How to make a Jedi's inner tunic

Although I'm inordinately proud of the first Jedi costume pieces I've made, there's always room for improvement. I recently made myself a second outer tunic from osnaburg, so I decided I needed to make another inner tunic to match. Compared to making the outer tunic, this project is pretty easy. All you need is a tank top and some osnaburg material.


Materials
-Tan tank top
-Osnaburg material
-Interfacing (optional)

Tools
-Scissors
-Needle/thread
-Pins
-Sewing machine (optional)
-Collar pattern from Simplicity 5840 tunic (optional)

1. Gather the materials
I found a tan tank top at the thrift store for about $3 and got some osnaburg material from the utility fabrics section at the fabric store. The tank top should be fairly close-fitting, so that it does not interrupt the lines of the outer tunic. The one I picked has some rhinestones on it, but it doesn't make any difference. The only part of the inner tunic that is visible when worn under the outer tunic is going to be the collar.

2. Cut material for collar
I used the pattern for the tunic collar of the Simplicity 5840, but really it's just a rectangle with the dimensions of 3.25 inches by 41 inches. Cut two rectangles of those dimensions, easily achieved if you fold the material and only have to cut once.


If you have the pattern, pinning it in place is usually the best idea.


3. Sew together collar
Pin together the two rectangles, and then sew a running stitch along the two long sides and one short side. You can do this by hand, but it went so much faster with a sewing machine.


Turn the collar inside out, fold in the last edges, and sew shut the last side.

3. Attach the collar to the shirt
First, pin the collar around the collar of the tank top. Start with pinning the middle of the collar piece to the back of the neck, arrange the collar so that it overlaps about .75 inch.


I ended up pinning the collar so that it right side of the collar crosses over the left to match what I did with my outer tunic. Technically in most movie appearances it is left over right, consistent with Japanese norms, but wrapping it that way just feels weird to me. So, this is personal preference, you can easily do this with the collar left over right. Whatever it is, just have it so it matches the style of the outer tunic.


Finally I sewed the bottom edge of the collar down using a running stitch. This leaves where the collar crosses at the front of the neck loose, which allows you to pull it over the head with out getting stuck but still keeps the collar high.

And there you have it, a Jedi's inner tunic. It's super simple, and is easier to make and wear than a dickie or a full, from-scratch inner tunic. Good luck and keep crafting!

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