Project: modding the Naboo winter shirt

(My apologies for the unintentional hiatus, dear readers. Back-to-school is a hectic time, but as I get back into the swing of things, I am able to get back to work on projects and keeping up the blog.)

Between the cooler temperatures, low humidity, and new-fallen leaves (ideal for making debris shelters and leaf mattresses), it’s no surprise that autumn is the go-to season for most reenactors.
Even though the events that are most welcoming for a Star Wars ‘living historian’—sci-fi cons and the like—are traditionally held in air-conditioned hotels in summer, there is no reason why you should limit yourself to such controlled indoor events! I believe that if this particular hobby is to (one day ) be taken seriously by the larger Historic reenacting community, we should be as equipped as they are to deal with weather of all seasons, and not be afraid to get Out of the convention center!
With that said, I am painfully aware that my Rebel-on-Naboo impression is less-than-ideally prepared for a coldweather adventure. Since we know Naboo does apparently have multiple seasons (see Darth Plageuis p. 135, which describes the particularly hard winter of 66 BBY), I knew I wanted to have at least a garment or two designed with warmth in mind, and my last big Naboo-based project, while lovely, wasn’t quite enough for a serious coldweather adventure. Linen is fine for adding layers, but by itself or just paired with cotton it lacks serious heat-trapping ability.

Fortunately, I recently came across this shirt ($4) during a very productive thrift shop run , and thought that it had potential for GFFA use, with some modifications:
It is 100% raw silk, which (in the form of ‘shimmersilk’) is a material often referred to in upperclass Naboo fashion—see the SW Visual Dictionary and Darth Plageius—so I figure this nubby stuff is a bit more rustic and utilitarian. The nice thing about raw silk is that the nubby surface is very forgiving of removing old stitches. If it was smooth cotton it would be quite obvious where the pockets and previous hems had been.
Plus, the fact that I found this shirt at the end of summer means that for once I have something ready just in time for cool weather adventures—usually, I wind up making my fall/winter clothes only after the cool seasons have passed!

After sketching up what I thought I could make it into, I got to work. Here is a list of what all went into the final product:
-I first removed the fold-down collar, converting it to a Panaka-style Mandarin collar (reusing the pattern from my summer shirt). If I were to do this project over, I would reduce the height by about a half inch, and add interfacing to both layers (currently only interfaced on the inside).
-I next removed buttons, took apart the cuffs, and re-hemmed, gaining several inches in length. I added tiny snaps to keep the cuffs closed (without visible fasteners) when not rolled up-Next, I removed the pockets, took apart the lower hem (gaining significant length), sewed the side slits together, then re-hemmed.

-finally, I removed the buttons, reversing the front closure (from right-over-left “Women’s” style to left-over-right “Men’s” style), and adding Velcro to close:
While the shirt was perfectly adequate at this point, I knew that it needed something else…and Naboo cultural clothing has always remained fairly colorful. Considering the GCW period I didn’t want to overdo it, but felt that some color was necessary. I used ~1/3 packet of RIT ‘Slate Blue’ to achieve a shade close to Panaka’s tunic (which is also pretty similar to that of the Alderaanian Fleet Troopers in Episode IV).

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