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

kristen jones · May 15, 2017

jackwabbit said:
I actually lightly spray painted my wraps. Did it from a distance with tan or brown and grey - I honestly don't remember. I think it was a khaki tan paint and they very lightly done with grey. They were slightly off white and I just kind of dusted them to make them more tannish grey.

Another good technique to try is to water down some acrylics in dirty colours and spray them on with a spray bottle.

You'll have to build up layers of dirt rather than the basically one-time application of spray paint...but you get more control, and you can wash it out if you overdo it.

mbotastic · May 15, 2017

Thanks Kristin!

kristen jones said:
Unfortunately these are not the correct hardware for the belt satchel. These are reproductions of US webbing hardware, whereas a british M37 Signal Satchel was used for the belt pouch, and as such it's got British webbing hardware.

View attachment 728911

I have several of these straps in my surplus store, and would be glad to furnish them to others for accurizing their pouches. You can salvage the hardware off these straps. The only difficulty would be in drilling out the rivets which hold the strap tip on and fitting new ones.

Another option would be to just cut the end of the strap off with the tip on it and sew it to your satchel...but the straps that I have are green instead of Khaki, so you'd have to muck about trying to bleach out the colour first.

The tri glide buckle could just be cut off and sewn onto the appropriate place on your satchel.

Are these the right ones? They are from that same site.

mbotastic · May 15, 2017

Thanks again everyone! This is all really helpful and kind of you to share.

kristen jones said:
Another good technique to try is to water down some acrylics in dirty colours and spray them on with a spray bottle.

You'll have to build up layers of dirt rather than the basically one-time application of spray paint...but you get more control, and you can wash it out if you overdo it.

I used the spray bottle technique on my tabard and it worked well. But I put fabric medium in it so it would affix to the fabric more. But now that you mention it, leaving that out so I could wash out any mistakes makes a lot of sense. I'll do some tinkering tonight.

mbotastic · May 15, 2017

jackwabbit said:
Speaking of, this cracked me up and made me sympathize: "At this point fiddling with dye samples is like old times with this costume." Indeed!

Haha. Right?! I'm working on another costume for Arriety from the Borrowers and there is no dyeing and I'm always feeling like something is missing.

kristen jones · May 15, 2017

mbotastic said:
Thanks Kristin!

Are these the right ones? They are from that same site.

View attachment 728913

Yes! Those are the right ones

albuhay · May 16, 2017

mbotastic said:
I've wondered the same thing. I did find a place in the UK that sells them in packs of two. But they never emailed me back. But they are here: http://www.htc-reproductions.co.uk/RepairHardware.htm. If anyone has leads on other options I'd love to hear more! Or if people want to go in on a shared order I'd be into that too.

kristen jones said:
I have several of these straps in my surplus store, and would be glad to furnish them to others for accurizing their pouches. You can salvage the hardware off these straps. The only difficulty would be in drilling out the rivets which hold the strap tip on and fitting new ones.

I knew people here would have ideas! I'm in Europe so I will definitely try to get in touch with the UK seller and see if I can get my hands on some. If not I may take you up on that offer Kristen, although I'm not great with a drill so I'll keep my fingers crossed for the supplier to work out!

duckybegood · May 16, 2017

Omg mbotastic, that purse is coming out amazing!! I bought a generic military pouch from amazon and the heavy weave did a number on my machine. For future readers, I honestly think starting from scratch is the way to go-- there's just so many things that can go wrong altering a pouch, especially with the way the original's top flap extends down the right side of the pouch seamlessly.

