) pretty much convinced me at least the lower part of the tunic had a vertical weave pattern which would indicate that the upper part should also be vertical. That same picture appears to show a small portion of the tunic just above the sash next to the edge trim of the tunic (which has a horizontal weave pattern) but I wanted more evidence.

Based on my screen shots, I firmly believe the weave pattern for the tunic is vertical down the front and back. You can clearly see the weave pattern on the screen shots of the shoulder as well as the back. One thing puzzled me - how is it there are no seams around the shoulder??? Then it dawned on me - the upper part of the tunic was made from one piece of material draped over the shoulders in like manner to a poncho with the weave pattern going from the waist up the back, over the shoulders, and down the front to the waist. Instead of being cut exactly like a poncho, the tunic would have the front portion cut up the middle to the neck hole. The MoM pictures as well as my screen pics showed the weave pattern goes around the sleeves which when the arms are down by Ben's sides shows a horizontal weave pattern. This follows with the poncho theory because when the arms are held straight out level with the shoulders the weave pattern of the sleeves would be vertical along with the main body of the "poncho". But when the arms are dropped to his sides - the weave pattern becomes horizontal. This also explains why there is no seam around the shoulder or on top of the shoulder. Using the poncho theory the only seam would be under the arm (to close the sleeves) and down each side to the waist to close the body of the tunic.

My other big problem was - the weave pattern on the bolt of fabric goes across the bolt which is 56" wide. This is not nearly enough fabric to create the tunic with the weave pattern going vertical for the entire tunic down to the feet. Here I came to a similar conclusion as Doug but for a different reason. Doug wanted to get a fuller effect on the bottom half of the tunic by splitting it at the waist and doing some gathering to add material below the waist. I also agree the tunic needs more folds below the waist. My reason to split the tunic at the waist was also to be able to get the weave pattern on the top half correct within the limitations of the width of the bolt of fabric. As such 56" was more than enough to reach from my waist at the back, over the shoulders, and down the front to the waist.

The 56" width of the bolt presented another problem. Picture #5, showing the back of the costume, shows there is no seam at the back of the neck on the tabard. The weave pattern on the tabard when viewed from the front is vertical on either side of the body but it curves around the neck turning horizontal before dropping down the other side as vertical again (picture #3). This means the tabard is not cut in a contour around the shoulders but is one long piece of fabric with the weave pattern along the length of the tabard that is simply draped around the shoulders. If it were cut in a contour the weave pattern would be vertical at the very back of the neck which it is not. ALSO, picture #5 shows there is no seam at the back of the neck on the tabard. This presented another problem. The tabard goes from one knee, up the body, around the neck, and down to the opposite knee. In order to cut the fabric so the weave pattern was the entire length of the tabard the fabric would have to be at least 92" wide or the bolt would have to have the weave pattern run the length of the bolt. Since the weave pattern is only 56" wide how do I get it to appear as one solid length? The solution is to assemble the tabard in three sections. The main section runs from the waist up to the neck and down the other side of the body to the waist. On me that would make it 56" long. the second and third piece extends the main piece down to the right and left knees with the seams to attach each at the waist. The obi-sash will hide the seams making it look like one continuous tabard.

Patches and Stains

Doug has done a great job of documenting and showing pictures of the patches on the costume. There are two items I would add to that tutorial. First is what I call the "Nike" patch. Pictures 9, and 10 are from the MoM display and clearly show a "check marked" discoloration on the left side of the tunic down by the lower seam. At first I thought this might have been a discoloration made by possibly some tape residue that had gotten somehow on the costume in shipping or packing but then I noticed it also in the movie. Picture #11 is just one of three screen shots I took from the Blu Ray disc showing this discoloration. Upon closer inspection you can see faint stitching around this discoloration in the MoM shot (picture 9). I now believe it to be another patch on the costume (be it rather oddly shaped).

Doug also pointed out the patch on the lower left edge of the front of the costume seam (picture 8 ) but there are also what appears to be two other discolorations on the right side tabard below the obi-sash. I cannot get a clearer picture of these discolorations so I don't know if they are patches or simply stains. See pictures 8 and 10.

