Darth Nihilus COTF Build

[Wendell]

What. it's 2022 and I haven't started a new costume build?  Well, it's time to fix that !

I've come to the realisation that I need what is essentially a soft parts costume for travel. Interstate troops, FNQ troops, Celebration next year. I've always liked Revan and Nihilus, so since Flashheart did a new Revan build last year, I'll add to the Nihilus roster. Darth Kitty it is.






So my build will be the Champions of the Force version... it has a little more flare in the outer garments.

I'll be making all the soft parts myself. It's all fairly straight forward. I'll list all vendors that I source components from and try to take enough pictures of my build to provide a working process of how I do the construction.

Vendors/Suppliers
1. Fabrics - black cotton linen (6m) and cotton broadcloth (2m) from Spotlight $75 - VIP discount and a voucher helped with keeping the linen price low
2. Undershirt - Under Armor shirt from Rebel Sport $27
3. Bamboo fiber batting to use as the quilting layer for the sleeves. This came from my own fabric stash, but proportional cost is $10


Fabric comparison
The entire costume is made from a single fabric type (natural weave fabric as per the CRL), except the sleeves. These are a natural weave fabric but must be smoother than the other pieces. I selected cotton linen for the main fabric as it is cool to wear in summer, and a cotton broadcloth for the sleeves. A comparison of the fabrics can be seen below.




Construction
1. Sleeves
The sleeves can be constructed separately and attached to an undergarment. For my costume I'm going to use the Under Armor shirt as the base and attached the sleeves and false "Under Shirt" to it. This will make the costume significantly cooler to wear in our tropical summers.

I began by making a simple sleeve pattern. 



I've made a few of these over the years so no issues encountered. Then I cut out the 3 layers per sleeve required (Bamboo batting sandwiched between 2 layers of broad cloth). I then sewed the vertical quilting lines, followed by a final trim to shape, then overlocked the edges.



After sewing the 2 long edges together which leaves the sleeves inside out, I then felled the seams flat (ironed the 2 seams edges open and flat, hand sewing them down onto the body of the sleeve).



By doing this step I end up with a flat seam that means the arm will bend easily without resistance from bulky fabric at the seam joins, and it is much more comfortable to wear. If I get really bored I'll sew bias tape over the top to reinforce the seam and make it look neat.... but who's going to see it except me right?

I'm now onto completing the sleeves by sewing on a bias binding edging tape. To keep the fabric appearance consistent, I'm making my own bias tape from the same cotton broadcloth, rather than purchasing commercial versions from Spotlight. This is how you do that with a bias tape maker of a suitable size:



Bias Tape prepared I now pin it to the sleeves (starting at the cuffs) and sew down, roll the edge over, and hand stitch it to the inside to finish the edge.



I'll post a progress update next week.

[MammaSith]

Two things -
1 - Awesome that you have a fabric stash, everyone should
2- I love that you are making your own Bias tape !

This will be an exciting build

[Wendell]

Thanks Kayle. Having a fabric stash is a thing in our house... 2 nerd hobbies that revolve around costume making. When we find fabric at the right price, we buy it. It may not always be used by us but someone we know always buys our "unwanted" fabric. I'm also lucky to have a partner who is very skilled in sewing and she has taught me a lot. Bias tape making for a start

[Wendell]

BUILD UPDATE:
2. Completing the OBI

For a quick Sunday project I decided to build the Obi (a padded band that goes around the waist and underneath the belt). As per the CRL, the Obi needs to be about 10cm wide and join at the rear.

All the fabric in this project (except the sleeves) is black cotton linen, so I cut a 23cm wide band which will allow a 1cm seam allowance on both sides, plus a 0.5 to 1cm allowance for the loss in the fold over on the top and bottom edges of the Obi.

To this I heat fixed a 18cm wide strip of Heat and Bond which will be used to fix the padding material so it doesn't twist over time.



The padding material is bamboo padding. It's quite thin so I cut a 20cm wide strip and heat bonded it to the cotton linen. Even though it was now bonded to the cotton linen there could be a tendency for it to potentially lift on the edges so I sewed it down along the outer edges of the bamboo padding. This sewing line will be hidden as the long seam of the Obi will be in the centre back. I then folded the Obi inside out and stitched the long seam together.



I now had a long tube, which when turned back out the right way would be an almost complete Obi. Before turning it out the right way, I hand sewed the 2 seam edges flat. This ensures that the seam is not bulky and there is no "pressure point' against my body whilst wearing the Obi. I then turned the Obi out to the right side.

Next I needed to sew 3 pairs of parallel lines along the length of the Obi, as shown in the CRL. These have the benefit of ensuring the Obi is structurally sound, doesn't have the internal padding rolling loose, and gives the Obi that 'padded look".



This is a fairly simple garment to make and took me about 3 hours (4 if you count coffee breaks and cat interruptions   ).

This week I'll continue with the sleeves and undershirt which is nearly complete.