Magnoli Blue Fabric vs. The Real Stuff
Hi everyone. Rather than make my poor girlfriend post something for me like I did last time with this entry: Space Suit Doctor Costume Guide I figured I should give her a break and just do it myself.
I just received my Magnoli Blue Tennant fabric! While I saw the write-up on the brown material I haven't seen any for the blue yet. So what I wanted to share was how it matches up to the two swatches of the real blue suit fabric that we were given by ~you know who~ at last year's Gallifrey One convention.
First off, the texture and feel of the fabric is very close. The weight, thickness, and weave are as close to spot-on as you can get. The weave and stripe spacing on the replica fabric is also exactly the same as the swatches I was given too. As for why there are two swatches from the Blue Suit costume, I was told it's because the fabric used to make them came from two batches that were dyed separately. Subsequently one batch of the costumes was just a tad lighter than the other.
Below are the two fabrics after being placed on my scanner. You can click this link to see a larger resolution version of it to compare the thread count for yourselves if you like:
The next matter is the color. As you can see, the replica fabric is still a lot lighter than the actual costume swatches I was given. This however does have the potential to be quite a good thing! The reason being, it'll need to be dyed. As many most likely know, part of what makes the blue suit look the way it does on camera and in photos is due to a "glazed" effect on the fabric that reflects light and makes it look brighter blue than it really is. That glazed effect is achieved by dying the fabric as Steve Ricks chronicled in his blog here. On it's own, the Magnoli fabric is quite dull and has no reflectiveness to it whatsoever.
The Magnoli fabric as it is now, is certainly a lighter shade. One might even say it looks like a close approximation of what you would see on screen. So really I suppose your own decision of whither to dye your fabric or not will come down to deciding if you want the color to appear the way it does "on-screen" when you're in person walking around a con, or if you want it to be accurate to the physical costume. Which will, if you choose to go the later route, I think (based on my swatches) look a lot darker in person than it does on the show. But it will most likely appear appropriately brighter blue due to the "glaze" effect when people take photos of you.
I didn't purchase any of the Magnoli Brown fabric to compare with the Blue, but below is a look at the Magnoli Fabric with the Blue Suit swatches next to one of my pairs of GAP trousers for comparison:
Here's a final shot outdoors, no flash, in diffused light -aka- a cloudy day. Either way, the color difference between the two is clear.
Still, my personal opinion is that the Magnoli Blue Tennant fabric is currently hands-down the best material anyone is going to find short of making a discovery like Steve Ricks did. The only potential drawback in it being a lighter shade of blue and red color is for those who didn't want to go that extra step in dyeing. That however is a blessing in disguise for anyone looking to make this fabric totally accurate as dyeing it darker is not only essential to giving the fabric the proper shade of blue, but also the right glaze effect. Not so good for those who are squeamish about the easy perils of the dyeing process. With this fabric running $30 a yard you'll have to decide for yourself how much you may want to risk on a botched dye job. That said, anyone who wants the suit to look in person as bright blue as it appears on screen should have no problem using the fabric as is.
On a side-note- I don't know if anyone would be interested in this but in my hunt for brown GAP trousers I came across an American version of them in Grey. The reason I say they're a "version" of them is due to the fact that they are identical in every respect to the brown-with-blue-striped GAP pants. The thread count, the stripe spacing, the pockets, the make and style of them, etc. I doubt anyone's ever been eager to make a grey-toned version of the Tenth doctor's suit but they are an interesting find seeing how they are basically clones to the brown UK versions. I could make a post with more info on them if these off-beat GAP cousins would be any interest.
I just received my Magnoli Blue Tennant fabric! While I saw the write-up on the brown material I haven't seen any for the blue yet. So what I wanted to share was how it matches up to the two swatches of the real blue suit fabric that we were given by ~you know who~ at last year's Gallifrey One convention.
First off, the texture and feel of the fabric is very close. The weight, thickness, and weave are as close to spot-on as you can get. The weave and stripe spacing on the replica fabric is also exactly the same as the swatches I was given too. As for why there are two swatches from the Blue Suit costume, I was told it's because the fabric used to make them came from two batches that were dyed separately. Subsequently one batch of the costumes was just a tad lighter than the other.
Below are the two fabrics after being placed on my scanner. You can click this link to see a larger resolution version of it to compare the thread count for yourselves if you like:
The next matter is the color. As you can see, the replica fabric is still a lot lighter than the actual costume swatches I was given. This however does have the potential to be quite a good thing! The reason being, it'll need to be dyed. As many most likely know, part of what makes the blue suit look the way it does on camera and in photos is due to a "glazed" effect on the fabric that reflects light and makes it look brighter blue than it really is. That glazed effect is achieved by dying the fabric as Steve Ricks chronicled in his blog here. On it's own, the Magnoli fabric is quite dull and has no reflectiveness to it whatsoever.
The Magnoli fabric as it is now, is certainly a lighter shade. One might even say it looks like a close approximation of what you would see on screen. So really I suppose your own decision of whither to dye your fabric or not will come down to deciding if you want the color to appear the way it does "on-screen" when you're in person walking around a con, or if you want it to be accurate to the physical costume. Which will, if you choose to go the later route, I think (based on my swatches) look a lot darker in person than it does on the show. But it will most likely appear appropriately brighter blue due to the "glaze" effect when people take photos of you.
I didn't purchase any of the Magnoli Brown fabric to compare with the Blue, but below is a look at the Magnoli Fabric with the Blue Suit swatches next to one of my pairs of GAP trousers for comparison:
Here's a final shot outdoors, no flash, in diffused light -aka- a cloudy day. Either way, the color difference between the two is clear.
Still, my personal opinion is that the Magnoli Blue Tennant fabric is currently hands-down the best material anyone is going to find short of making a discovery like Steve Ricks did. The only potential drawback in it being a lighter shade of blue and red color is for those who didn't want to go that extra step in dyeing. That however is a blessing in disguise for anyone looking to make this fabric totally accurate as dyeing it darker is not only essential to giving the fabric the proper shade of blue, but also the right glaze effect. Not so good for those who are squeamish about the easy perils of the dyeing process. With this fabric running $30 a yard you'll have to decide for yourself how much you may want to risk on a botched dye job. That said, anyone who wants the suit to look in person as bright blue as it appears on screen should have no problem using the fabric as is.
On a side-note- I don't know if anyone would be interested in this but in my hunt for brown GAP trousers I came across an American version of them in Grey. The reason I say they're a "version" of them is due to the fact that they are identical in every respect to the brown-with-blue-striped GAP pants. The thread count, the stripe spacing, the pockets, the make and style of them, etc. I doubt anyone's ever been eager to make a grey-toned version of the Tenth doctor's suit but they are an interesting find seeing how they are basically clones to the brown UK versions. I could make a post with more info on them if these off-beat GAP cousins would be any interest.