Unfated
Sr Member
Re: Budget Han Solo ESB from an Unexpected Source
I ordered a large, but I wont know if it fits till It comes in.
I ordered a large, but I wont know if it fits till It comes in.
Budget Han Solo ESB from an Unexpected Source (DONE, now holster mods)
- Thread starter monsterpartyhat
- Start date
monsterpartyhat
Sr Member
Re: Budget Han Solo ESB from an Unexpected Source
My guess is that the L is going to be too small for you. I'm 5'10" and wear a L, generally, and the L was nearly just right for me, although I could have worn either - Asos' sizing seems to have smaller jumps between the sizes than typical US S/M/L sizing (as evidenced by the fact that they run from XXS to XXL). In suit sizing, I'd say the L is a 42R and the XL is a 44R.
Although...I think even after removing the waistband the jacket about 1" longer than would be perfect, so in that respect a size down might be good -- *if* the shoulders and sleeves fit. There's no spare cloth in the seam for lengthening the sleeves, and I'd actually prefer if mine were about 1/4" to 3/8" longer (I generally wear a 34-35 sleeve length shirt, if that helps).
Returns are free, so there's not much to lose trying.
My guess is that the L is going to be too small for you. I'm 5'10" and wear a L, generally, and the L was nearly just right for me, although I could have worn either - Asos' sizing seems to have smaller jumps between the sizes than typical US S/M/L sizing (as evidenced by the fact that they run from XXS to XXL). In suit sizing, I'd say the L is a 42R and the XL is a 44R.
Although...I think even after removing the waistband the jacket about 1" longer than would be perfect, so in that respect a size down might be good -- *if* the shoulders and sleeves fit. There's no spare cloth in the seam for lengthening the sleeves, and I'd actually prefer if mine were about 1/4" to 3/8" longer (I generally wear a 34-35 sleeve length shirt, if that helps).
Returns are free, so there's not much to lose trying.
monsterpartyhat
Sr Member
Re: Budget Han Solo ESB from an Unexpected Source
Given that Han's jacket is actually quite short (basically, it should just cover the pants belt, staying entirely above the gunbelt), it's possible that the length would end up just right - there's usually about a 1" difference between a regular and long size.
Given that Han's jacket is actually quite short (basically, it should just cover the pants belt, staying entirely above the gunbelt), it's possible that the length would end up just right - there's usually about a 1" difference between a regular and long size.
monsterpartyhat
Sr Member
Re: Budget Han Solo ESB from an Unexpected Source
I might in six months
I might in six months
monsterpartyhat
Sr Member
Re: Budget Han Solo ESB from an Unexpected Source
Budget Solo, Episode II: The Shirt Awakens
Got started on the cheap-o shirt conversion last night, following RowBoatCop's pillow-case method (although I'll be sewing mine). Start with one thrift store white dress shirt, and a pair of white pillowcases from Target. Total cost - $19. First step - bye bye buttons.
next up, folding over the collar and sewing it in place to form the pseudo-nehru collar. A formal dress shirt like this one is actually not ideal for this part, as the collar is already heavily interfaced, and has a lot of detail stitching. So, the resulting standup collar is quite stiff. The extra stitching isn't very visible under the jacket collar, however.
Then I laid down the layers - each pillowcase folded in half and ironed, sandwiching the shirt itself. Pinned both of them to test it out. I eyeballed the alignment for this step, and got it slightly off - doesn't really matter, as it's just a mockup test at this point - it'll be unpinned and done for real this week.
And a look under the jacket.
My main observation about this technique as-is is that the front of the shirt will end up relatively thick and heavy (although beautifully opaque). Each side of the double-breasted front is 4 layers of pillowcase fabric + the shirt itself, for ten layers of fabric on your front. What I'm going to do is trim away a layer of the pillowcases (leaving the folded-over tops for a clean edge), and trim back the underlying shirt as well, so it will only be four layers of fabric for the overlap.
