Tomb Raider Classic Gun Belt/Holsters

[XenoMorpheus]

Hi guys!

I wanted to share how I made the classic holsters from Tomb Raider (for the Paris Games Week World Record attempt for most people dressed as Lara Croft in one place) as I know quite a few people struggle with this.


I used this picture as a reference for sizing as I intended to wear my actual Sola wet suit for the attempt.
Picture credit: http://tombraider.wikia.com/wiki/File:Lara_Croft_Wetsuit.jpg


I started by using a piece of scrap muslin to work out the length and thickness of the main belt on a dummy of my body.

I then measured out onto a piece of black pleather the length and width I needed, and cut it out.

I measured a margin of 1cm length ways on both sides and machine sewed along them to create a nice seam on the edges.

Using the largest side release buckle I had, I marked the center point on the belt and drew around the buckle giving myself plenty of space to fold over the pleather ready for stitching.

I cut slits to accommodate the buckle, then pinned and machined it into place.

Wrapping the belt around myself I marked where the opposite end of the buckle needed to go and repeated the process to finish the main belt.

 

[XenoMorpheus]

I wanted the side loops to be one continuous piece of pleather, so using a tape measure I worked out the length I would need. After measuring and cutting out a double width piece of pleather I folded it in half and machine sewed the seams length ways. This was so both sides of the belt would look like leather if anyone should look.

I pinned into place at the front and back to check the hang of it. As it hung quite far out at the top I pinned in some darts until I was happy with it, the machine sewed in the darts and along the seams.

I machine sewed the side belt on at the back first, then I folded the ends diagonally so the edges would sit straight along the edge of the main belt where the buckle was. to prevent the corners from curling out I inserted a thin piece of wire along this seam before machine sewing both ends on (I forgot to photograph this stage, sorry!)


To make the box holsters I began by drawing around the toy gun I wanted to use, the worked out all of the the different pieces I'd need to create a template. I pinned the large side piece to the side belt to check sizing, and using a tape measure worked out how much I needed to extend it by in order to be able to loop it over the side belt and create a way of attaching them together. Then using the template I cut all the pieces I''d need out of pleather.

 

[XenoMorpheus]

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I hemmed the largest piece then looped it around the side piece and marked where the two pieces met. then I stitched on some velcro so I'd be able to attach the holster while still being able to easily remove it.
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Next I hemmed the top of the other side piece and attached the two thin front and back pieces and finished by hemming all along the bottom. this left me with a nice template as shown in the last picture.