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
Alright. That backpack is my white whale. There were so many parts of this costume I thought I could never do, now it's a matter of pride! And I so agree with the handsewing, doing the little bits on the belt were already so much fun.
Alright! Most of the accessories save for the backpack and shoulder pad are done!
Waiting for the compression sleeves to come in, then aging the staff and figuring out the leather/cloth wraps and the slings.
I got the goggle kit from GiveWaveStudios here:
https://www.etsy.com/listing/464188...&ga_search_query=Rey goggles&ref=sr_gallery_8 For painting it I used, well, my boyfriend's Warhammer paint. All in all, good for rust, not very good for metallics, I thought.
Overall I thought it was a fantastic kit, his tutorial was super easy to follow. Except I forgot the two stitches above the nose ridge. AHkhfsdjfdkf.
It was my first time working with PVA foam, I come from a time where the closest we could get to shaping foam was blasting thin craft foam with a hair dryer or sculpting insulation foam with a thanksgiving turkey saw. I *much* preferred this foam!
I highly recommend the kit, with one caveat: As I learned, leatherworking isn't as ominous as it sounds. And while the kit includes a nice felt face plate, I do think a nice, lightweight leather might look a lot better and more accurate.
I got a little, ah, over enthusiastic with the aging, so the goggles are currently sitting outside, getting blasted with some UV in the hopes it lightens a little.
Now for the staff: I got the 3D printed parts from Rawrbomb here
https://www.etsy.com/transaction/1275937892 They're primed, painted, and now I'm just waiting for them to dry to return to my growing love of beating the everliving daylights out of stubborn costume parts and calling it aging and weathering.
If anyone is still interested in making your own goggles, I put up a step by step pictorial tutorial (nice rhyme) of how i make my Rey Ban Genuine Jakku Eyewear in the Rey Cosplay Community Facebook group:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/1672721166338925/permalink/1944112629199776/
The pictures and instructions are in the comments section.
...And this is why you should check the RPF thread regularly. I just saw that
right after finishing my goggles.