Rey - Star Wars: The Force Awakens Build (open for everyone!)

[Redwillow]

I agree that belt layout could have a little more taper on the thin part before your rings. Also the lower foldback end looks too short to me, like you need to extend it so you have plenty to feed through the slots. Be careful though about your heavier weight leather. I suggest just cutting a small piece of it off to test if you can. Try to cut some slots in it to see if you can fold it back and feed it through ok, before you cut into the entire piece. There are more pics for making the belt on the GF's blog at
https://emeraldb.com/2016/06/14/star-wars-rey-costume-part-5-reys-belt/

for your backpack, i'd be inclined to scrap the purse. With the accuracy level you seem to be going for, i dont think you will be satisfied with one made from it. Problem is the leather is not the right type (too soft) and the shape is off on it.

Kristen came up with the idea of using the messenger bag cut down, and that's how i did mine, it also has 2 small slots on the corner where a connector was removed, but after i re dyed it they are not really noticable, they are under the dark spot at the bottom right. Goldhawk has a post going about doing one from the pattern you could follow. But either way it is going to be ALOT of work, the backpack is the most difficult piece of this costume imo. This is my messenger bag one, and i still think Kristen had a great idea.


I might try that pleat method.

 

[Goldhawk]

Next! For the shoulder pads I ordered a Chindi Rug from Amazon. It arrived today and because of the way the weave pokes out, I do not think it would work at all for Rey's shoulder pad. I am not sure if this is the same one from the ebay VHC rug, but I can at least say the Chindi Rug from here does not seem to work https://www.amazon.com/VHC-Brands-B...d=1495682023&sr=8-3&keywords=chindi+rug+beige

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From all the exhibit pictures, the weave needs to be straight and horizontal, not short and vertical.

Any cheaper alternatives than the kohl's that can be recommended?

For aging the purse, I have had excellent luck with the Marvy Warm Grey Fabric Marker:

View attachment 731183
(Still incomplete, but I wanted to show the contrast between the purse as is and after using the marker. I found getting a damp sponge and blurring the marker edges also helps!)

Now for what's not working:

So! Using the awesome belt pattern from Division 6, I made a mock up on craft foam. I had to make adjustments so it would match my colossal Brasilian butt, and the hinges used here aren't canon-accurate, still waiting on the more accurate square hinges to come in through the mail. Before I begin tearing into the leather, what improvements can be made? I feel like I went significantly wrong where the belt tapers into the hinges:

View attachment 731191View attachment 731185View attachment 731186View attachment 731187

Finally, I saw that disney had put out a pretty good looking Rey backpack. The additions seemed to all be intact (I removed the bottom ones for the water cannister as they needed a few adjustments, but they are there) except that it came with two insignias: one leather insignia on the top left of the upper flap, and one metal insignia on the bottom right corner.

I have to say, the leather survived aging-by-sunlight pretty well. Three weeks in the sunlight and all that happened is it got covered in polen. If I'm able to save it, I'll try coconut oil.

The top left leather insignia came out without a hitch using a seam ripper. But here is the problem: When I removed the metal insignia in the bottom right, it left four holes. I tried cutting out holes of the exact same size in similar coloured leather, gluing them to interfacing then gluing the interface to the inside of the purse, hoping to then use darker brown to cover the seams and make it look like a stain-- but as you can see, super glue and contact cement did not take.

Any suggestions? Should I maybe try to remove the front pannel as a whole, making my own front panel and then sewing it on? Will a regular sewing machine work on leather or should I try sewing it by hand? Or should I scrap the purse as a whole and try making one myself? Again, I've never sewn leather before so would a regular sewing machine be okay?

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That looks like the rug I ordered and didn't like. I ended up buying a rug online from Kohls (I posted the link earlier on the previous page). The kohls rug is way more accurate for what you want and it's the closest I've been able to find. You want the size 20x40 (it's in inches!). I got sage green.
The kohls is 10 bucks right now, seriously, you can get a small rug without paying a ridiculous amount! Search Park B. Smith chindi rug. I'm not sure how it didn't show up right for kristen, but I know that every time I've gone to the kohls website it's been there. Confusion......