Budget Solo, Episode II: The Shirt Awakens
Got started on the cheap-o shirt conversion last night, following RowBoatCop's pillow-case method (although I'll be sewing mine). Start with one thrift store white dress shirt, and a pair of white pillowcases from Target. Total cost - $19. First step - bye bye buttons.
next up, folding over the collar and sewing it in place to form the pseudo-nehru collar. A formal dress shirt like this one is actually not ideal for this part, as the collar is already heavily interfaced, and has a lot of detail stitching. So, the resulting standup collar is quite stiff. The extra stitching isn't very visible under the jacket collar, however.
Then I laid down the layers - each pillowcase folded in half and ironed, sandwiching the shirt itself. Pinned both of them to test it out. I eyeballed the alignment for this step, and got it slightly off - doesn't really matter, as it's just a mockup test at this point - it'll be unpinned and done for real this week.
And a look under the jacket.
My main observation about this technique as-is is that the front of the shirt will end up relatively thick and heavy (although beautifully opaque). Each side of the double-breasted front is 4 layers of pillowcase fabric + the shirt itself, for ten layers of fabric on your front. What I'm going to do is trim away a layer of the pillowcases (leaving the folded-over tops for a clean edge), and trim back the underlying shirt as well, so it will only be four layers of fabric for the overlap.
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monsterpartyhat
Sr Member
Re: Budget Han Solo ESB from an Unexpected Source
The shirt is pretty much done, with a few possible things I might do yet to improve the collar further. I didn't take very many pictures of the final sewing stages - I took a few, but it's all white thread on white fabric on a white background, so there's not much distinct to see. That said, there will be more photos of the shirt & its construction when I have time for a longer update.
I also did a test fit of everything and determined that the jacket is really still too long, by about 1 1/2" - it's covering the gunbelt. Folding it back exactly at the base of the pockets puts it at just about the right point. It will end up with a slightly less distinct waistband, but that's OK - the hem will give a visual impression of a waist band, especially if I use heavier thread, and the overall length is much more important.
This evening I took a break from the sewing to rough up my accessories a bit. I snagged the Anovos droid caller in their 1-day sale 2 weekends ago. It's nice, but it's way too clean. The black is anodized, not painted, so I can't chip it away like the wear on the real thing. I gave it some quick wear with some wet-sanding, but I might go as far as sanding off most of the finish, then painting it black and chipping that away. We'll see. At least it doesn't look brand new anymore. The silver also needs some dirty washes, of course.
Likewise, the brass scope rings and knob my blaster are similarly spotless and shiny new. Using what I've got on hand, I painted them black with a paint marker, and will take some fine sandpaper to that after the paint has dried thoroughly.
EDIT: I posted the final brass knob pics in the Armorerworks DL-44 thread.
The shirt is pretty much done, with a few possible things I might do yet to improve the collar further. I didn't take very many pictures of the final sewing stages - I took a few, but it's all white thread on white fabric on a white background, so there's not much distinct to see
. That said, there will be more photos of the shirt & its construction when I have time for a longer update. I also did a test fit of everything and determined that the jacket is really still too long, by about 1 1/2" - it's covering the gunbelt. Folding it back exactly at the base of the pockets puts it at just about the right point. It will end up with a slightly less distinct waistband, but that's OK - the hem will give a visual impression of a waist band, especially if I use heavier thread, and the overall length is much more important.
This evening I took a break from the sewing to rough up my accessories a bit. I snagged the Anovos droid caller in their 1-day sale 2 weekends ago. It's nice, but it's way too clean. The black is anodized, not painted, so I can't chip it away like the wear on the real thing. I gave it some quick wear with some wet-sanding, but I might go as far as sanding off most of the finish, then painting it black and chipping that away. We'll see. At least it doesn't look brand new anymore. The silver also needs some dirty washes, of course.
Likewise, the brass scope rings and knob my blaster are similarly spotless and shiny new. Using what I've got on hand, I painted them black with a paint marker, and will take some fine sandpaper to that after the paint has dried thoroughly.
EDIT: I posted the final brass knob pics in the Armorerworks DL-44 thread.
