The Emperor's Hand com costume - the robe and brown leather

[Twi'lek Pam]

That looks like a really good color match, and a heavy knit should have the perfect drape for her outfit. Good choice!

 

Pam

[Guest Anonymous]

thanks Pam;

We shall see how close it is to the monitor.. It can be scary ordering online. I have not been able to find anything even from one of the biggest textile stores around.

[Guest Anonymous]

more shopping and planning

 

After much hunting I found a good match for the vest, pauldrons and visor

 

 

I also found some spandex for the leggings. It is a close match. It is actually a bit more gray than it photos.

 

 

After looking through the graphic novel I found that there are ropes and chains on the pauldrons and that they were not originally hanging loose. The chain on the left was broken in one frame and she is seen holding it in another while escaping. Put all the pics in one to make it easier to see.

So I bought gold trim, gold rope and gold chain.

 

I found some gray boots online also and they are ordered. It is a good time of year to purchase boots as they are all on sale for a great price. They are knee high gray with no heels. When they arrive I will put up a photo.

 

Waiting for the fabric to arrive. I will post pics as progress is made.

[Twi'lek Pam]

Very nice color match on the vest leather!

 

For the chain hanging off her shoulders, I would suggest gold toned tube beads and oval shaped beads. You can get large "economy" type beads at most crafts stores. As she is moving they sway and lift quite a bit, which suggests the weight of beads, and not just rope. While one side does get damaged during that storyline, the chain in her hand is not actually from her costume; that's the medallion that Dequc's body double was wearing when she killed him. She takes the medallion as proof of the assasination, only to discover later on that it (and he) was a fake.

 

Pam

[Guest Anonymous]

I can return the chain. I thought it was beads but then looked at the details here. You are probably right because that panel is a bit later. I will check into the tube beads and see if I can get them in bulk. I figured about 3.5-4 yards are needed. Some math will be needed so I will have to use my brain or calculator to figure how many beads for that length! Thanks for clearing that Pam.

[Guest Anonymous]

Does anyone know what kind of pistol she is carrying?

 

[Guest Anonymous]

I got that answer.. DL44.. interesting and her light saber is violet.

[Guest Anonymous]

I found the pistol so now to figure the light saber. I ordered some gold colored acrylic beads to string for the pauldrons. I finished the leather part of them yesterday and will post pic when I get the decorations attached.

[Guest Anonymous]

The fabric I ordered which looked so much like the artwork arrived yesterday and it is much more of a dark pumpkin color. It is amazing how the monitor changes the colors. I took pictures of it with two of my cameras and the color ranges from an exact match to the true color. So do I go by monitor match or artwork match? That is a tough one because approval is based on monitor match which changes the colors unless one plays with the hue to adjust it. Thus I ordered some samples of other fabrics to avoid the costs and return times. I am posting pictures to show the differences in the fabrics as taken by different cameras under the same lighting and adjusted the one to show the true color of the fabric. The vest leather is also distorted in this photo.

 

Here is what the fabric appears to look like when not corrected to match the real deal.

 

here it is again to show the color of the fabric in real color . It hopefully shows on your screen that this is definitely more orange and does not have any violet or dusty rose in it at all.

 

 

 

 

I am going to get as close as I can to the pictures in the graphic novel which show it to be more of a rose' wine color.. It is hard to put a word on the color because it could be interpreted as burn umber to violet to brick depending on the frame but I am trying to stick with the images that are not depicted in the dark or shadows.

[Twi'lek Pam]

I love seeing the effort that you're putting into making this costume accurate. Very nice.

 

I can really see what you mean about the difference in the way the fabric looks between the images. The bottom image looks quite orangish on my monitor, definitely not a dusty rose. (This is the reason why I have tubs of unused fabrics... they looked like a great match when I saw them online, then found that they weren't quite the color that I thought they were... yet they were still nice so I simply must hold on to them for a "different project someday.")

 

Pam

[Guest Anonymous]

Thanks Pam. Doing it as close as possible from images is important to me. The problem with this is that the color changes from one page to the next due to day/night etc and how the artist did it. I took the graphic novel to the store yesterday and found some fabrics near the color I am going to stick with but they were a sheer fabric. I am doing a troop on Friday in RI so I will hit the fabric places in Pawtucket and hopefully decide on one that is as close as possible to the pictures/scenes posted. That is the color combo I am doing.

It took me over a year to get the right combo for Arica and make it good so I am not in a hurry.

[Guest Anonymous]

I love your patience!! That's always the hardest part for me... it makes me crazy!! Good for you.

[Guest Anonymous]

I am crazy!! Who would not be crazy stringing beads, painting 8 yards of piping with gold fabric paint because the gold trims were braided and not smooth like the pictures? .. I just did an easy part by purchasing the pistol on ebay!! Will have to make the lightsaber that matches her at this point. .. I am crazy already!!!