 

[Goldhawk]

I do agree with Redwillow about the backpack. Either the messenger bag or from scratch would work and you will get better accuracy. I bought a 4-5 ounce half hide and I had enough for both my backpack and my belt.

 

[kristen jones]

I'm not sure how it didn't show up right for kristen, but I know that every time I've gone to the kohls website it's been there. Confusion......

Because I was an idiot

I went back and found it in the "gold" and bought it.

I'm working on a new shoulder pad for my next backpack now

 

[Goldhawk]

@Goldhawk the batch i just did are around 7 1/2 x 9. If you cut about an inch larger all around you should be ok. I used watered down acrylics and soaked them. I think Kristen sprayed hers.
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@mbotastic there is not alot of info on that piece. It is shown in the visual dictonary though, and it was on at least one display costume. I have pics of it at the office i can post later, but most are only cut off views of it. The discussion last year led to using a green wet weather / laundry military surplus rubberized bag to make it from and that is what i used. Same as Kendra. They are available on ebay cheap. I put 1" black bias tape over it for the strapping, and i used thin wall pvc for the pipes. It is not solid black, it is sort of greenish with black and some gray weathering. It has black leather on the lower corners. This is the one i did, there is no pattern, but i will prob eventually do a write up on it.

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Could someone post the link to the bag please?
Also, what kind of mesh was used?

 

[Redwillow]

it's these
http://www.ebay.com/itm/2-US-MILITA...802430?hash=item58e8f9babe:g:OjsAAOSwT6pV2haU

I used an army helmet net, Kendra suggested, but I found some black mesh at Joann's that I think I might replace it with.

 

[Goldhawk]

Progress with the kohls rug!

 

[Goldhawk]

Would someone mind posting a picture of the back of their finished shoulder pad? I'm still not certain how the strap on the underside attaches to the backpack strap and is hidden underneath?

 

[Redwillow]

suggest using a rivet on it.

 

[ichnob]

Just a heads up, for anyone who's a member of Rebel Legion or 501st, check your respective forums for an additional discount on Rey boots from Po Zu.

 

[Goldhawk]

Just one more shoulder pad question! Are there one tri-glide or two on the shoulder pad? Some of the display pics make it look like there are two, but I can't get a screenshot that actually shows the shoulder pad well. Does anyone happen to know exactly how many there are?

 

[kristen jones]

there are two

 

[Jdsfire]

Thank you to everyone for all the valuable information! I'm just starting my Rey journey.

I've been looking at fabrics and ordered the white cotton/hemp jersey from Dharma along with many colors of dye.

It looks like the ebay seller has discontinued the crinkle viscose. I found another seller on ebay that has it in colors, but the tan shade is also sold out. I stumbled on this one from fabric.com. I've ordered a yard to see if it might work.
https://www.fabric.com/buy/0452871/rayon-crinkle-gauze-white

 

[mbotastic]

I used this same fabric from fabric.com and it turned out great. After you pre-wash it it comes out stiff but after dyeing it, rinsing and drying it turns out soft and with a good drape. Plus it keeps the wrinkle pleats well. Good luck!

Thank you to everyone for all the valuable information! I'm just starting my Rey journey.

I've been looking at fabrics and ordered the white cotton/hemp jersey from Dharma along with many colors of dye.

It looks like the ebay seller has discontinued the crinkle viscose. I found another seller on ebay that has it in colors, but the tan shade is also sold out. I stumbled on this one from fabric.com. I've ordered a yard to see if it might work.
https://www.fabric.com/buy/0452871/rayon-crinkle-gauze-white

 

[Goldhawk]

That's too bad that the viscose is no longer there, but I'm glad there's something that works just as well! Good luck.