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monsterpartyhat
Sr Member
Re: Budget Han Solo ESB from an Unexpected Source
Episode III: Final Assembly, and The Collar Strikes Back
Prelude - preparing the double sided front. I trimmed away one layer of each pillow, cutting an inset in one side so that I wouldn't need to re-form the edges. Then align, press, and measure the width so I can align it correctly on the shirt front.
Each 1/2 pillowcase width is 10", so I want to align it with 5" to either side of the center of the button placket (not the edge - the center of the placket is the center of the shirt, since the placket on each side overlaps each other).
I didn't really take any photos of the rest of attaching the front pieces - it's pretty self-explanatory, and the photos were just a jumble of white fabric that you can't tell heads or tail from. Align, pin, sew.
The Collar Strikes Back
I got that pretty much done yesterday. Today, while fiddling around with figuring out exactly how much to leave each side of the double-breasted front open (it seems to vary from scene to scene in ESB), the collar started to bug me, to the point I couldn't ignore it anymore. The stiff, formal collar, folded over, was just too, well....formal looking for a scruffy looking, nerf-herding scoundrel. Maybe for the Bespin Tibanna Mining Association's annual Holiday Ball, but....
So, I ripped off the collar and collar stand entirely.
As luck would have it, the trimmed-off opening of one pillowcase works almost perfectly as a soft, casual collar for this shirt. I just had to shorten it by about 2" and it was exactly the right length. Flip inside out, sew along the top edge, then flip right-side out again and press.
Then it was quite simple to pin it back to the neck of the shirt and sew in place. Here it is pinned and ready to be sewn.
And the end result. This collar is much more satisfactory (and a lot more comfortable!). Now the shirt is really done, aside from shortening the body a bit so it doesn't bunch up in my trousers.
Episode III: Final Assembly, and The Collar Strikes Back
Prelude - preparing the double sided front. I trimmed away one layer of each pillow, cutting an inset in one side so that I wouldn't need to re-form the edges. Then align, press, and measure the width so I can align it correctly on the shirt front.
Each 1/2 pillowcase width is 10", so I want to align it with 5" to either side of the center of the button placket (not the edge - the center of the placket is the center of the shirt, since the placket on each side overlaps each other).
I didn't really take any photos of the rest of attaching the front pieces - it's pretty self-explanatory, and the photos were just a jumble of white fabric that you can't tell heads or tail from. Align, pin, sew.
The Collar Strikes Back
I got that pretty much done yesterday. Today, while fiddling around with figuring out exactly how much to leave each side of the double-breasted front open (it seems to vary from scene to scene in ESB), the collar started to bug me, to the point I couldn't ignore it anymore. The stiff, formal collar, folded over, was just too, well....formal looking for a scruffy looking, nerf-herding scoundrel. Maybe for the Bespin Tibanna Mining Association's annual Holiday Ball, but....
So, I ripped off the collar and collar stand entirely.
As luck would have it, the trimmed-off opening of one pillowcase works almost perfectly as a soft, casual collar for this shirt. I just had to shorten it by about 2" and it was exactly the right length. Flip inside out, sew along the top edge, then flip right-side out again and press.
Then it was quite simple to pin it back to the neck of the shirt and sew in place. Here it is pinned and ready to be sewn.
And the end result. This collar is much more satisfactory (and a lot more comfortable!). Now the shirt is really done, aside from shortening the body a bit so it doesn't bunch up in my trousers.
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Solos blaster
Sr Member
Re: Budget Han Solo ESB from an Unexpected Source
I'm weighing the options on a medium now....chest size and shoulders, I should be a large but I don't know....the jacket isn't supposed to close all the way anyways, a sizeable gap I think...and that price...I'm thinking a M at least to take a stab at it is worth it.
I'm bald also but no beard, well a few weeks out of the year I get to have one. I have been wondering about doing a bald solo or wig solo for FOREVER lol.
Wicked cool find!! I'm loving this, I wish I hand sewing skills like yourself. This is coming along great, right away I went to that link, no size XL for me
I'm weighing the options on a medium now....chest size and shoulders, I should be a large but I don't know....the jacket isn't supposed to close all the way anyways, a sizeable gap I think...and that price...I'm thinking a M at least to take a stab at it is worth it.
