ESB Cape Appears to Have Seams

SPY007

Active Hunter
I am surprised there is not tutorial in the soft parts templates for the cape. This is one part of the costume that no one seams to give much thought to. As I am researching the cape, the one thing that strikes me is that I have yet to see a fan cape that drapes like the original. I, like others, am of the belief that the ESB cape was part of a blanket.

I picked up an old wool blanket that I recently cut and dyed. It drapes like the real thing and just seams more correct. I will post a picture soon, but I have notice that the ESB cape appears to have seams. One running across the stripe. one on the leading edge and one that appears to make a shaped shoulder. Check out the picture. Thoughts?

FettCapeSeams.jpg
 
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I agree with ya on it being a lighter material like wool by the way it drapes and sways. Good eyes on seeing the seam, I didn't see that till now.
 
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Your evidence seems pretty compelling so far. I wonder what Rafal will have to say on it? :confused
 
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Upon looking at more images, I am not so sure the shoulder has a seam. I may just be a fold, but I think there still unanswered questions on the cape.
 
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Could even be a thread that was pulled out...not sure if that sounds right but like Ive seen when a thread is messed up in my ABU theres like a seam looking line but its not a seem.
 
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If you look up the same HD pic in the gallery the bottom line is just a defect of some sort in the fabric there are no stitches. I've researched the cape to some extent and done some tests with wool and I couldnt iron a hem in the edges that sharp it just wouldnt do it. There are 2 pics in the gallery also that show the orange stripe is on both sides as well. The fabric does look like a very light weight wool or wool blend but I've searched high and low and havent found both correct colors. When enlarged the line between colors is razor sharp and there are no topstitches either.

I've toyed with the idea of having a run of custom wool done with the stripe but these would be pricey capes likely for the purist.
 
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I have to agree with woodman! I did an image compiled with HD images of the ESB cape (warning: huge image) and in most of them the line pointed out by SPY007 seems like a fold line in the fabric, similar to blankets when you fold it in half then again in half then put it away for later use; after a while when you unfold the blanket you'll notice those specific fold lines as seen in the ESB cape:

View attachment ESB Cape.jpg

The only cape similar to the ESB style with stitches only around the edges is the Pre-Pro #1 cape (the ROTJ cape is NOT the reused Pre-Pro #1 cape) but it differs in color and material:

PP1 Cape.jpg

View attachment ESB Cape.jpg

PP1 Cape.jpg
 
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Again Raf shows us just how much he is the master of all things fett. This may seem a bit dumb but there isn't any documentation on what the cape is made of or what it actually is?
 
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Again Raf shows us just how much he is the master of all things fett. This may seem a bit dumb but there isn't any documentation on what the cape is made of or what it actually is?

At some point there was a discussion about the probability of the use of Swiss army blankets which has a long stripe across the fabric, but the material looks too fluffy and the stripe is too thin:

swiss-army-style-warm-wool-blanket_9603_500.jpg Swiss Blankets.jpg

My guess is that this might be a custom made cape, well at least until we find (if ever) the original part used.

-----------------
Edit

Another lead was the Hudson's Bay blanket posted in 2003 by MaxPlague in this thread ==> FOUND:The real ESB cape... I believe

And this thread's question was already discussed in another thread ==> Seam in ESB cape? with the same results.

swiss-army-style-warm-wool-blanket_9603_500.jpg


Swiss Blankets.jpg
 
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Were there any new images in The Making o Empire book? If the stripe is on both sides with no stitches visible, I would think it was woven in. I think it would be tough to dye in stripe.

UPDATE A wool blanket would be too thick to have those double folded hems IMO.

Also, the holes don't appear as frayed as many of the fan capes I' have seen.
 
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Yeh its nothing heavy looking at it it seems like a simlar canvas type material like the Shelter.
 
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I did this template of the ESB Cape using my own measurements of the armor and the jetpack as a guide, and I also searched the net for some colors that look close to colors of the ESB Stills and Screencaps in the Gallery:

ESB Cape Template.jpg ESB Cape Weathered.png

Here are other colors that are pretty close:

Stripe Main Color
-------------------------------------
Walnut Brown Sepia Brown
Medium Brown Taupe

But these colors might not be the same before dyeing, so this is mostly a color guide for the final result.

Have fun!

ESB Cape Template.jpg


ESB Cape Weathered.png
 
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Raf,

That's great...... you are a continued source of great info and personally help me to make mine better all the time.....
 
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25" long is very short my capes are 36" long. Mine are 30" wide.

You were partially right about the length. I did another measurement and I was 'rewarded' with an extra 130 mm, so I got a total 780 mm (30.71 inch) long cape, which means that the cape had a square shape (at least according to my measurements).
 
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The Cape Template image at post #14 was replaced with a more accurate version which now has the physical weathering too. I also added a hi-res PNG image for a finer look.
 
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i'm of the opinion that the cape was the old military style wool blanket.

ESBcape_zpsf1935899.jpg


maybe even one of the red stripe, red cross ones that was left out in the sun too long or something. sun bleach can do some crazy color changes..
 
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