 

Heading to huge fabric store in Gold coast CT on Tuesday to see if they have the right color and weight. If not, then going with the closest I find. There are a lot of different shades in the graphic so I may have to go with a more burgundy/wine.

[Guest Anonymous]

So while doing the beading I ran out of a cone shaped bead. I went to order some more of them but the five dollar but would have cost 13 bucks to get here considering shipping. I only needed 12 of that shape so out came the sculpy and a safety pin to make the holes.

 

gold paint and glitter home made beads are now drying on some fishing line

[Guest Anonymous]

Epaulets finished today.

 

Here is reference ;

 

 

mine

 

I need to find some good fabric for the dress then make/ have wired the light saber. Pistol is on order. Boots arrived today and trim needs to be removed from them.

[Guest Anonymous]

a good fabric match found and am ready to get some sewing done! This is really close to the color in the graphic novel for many daylight scenes so going with it . It is draped over my maneguin.

 

 

 

[Guest Mara Jade]

I was just wondering if you're absolutely sure of the red fabric having to be underneath the vest? I examined the cartoon very carefully before going ahead with my costume, which I wore at CV, and I think the red fabric is only visible on one picture, whereas the rest of them, you definately see black when the vest is open? My friend, who helped me sew the outfit, and I agreed the red in one shot might be a colouring mistake

[Guest Anonymous]

There are a lot of variations in colors in the graphic novel (Star Wars Mara Jade By the Emperor's Hand) depending on the scene. It is true of the leggings, boots, and even the type of vest itself. She wears two different types of vests and at one point a black coat over her dress with a different scarf hood. It is challenging to do this type of costume because the artists in the graphic novel have drawn her in so many scenes with shadows etc. during outside, inside, day and night. I keep checking back with the book and try to avoid those images on line. I am just doing the best I can with the daylight scenes that are fairly consistent with color and construction. That is what I did with the Arica spandex version of this character and what I do with each costume. Fit it as closely as possible considering the predominant depictions.

 

I see the dark mauve/wine dress as a dress with a partitioned skirt. The scarf is separate and it shows it is pulled through a slit when it wraps around the neck. This is practical for her athletic movements and keeps it secure. I see it as a full scarf with the hood section having a visor made of the leather of the vest. I decided to go with the dark mauve/wine as a dress as I see the sleeves attached to it. It is all one clothing item covered with the leather vest then the black bolero to which the epaulets are attached.

I also think she is supposed to be wearing her jumpsuit under the dress because you can see the sleeves of it under the dress sleeves in some panels. I will be doing the sleeves but opted out of another 'layer' . Trooping in this in conventions, parades, and other 501st events it is good for me to remain vertical in front of a crowd!! Passing out due to heat is not an option for me

[Guest Mara Jade]

I decided against doing the red/wine whatever thing as a full dress, exactly because of the heat of wearing this costume I mainly made it for use at CV (Because my girlfriend had just made another Luke Skywalker costume), and as I'm one of those lucky persons who sweat a lot, I opted against a full dress to avoid too much heat. Instead, I used some very, very thing black fabric, and sewed the skirt and sleeves onto that. As my jumpsuit underneath is black (I had to decide between midnight blue and black, and decided that, while it does look blue sometimes, blue just wouldn't go well with the other colours) you can't see that I'm wearing something underneath. Quite handy, I think

 

And I do agree this is a tough costume to get "right" because of the variations! I think there should be more than one way to do this, really, because it depens on what series of pictures you choose as reference images when going ahead with it

 

I must say, I love your shoulder pad thingies, though:)

[Guest Anonymous]

If you pick your reference pictures and include them from the source then make it to those pictures then you have done your best.

 

The epaulets( shoulder thingys) are a base of sintra, becoming a favorite of armor costumes, with layers of fiber fill covered by the leather of the vest. I used piping that was white and painted it gold then strung beads following the references as to number of strands. The rope trims available in gold looked too braided and not the smoothness shown in the novel. Hot gun was used to attach them underneath and then I am going to use velcro to attach them to the bolero. I made shoulder pads for the dress to square off the shoulders and give them the levelness needed.

[Guest Anonymous]

Here are a couple of WIP pictures. I still have to do the scarf hat and hem the skirt.

Epaulets are just sitting there and need to be attached. Pistol is painted, boots are just needing to be turned down since they are over the knee, leggings are done. Light saber not started yet.

 

 

[Guest Anonymous]

I ordered the pistol and repainted it to match the one she carries.

 

[Guest Anonymous]

Wow, you are doing such incredible work! This costume is turning out so beautiful! Your work is inspiring me to make a costume like this myself .

[Twi'lek Pam]

Beautiful work. The first Flagship costume I've seen in a while since Nihilus that is damaged on purpose as part of the creation process!

 

 

Pam

[Guest Anonymous]

thanks.. trying to make it right. Today is the scarf/hood day. I am having the light saber done by one of our NEG members who is great at the machine work. I don't have the tools to do the work needed on this He is going to make it the violet for me.