 

[duckybegood]

Redwillow, you and your lady are awesome. Went to Tandy's, got the 4oz leather, and followed the tutorial on emeraldb and not only is the result coming out great, the process is so much fun. Making the belt without any hardware really helps you get into the mind of the character, you know? Having limited access to notions and seeing the belt come into shape with only a cutting blade and an awl is so freaking cool. After this pic I used an awl to cut the eight dots for the x-es then I conditioned the back with Tandys Burnishing Agent and now it's drying outside.



Questions for the thread: Arm Wrappy edition.


(Airbrushed using Dye-Na-Flow fabric paint in Pewter and Ecru mixed together. Dye Na Flow has so far worked wonders with an airbrush, no need to water it down or anything!)

To those of you who sewed the bandages onto compression sleeves, how did you go about it? I'm having a hard time wrapping my head around it. So you put on your compression sleeve, you wrap your banadages around the sleeve, then... Do you pin the two together in two rows under your arm then cut between the two rows of pins and sew the bandages to the sleeves then close the sleeves back up again?

Question Two: The Backpack of Doom

Alright. So the belt and the wrist brace are helping me overcome my fear of leatherwork. But the backpack is another monster.

To those of you who made the backpack from scratch, did you use a sewing machine to sew it together? If you sewed it by hand, how did you get the needle through the leather? Any recommendations?

 

[kristen jones]

To those of you who made the backpack from scratch, did you use a sewing machine to sew it together? If you sewed it by hand, how did you get the needle through the leather? Any recommendations?

Yes and yes.

I stitched most of my V4.0 pack with the machine. The only bits I had trouble with were the rounded bottom corners on the backside because they are very near the shoulder strap attachment points and so wouldn't feed into the machine very well. Also I'd placed my side bottle strap a bit high initially, and since I had to open up a side seam to fix that I decided just to hand stitch that portion back together. This gives my pack a bit of hand-repaired realism

For the hand stitched bits, go back to tandy and buy one of their hand stitching tools. It's a four pronged punch which punches four holes at a time (very small needle sized holes) use this to punch the holes in both pieces to be joined along the seam line and then use some waxed twine and hand stitching needles (also from Tandy) and stitch it up using the saddle stitch method (The Tandy employees can show you this simple stitch if you aren't familiar).

The first pic is my V3.0 pack, (scratch built, but ALL hand stitched) and the second is my new V4.0 (90% machine stitched.)





Hand Stitched using the method mentioned above. The leather was far too stiff for my liking, so I sold this and made the following...





Except for the bottom corners on the back and one small bit of the side seam on the right, this was stitched with my singer table top machine using a heavy leather needle, rolling foot and upholstery thread.

 

[Goldhawk]

Question Two: The Backpack of Doom

Alright. So the belt and the wrist brace are helping me overcome my fear of leatherwork. But the backpack is another monster.

To those of you who made the backpack from scratch, did you use a sewing machine to sew it together? If you sewed it by hand, how did you get the needle through the leather? Any recommendations?

I have handstitched all of mine using tiger thread, leather needles, a sewing awl, and a compass.
The compass I set to 1/4 inch and used it to mark my sewing line. I then used a leather sewing wheel to mark the stitches and the awl to punch through the leather. I also watched several videos on handsewing leather. I simply don't have the money to buy a leather sewing machine, and all of the handsewing tools were at hand as I have family members who work in leather.
Plus, I just like handsewing! It's very scavenger-y for me
If you want to see how my pack looks I have a build thread for it on this forum.
http://www.therpf.com/showthread.php?t=267643

 

[ckwindsong]

Thanks for the glove photos - I just ordered the tan Petzl gloves to make more screen accurate ones. The first pair I got weren't quite the right material. Anyway, what do you use to make the correct color and weathering? Thanks!

 

[Goldhawk]

I colored mine with the eco flo bison brown dye from tandy leather.