Recommended fabrics for Shadow Guard cloak?

[bennroe]

I know the cloak is supposed to be made of velvet and linen, but does anyone have specific recommendations for the fabrics? I don’t know much about sewing (thankfully I won’t be the one sewing), and velvet feels complicated. Honestly, if anybody has a link for a recommended fabric I can pick up, I’d really appreciate it. I spent hours trying to find something, and I feel a little lost. Thanks!

[bennroe]

I've seen it mentioned that the original Return of the Jedi royal guard robes were actually made out of 20oz cotton velour, but it seems like velour is off the table for these? I know I want cotton-based material, so it's easier to wash, and I know to stay away from crushed velvet, but do I want "stretch"? Or is that just another word for polyester? Just trying to navigate this from the perspective of someone who knows nothing about fabric.

Related, but separate question, I had been planning to use the Rogue One pattern posted here (with the additional central rear slit, of course): viewtopic.php?t=3086 but is it a problem having the front section made out of two panels and sewn right up the front? That feels like it would lead to an obvious seam in a weird spot, but--again--I don't know anything. Is there a good alternative to this? Is it not really a problem?

Thanks!

[ugcspawn]

You can also use this one:

viewtopic.php?t=1977

And it doesn't have a front line in the front. I too think a front line will show and I would stay away from it

From JCardea's patterns, seems to be a difference in how the front meet the back at the shoulders. One overlap (aotc), where the R1 doesn't. Since the crl calls for a aotc pattern, I'd take the proper one.

As for the proper cloth, I'll be following to see if you get an answer. I'm at the same place as you are. I want something more lightweight than my ROTJ guard robe, but I still want that fuzzy look.

[bennroe]

Thank you! I believe the Shadow Guard CRL was written before Rogue One released, and probably just hasn't been updated, but every visual reference I can find for the cloak looks more like Rogue One than Attack of the Clones. I was operating under the assumption that higher accuracy would trump that reference, especially since it says "based on" and not "mirrors exactly" or anything else to that effect. If I'm wrong, I'd be happy to switch to Attack of the Clones style, but the Shadow Guard CRL seems to be more guideline than bible, since there aren't really live-action references to work with. For instance, the saberpike description just basically says "it should look like the one in the picture", but there are four different saberpikes pictured on the CRL (counting the old header picture) and they're all different. Also, the model in the header picture's belt doesn't have the incisions, etc., etc. Even the flexibility about the finish on the armour tells me that the final presentation is more important than the fine details on this one. I'm still very, very new at this, though, so I could be reading this all wrong. In any event, I appreciate the link, and I'll definitely update here if I find anything that works well.

[bennroe]

I see plush triple velvet recommended a lot, and this looks good, but I think 44" wide is unlikely to be sufficient, at least without being extremely wasteful: https://syfabrics.com/products/plush-tr ... ac01&_ss=r

This looks great, and is (probably) the right width, but is polyester, which I feel like I was told to avoid for reasons of it draping strangely: https://mytextilefabric.com/products/royal-velvet-yards

Anyone have thoughts on either of these, and their feasibility?