Gloves
Like many of the other components, Fett's gloves alter their appearance with the
different versions of the costume.
1st-2nd Preproduction
The gloves on the 1st and 2nd Pre-production suits are
Brown and Tan.
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With the exception of the circle patches, color scheme and the bulkier construction, the early Pre-Production gloves
are the same basic pattern as the later versions of the gloves.
The Prepoduction Glove Patches
The patches used on the early ( 1, 2 and 3) Pre-production suits are authentic military patches.
On Fett's left hand is the US Army 7th division patch.
On his right hand is the Army ground forces, "Army forces command" (FORSCOM) patch.
Because the patches on Fett's hand are a brown color, it is quite possible that the Desert versions of each patch were used.
But, due to the color being very dark, it is likely that the more common Subdued version was dyed to a brown color.
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 The Subdued version of the Training and Doctrine Command patch can be used when creating the right hand glove. Although, it is not as accurate as the above FORSCOM patch, due to the reversed colors. |
The Subdued version of the patches should be inexpensive and
easy to find by checking with local military surplus stores.
The patches can also be ordered from online military surplus/ clothing stores, although they will be slightly more expensive.
The Desert versions may be tougher to find, through military surplus stores.
If you do decide to use the desert versions, they are available from:
The Supply Sergeant ( Army ground forces)
Ranger Joes ( Army ground forces)
The Battle Zone ( 7th Inf Div.)
Saunders Insignia ( 7th Inf Div.)
The gloves on The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi suits are
are Gray and White.
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3rd Preproduction Gloves
The Empire Strikes Back Gloves The ESB gloves are a very close color match to the jumpsuit.
 Empire Strikes Back publicity photo. This photo can be seen in the 'SW Action Figure Archive' Book. This pic also shows that the ESB gloves were a darker shade of color than those used in ROTJ.
Return of the Jedi Gloves
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Creating the Gloves
Although the different versions of the gloves vary in detail and color, the basic pattern and construction remain the same.
The first factor to consider is what to use as a base glove.
This seemingly daunting task is made easy by considering the fact that all versions of Fett's gloves have a button wrist closure.
This, along with the stitching around the base of the thumb, the seams around the fingers and the type of soft material used, are the
biggest indications on what to use as a base glove.
These factors indicate that the original glove was constructed from a pair of Men's formal dress or parade style gloves.
Formal dress/ Parade style gloves are nearly identical to the original glove.
On all versions of the glove a wrist cuff has been added using the same material as used on the hand and finger padding.
Here are a couple links to parade style dress gloves:
Note that most (If not all) currently available parade style dress gloves now use a snap, instead of the
older style button closure.
You may choose to replace the snap or button with Velcro.
Although Velcro is less accurate it will ease the process of opening and closing the gloves,
while the gloves are being worn.
Because these gloves take dye very quickly, buying more than one pair is a good suggestion.
The reason for this is if the gloves are dyed too dark it is hard to lighten them back to the proper color.
It may be less trouble to start again with a new pair, rather than trying to fix a pair that is too dark.
After finding a base glove and determining which version of the glove to create, construction can begin.
Preproduction 1 and 2
The Preproduction gloves appear to be made from the same style parade/ dress glove as the later versions.
First Pre-production glove.
The back of the hand and fingers are padded and are possibly made from a semi-reflective, nylon blend material.
At first glance it would appear that the material was added to an already brown colored glove.
Although, the dark stitching on the back of the hand, along with he extremely dark circle patches would indicate that the gloves were dyed after
construction of the glove was complete.
The resulting lighter sections ( Hand and fingers) are possibly a result of the nylon blended material having a greater resistance to the dye.
The cloth stitching, patches and base glove
would naturally absorb more of the colored dye.
At the very least, the overall brown tint to the entire glove suggests that the glove was placed briefly into a dye bath, after final assembly.
Second Pre-production glove
The second Pre-production glove appears to be much like its predecessor, retaining the same overall, brown tone.
There are however some differences from the earlier glove. The first is the hand and finger padding. The pads on this version of the glove appears to be
not as bulky. It also looks to made of a lighter weight, possibly cotton material. It is a lighter color, suggesting that the pads were not subjected to
as heavy of a dye treatment,as the base glove and patches. The lighter color and weight of the stitching is another indication that these are in fact a different pair of gloves then the earlier version.
The Empire Strikes Back
The third Preproduction glove underwent obvious drastic changes that carry over into The Empire Strikes back.
The Empire strikes Back
Construction of the Gloves
The first step is to dye the base glove.
Some recommended dyes are:
PrePro1- RIT dye ®, Dark Brown #25
PrePro2- RIT dye ®, Cocoa brown #20
ESB- RIT dye ®, Pearl Gray #39
ROTJ- RIT dye ®, Pearl Gray #39
If using the Parasuit® brand, Steel Blue jumpsuit from the JC Penny catalogue (As described in the Soft Parts section)
to create a PrePro #3, ESB or ROTJ gloves, it may be a little difficult to achieve the exact finished shade.
the steel blue color of the jumpsuit is a tough color to duplicate well.