Heh - I'm bald and bearded, so same here
I'm bald also but no beard, well a few weeks out of the year I get to have one. I have been wondering about doing a bald solo or wig solo for FOREVER lol.
monsterpartyhat
Sr Member
Re: Budget Han Solo ESB from an Unexpected Source
Weird how my photos are broken today. I'll try to fix that tonight.
Weird how my photos are broken today. I'll try to fix that tonight.
monsterpartyhat
Sr Member
Re: Budget Han Solo ESB from an Unexpected Source
My second jacket (I ordered one of the olive green as well) arrived yesterday. It actually looks best with black pants - it's not quite dark enough to go with khakis. And with brown pants it looks like Han Solo: Park Ranger.
This one I'm going to completely disassemble to trace a pattern out of, then put back together.
My second jacket (I ordered one of the olive green as well) arrived yesterday. It actually looks best with black pants - it's not quite dark enough to go with khakis. And with brown pants it looks like Han Solo: Park Ranger
. This one I'm going to completely disassemble to trace a pattern out of, then put back together.
monsterpartyhat
Sr Member
Re: Budget Han Solo ESB from an Unexpected Source
Todd's/Magnoli boot arrived today - now I just need the blood stripes and I have the entire costume, minus sewing the stripes on.
The boots are TALL. Unbelievably, they fit my calves, and are close enough in the feet that I'll be able to wear them. I may need to put in lifts, though, to avoid chafing the backs of my knees! Or shorten the boots by about 2". Which I might do.
Todd's/Magnoli boot arrived today - now I just need the blood stripes and I have the entire costume, minus sewing the stripes on.
The boots are TALL. Unbelievably, they fit my calves, and are close enough in the feet that I'll be able to wear them. I may need to put in lifts, though, to avoid chafing the backs of my knees! Or shorten the boots by about 2". Which I might do.
RowBoatCop
Active Member
Re: Budget Han Solo ESB from an Unexpected Source
Awesome work on the shirt, it was a great call in the end replacing the collar. I also ended up putting lifts in my boots funnily enough, they were just a little too high but otherwise perfect, if lifts work it's definitely an easier fix than shortening the boots
Awesome work on the shirt, it was a great call in the end replacing the collar. I also ended up putting lifts in my boots funnily enough, they were just a little too high but otherwise perfect, if lifts work it's definitely an easier fix than shortening the boots
monsterpartyhat
Sr Member
Re: Budget Han Solo ESB from an Unexpected Source
My full ESB costume is nearly complete - hopefully I'll be able to get some completed photos this weekend. I also disassembled the green version of the ASOS jacket to trace a pattern out of, and it's nearly re-assembled. I worked on that while waiting for the last piece to arrive - the yellow bloodstripes, which I used my big Juki walking foot machine to attach (see below).
Since the green jacket doesn't work so well with the brown pants (Park Ranger Solo!), I ordered a black pair of trousers to convert, and I'm making my own bloodstripes for them. My first thought had been a nice burgundy, but I happen to have some orange binding tape that's almost a perfect match for X-Wing pilot orange, and I think would look really good. More on project that later.
My full ESB costume is nearly complete - hopefully I'll be able to get some completed photos this weekend. I also disassembled the green version of the ASOS jacket to trace a pattern out of, and it's nearly re-assembled. I worked on that while waiting for the last piece to arrive - the yellow bloodstripes, which I used my big Juki walking foot machine to attach (see below).
Since the green jacket doesn't work so well with the brown pants (Park Ranger Solo!), I ordered a black pair of trousers to convert, and I'm making my own bloodstripes for them. My first thought had been a nice burgundy, but I happen to have some orange binding tape that's almost a perfect match for X-Wing pilot orange, and I think would look really good. More on project that later.
monsterpartyhat
Sr Member
Re: Budget Han Solo ESB from an Unexpected Source
Patterning
While I was waiting for USPS to mis-deliver my stripes a couple of times before they finally got it right, here's what I was up to. I didn't get any pictures of the un-deconstructed jacket, so we're jumping right in with the collar removed. I took extensive photos of all the seams to help with reconstruction (although in the end I didn't need to refer to them).
