Step 1:

There are many excellent tutorials online for making an impressive Jawa costume. The goal of this costume was to create something accurate and simplify many of the build aspects. Let’s get started!

Step 2:

The robe is made from Monk’s cloth, a cotton-based weave that drapes and folds easily. I found this difficult to source locally and had to resort to online means. You can purchase natural fabric in order to mix and dye your own shade, or ready-made brown. I looked into both and after hot dying my own brown, decided the darker shade that was ready-made would be used. About 4 yards of fabric for a child under 10-years old was about the right amount. Make sure to sew the edges and pre-wash.

Step 3:

The fabric for the robe is best folded at the shoulders and trimmed to shape with droopy sleeves and small hole cut out for the head. Once turned in-side out, you have a great Jawa robe to build upon.

Step 4:

This is quickly sewed on both sides. Once turned in-side out, you have a great Jawa robe to build upon.

Step 5:

The face mask was created from a cardboard mask cut off under the nose. This helps for easier breathing and cooling.

Step 6:

The glowing eyes were made from 25 cent plastic toy containers from the grocery store vending machine. In order to enhance the lighting effect, the clear plastic bulbs were sanded down on the inside to frost them and then the inside cape was lined with aluminum flashing tape to reflect the light. Without these modifications, your LEDs will look like pin lights and not have the expected soft glow.

Step 7:

The mask was attached to a child’s black baseball hat ($2.99 from Hobby Lobby) with the bill cut off.

The mask was attached with zip ties and the 9-volt battery was attached to the back of the cap. I taped the wires down on the mask and ran them through holes in the cap so they didn’t get accidently tugged on and pulled apart.

Step 8:

The black face cloth was two layers of sheer see-through material from the fabric store. Two layers were sown on with the inner most layer having holes cut out for the LED eyes and the costume wearer’s eyes to show. This way the rest of the face is completely blacked out with two layers while the eyes look through a single layer.

Step 9:

The hood and mask take more time, but with a bit of patience can turn out very well with minimal effort. The hood is folded like the robe so as to hide any seams from the top. Inexpensive black cloth is used to line the hood and sewed into place as well.

Step 10:

In order to keep the brim of the hood stiff, a plastic sheet from the bottom of a reusable grocery bag was trimmed and slipped in between the hood and liner to help the hood keep it’s shape. A piece of Velcro is stitched on at the neck to keep the hood together.

Step 11:

Additional accessories include leather belts, ammo pouches, and black stretch gloves.