It has been suggested that
RIT "Country Blue #45" dye, possibly mixed with a little Kelly Green #32 or Teal #4, appears to
be the closest match.
Although the PrePro #1 glove may have been dyed after construction, for recreation purposes it is best to dye the
base glove first, to achieve an accurate color.
If building the ESB version of the gloves, the finished color is a very close match to the jumpsuit.
Making the proper gray dye is probably the most difficult part in constructing the gloves.
No matter which version you decide to create, the primary thing to remember is to not use the whole package of dye, at once.
It will only take a few seconds and a very small amount of dye to archive the correct color.
The best method is to start with very small amount of dye ( Around 1/2 teaspoon to 1 gal of water).
Then steadily increase the amount of dye, until they are the desired color.
When the glove are removed from the dye the color should be just slightly darker than that of the desired result.
Once they are dry it is recommended that they be washed to remove the excess dye.
After they are dried and washed the gloves will be a slightly lighter color.
SEWING THE PADS
The Preproduction #1 pads appear to be made of a nylon blend material.
The Preproduction #2 through the ROTJ gloves use a cloth material for the padding.
The material looks to be a white or slightly off white, cotton/linen material.
Most likely a tackle twill.
It also appears to be the same as used on the vest and neck seal.
The vest looks to be nearly identical in color, to the glove padding.
The Neck, although a different shade of color, is also made from this same material.
Neck seal (Top) and Vest (Bottom) from the
US "Magic of the Myth"museum tour.
Hand padding material from the
US "Magic of the Myth"museum tour.
After choosing the material for the padding, the next step is to add this to the back of the hand and fingers.
To determine the size and shape of the hand padding, put on the glove and lay the white fabric on top.
Then, trace the proper shape onto the white material, to make a pattern.
When creating the pattern for the left hand, remember that the pad is roughly half the size of the right hand pad.
Creating the proper pattern for the left hand piece will require wearing the gauntlet to determine the exact needed size.
If this is not possible, the closest estimate will suffice.
All of the hand and finger sections are lightly padded.
The large piece, on the back of the hand is divided into five sections.
A good choice of material to pad the separate sections is "Headliner padding", found in most fabric stores.
1/4 inch foam batting is another good choice for padding.
When sewing the sections to the gloves be careful not to sew the two halves of the glove together.
One way this can be achieved is by first pulling the two halves of the glove apart, using a seam ripper.
Once the glove is apart, it should be an easy task to sew the separate sections into place with the use of a sewing machine.
The difficulty with pulling the gloves apart is having to close them up again, in their correct form.
Including a clean seam line and having a proper fit.
Although it requires a bit more work, hand stitching the sections to the glove may be a better option.
This appears to be what was originally done and allows the sections to be added, without altering the base glove.
First, use a few pins to attach the padding and patch sections to the correct areas of the glove.
To ease the difficulty of hand sewing the sections to the glove, take the glove that is going to have the patch sewn on and insert a wooden
finger sized dowel or a large marker into the finger. Doing this will fill the finger of the glove and help to keep the glove from being sewn together.
Now, place the patch onto the correct area and attach it by performing a simple loop stitch. around the entire patch.
Once the patches are in place, the large hand patch needs to be divided into five sections.
An easy way to create these sections is to use a ruler and lightly mark the lines with a pencil.
Finish by stitching a line, along the pencil marks.
In every version of the glove a straight wrist cuff has been added, with the same material as used to create the hand and finger patches.
If creating the Preproduction #1 or #2 gloves, now is the time to attach the pre-dyed military patches.
Due to the extreme dark color of the patches, it is reasonable to suggest that they were originally Olive Drab/ Subdue versions, dyed to a dark brown.
Weathering the gloves
The first step is to fade the gloves.
An excellent method for this is to leave them in the sun for a few days, up to two weeks.
Some suggest that placing the gloves in a clear plastic bag will not only protect the gloves from the elements, but will help to
speed the fading process.
Remember to flip the gloves over periodically, allowing them to fade evenly.
The next step is to weather the gloves.
The Pre-production gloves do not have a great amount of weathering.
The exception to this is the PrePro #1 gloves which appear to have had a lightly applied, final dye wash.
This is apparent with the overall brown tone of the entire glove and the dark stitching.
The ESB and ROTJ gloves do have a fair amount of dirt and weathering.
One method to achieve this is to use artist pastels.
Grays, browns and other earth tones work well for this.
Rub the pastels across some fine grit sand paper, to create a fine powder.
Gently pat this powder onto the material.
Some alternatives to using the pastels are a light dusting with some earth tone spray paints,
misting the gloves with a spray bottle filled with an an ink wash, or even real dirt.
A combination of fading and weathering should be the final touches to creating a great pair of replica gloves.
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