The sleeve isn't a set-in sleeve (where the sleeve is constructed, and then sewn in as a tube into the completed shoulder opening) - instead, the sleeve is attached to the shoulder with the side seams open, and then the side seam and sleeve under seam are sewn in one pass. This is a time-saving move often used on less expensive shirts (i.e. most factory made shirts) and jackets.
Pressing the seam allowances flat, so I can trace it out.
Here's the two pieces of the sleeve, pressed and laid out on a roll of butcher paper. A sleeve curve is handy - the forearm part has a slight curving taper to it. The rest can be traced with a straightedge, except of course for the sleeve cap, which is done freehand - very slowly.
Adding in seam allowances - inset on the sleeve, because the tracing included the seam allowance, and offset on the collar, because I traced that fully constructed.
Then I had to open up the other side seam to lay the back piece flat. I didn't remove the second sleeve entirely - just traced half of the back, then folded it over to make a complete piece.
And here's the completed pattern, hanging on a pattern hook next to the almost-completed blue jacket. I didn't bother tracing a pattern for the pockets, since those are just rectangles that I can reconstruct from measurements. It'll undoubtedly be some time in November before I can sew up a muslin test, but I'm looking forward to it. And then making one in leather
Patterning
While I was waiting for USPS to mis-deliver my stripes a couple of times before they finally got it right, here's what I was up to. I didn't get any pictures of the un-deconstructed jacket, so we're jumping right in with the collar removed. I took extensive photos of all the seams to help with reconstruction (although in the end I didn't need to refer to them).
The sleeve isn't a set-in sleeve (where the sleeve is constructed, and then sewn in as a tube into the completed shoulder opening) - instead, the sleeve is attached to the shoulder with the side seams open, and then the side seam and sleeve under seam are sewn in one pass. This is a time-saving move often used on less expensive shirts (i.e. most factory made shirts) and jackets.
Pressing the seam allowances flat, so I can trace it out.
Here's the two pieces of the sleeve, pressed and laid out on a roll of butcher paper. A sleeve curve is handy - the forearm part has a slight curving taper to it. The rest can be traced with a straightedge, except of course for the sleeve cap, which is done freehand - very slowly.
Adding in seam allowances - inset on the sleeve, because the tracing included the seam allowance, and offset on the collar, because I traced that fully constructed.
Then I had to open up the other side seam to lay the back piece flat. I didn't remove the second sleeve entirely - just traced half of the back, then folded it over to make a complete piece.
And here's the completed pattern, hanging on a pattern hook next to the almost-completed blue jacket. I didn't bother tracing a pattern for the pockets, since those are just rectangles that I can reconstruct from measurements. It'll undoubtedly be some time in November before I can sew up a muslin test, but I'm looking forward to it. And then making one in leather
Fly4v
Sr Member
Re: Budget Han Solo ESB from an Unexpected Source
"The sleeve isn't a set-in sleeve (where the sleeve is constructed, and then sewn in as a tube into the completed shoulder opening) - instead, the sleeve is attached to the shoulder with the side seams open, and then the side seam and sleeve under seam are sewn in one pass."
Is one pass sleeve construction easier for those of use that really don't know how to sew and are using a simple home machine?
It is amazing that after you make a proper ESB you'll be making a leather assume it will be a TFA.
I hope the supplier restocks XL for those of use that are the bigger kids.
"The sleeve isn't a set-in sleeve (where the sleeve is constructed, and then sewn in as a tube into the completed shoulder opening) - instead, the sleeve is attached to the shoulder with the side seams open, and then the side seam and sleeve under seam are sewn in one pass."
Is one pass sleeve construction easier for those of use that really don't know how to sew and are using a simple home machine?
It is amazing that after you make a proper ESB you'll be making a leather assume it will be a TFA.
I hope the supplier restocks XL for those of use that are the bigger kids.
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