Picture #12 is simply a clearer picture of the patch on the left chest area that Doug has already documented in his tutorial.

In the near future I will post pictures of one of the two new costumes I am having made. The first costume will be made of a fabric I found that has a one directional weave pattern but it is a lighter weight material that I will use outside on hot summer days (Houston humidity can get very warm). The second costume will be made of the raw silk material that matches the movie costume material. It is very heavy and will usually be used inside in air conditioning.

Paul ô¿ô

[EeanLedgor ()]

Thank you Paul. INCREDIBLE attention to detail!
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Past Offices held within the Rebel Legion: LMO, Asst. LMO, Legion Costume Judge, DCO and DXO KJO, BCO and BXO Tranquility Base
Writer of many costuming tutorials.
Maker of costume props and costumes for Rebel Legion and 501st members.

[Ben Kenobi (Paul Moomey)]

Thanks Roger. The Ben Kenobi costume has kind of been my obsession since I got my initial costume together and was not satisfied with the material. Don't get me wrong I have had a lot of compliments about my current costume but I always wanted to make a screen accurate one even down to the material weave and texture. Thanks to Doug finding the material I can now realize that dream. That and the release of the Blu Ray disc's helped a great deal with the details.

Over the next month or two I will post pictures of the new costumes. I am having patterns made as well based on my "poncho" design.

Paul ô¿ô

[EeanLedgor ()]

I will be watching intently. Your an Doug's posts will help me a great deal as....I have added this costume to my cue (probably later this year or early 2014).
_________________
Past Offices held within the Rebel Legion: LMO, Asst. LMO, Legion Costume Judge, DCO and DXO KJO, BCO and BXO Tranquility Base
Writer of many costuming tutorials.
Maker of costume props and costumes for Rebel Legion and 501st members.

[lgtsbr ()]

[Ben Kenobi (Paul Moomey)]

Hi Dave - I'm pretty sure what you are looking at is the back pouch loop and connection to the belt. I will be taking more pics of the belt to try to confirm that and a few other things (the buckle color, whether the greeblie on the right side is metal or leather, and if there are any other things on the belt that have been missed). I also want to try to get a closer look at the banana pouch if at all possible. By the way - my costume belt is the one I bought from you back in 2004.

Paul ô¿ô

[lgtsbr ()]

Thats what I'm thinking to, it looks like it goes through the belt in that pic........or am I seeing things???.........interesting. I've seen where some think the pouch is floating, kind of like Luke's pouches, but if that is what we think it is, that could turn this rig into a top to bottom redesign........

Sorry, I don't want to hijack your thread, I'll wait until you post a research thread on it and we can go from there

Cheers

Dave
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[Ben Kenobi (Paul Moomey)]

No problem Dave - always great to hear from you. Will send you a PM when I'm ready to post any pics of the belt.

Paul ô¿ô

[BoabiWan (Alan Bell)]

Paul,
Want to say Thanks for all the info, you've provided here. Comes in real handy for me as I've got a seamstress working on my tunic etc.. This way I can give her more info on the costume.

Thanks,
Alan.

[Ben Kenobi (Paul Moomey)]

Alan - glad it helped. Good luck on you costume. I finally have my tunic finished. It is one of the costumes on my profile.

Paul.

[BoabiWan (Alan Bell)]

[Ben Kenobi (Paul Moomey)]

After over a year of searching I found the material in Toronto Canada at a fabric shop in a theater district (I believe). It is raw silk but it is the heavy weave one directional pattern with pulls and nubs. I found it thanks to another Rebel who also made a Ben Kenobi costume that lives about an hour north of Toronto. It is very difficult to find this kind of weave pattern in raw silk and there is no consensus on the name of the material or weave pattern. I don't have the name of the shop handy - it has been over a year since I got it. Check around in the tutorial sections - I believe the name of the shop is in one of the Ben Kenobi threads in a conversation I had with Doug ( the member that found it).

Your best bet is - if you think you found something - request a sample of the fabric before investing in it.

Paul

[BoabiWan (Alan Bell)]

[Ben Kenobi (Paul Moomey)]

I found my information. The fabric store is King Textiles in Toronto. They have a website. Good luck.

[BoabiWan (Alan Bell)]