I got the dyed part of my costume done, and after many attempts I figured out broomstick pleating! Later I want to do an illustrated write up because it's so easy to mess up. One tutorial I read had you twist the fabric until it wrapped around itself (the results weren't good,) another one had you twist the fabric around itself and then wrap *that* around a pole (identical results.) I finally used a method from a book called "manipulating fabric." Basically, you take your long strip of fabric, and using a long stitch you sew horizontal lines at about 10-15 inch intervals and gather those. You then take your gathered fabric and tie it to the top of a broomstick or, in my case, a PVC pipe. You then pull it down as taut as it will go, really trying to stretch the gathered fabric vertically. Tie it in the middle and bottom. Then you douse it in water (you might want to try stretching again here because the water's weight will have eased some of the tension.) Then you wrap the damn fabric with a breathable tape (the cheapest medical kind you can find will do) and you leave it to dry. I ran out of tape and used some muslin. I was really happy with the results! But it took so much trial and error and I could not find any kind of a visual guide, so I'm hoping to do one here in a bit. Apparently, if you spray starch on the fabric while its still wet but before you wrap it with tape it will really hold the pleat permanently.

I mention this too because it looks like the fabric we all ordered from that UK seller on ebay has run out. So if the only cotton viscose you can find doesn't have pleating, the broomstick method should help!

The pants took a while and even with the vinegar I got some bad freckling. Also I never want to dye fabric ever again. I just don't want to spam you guys with the barrage of images of failed dye attempts I had. I decided that, when the time comes, I will commission the padme lake gown. It's my dream dress, but if I try ombre dyeing, someone's getting hurt.

I used the McCalls pattern and I have to agree with people who are saying they tried reinventing the wheel with the pattern for their henley shirt. If you're like me and this is your first time making a henley shirt, you'd be better off stick to other patterns specifically for henley shirts.

A lot of us were worried that the crepe de chine looked transparent, but it really turns opaque during the dye process!

The broomstick pleating process. As you can see, the tabard was longer than the pipe so I had to fold it over the top and wrap it again. After leaving the tabards hanging vertically for a few days, I didn't notice any visible 'seam' from where the fabric was wrapped around the top of the pipe. I live in the dry Southern California region and left it out for about a week. According to "Manipulating Fabric," mildew shouldn't be a problem if you wrap it in a tape that is breathable.

Next I'm going for the belt because I am putting off the staff and goggles until I'm feeling more courageous.

I may have missed it, but to anyone else about to start on Rey's belt and cuffs, Atelier Heidi did this absolutely awesome belt tutorial!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jwYDs7yB7i0

And now for something completely silly. I give you the first (very inaccurate) take on the head scarf.

Redwillow · May 17, 2017

Your wrap and dress fabric look great!....nice pants too.

heads up on that belt vid though, that is not accurate for the way it connects at all. It has long ends on both pieces that fold back through rectangle rings at the rt hip side. The division 6 pattern will give you the accurate results. I knew something was off when she said 8-9 oz leather in her vid. You will need thinner leather ( 4-5 oz) so you can fold back and thread through the slots and around the rings. It has no snaps or any hardware on that tall side. To make it the accurate way you need a LONG piece of leather.

.....her cuff info is closer, but I still think it's off too, again the division 6 / Mithiril pattern is accurate for it.

Goldhawk · May 17, 2017

I have seen those vids before, and they are definitely not accurate. However, if you're really not sure about making the belt and cuff there are some that are very close to accurate for sale on etsy.

mbotastic · May 17, 2017

duckybegood said:
Omg mbotastic, that purse is coming out amazing!! I bought a generic military pouch from amazon and the heavy weave did a number on my machine. For future readers, I honestly think starting from scratch is the way to go-- there's just so many things that can go wrong altering a pouch, especially with the way the original's top flap extends down the right side of the pouch seamlessly.
/QUOTE]

Thanks! It was a challenge for my sewing machine too. But using a jeans/denim needle and a larger, heavier weight foot made all the difference.

Also, for those using compression sleeves with the arm wraps. I found these on Amazon after spotting them on a lady on the subway here in Boston. They looked comfortable and breathable, which I do not find compression sleeves to be. I noted the brand and looked them up. They are cooling sleeves from Korea. Pretty lightweight, stretchy but stay up and feel snug but not constricting. They also come in shades of grey/beige that look nice under the wraps.

And a quick question. Does anyone have a pattern or breakdown of Rey's large scavenger tote looking bag? Or a full pic of it? I don't have the resources to do the full scavenger build, but I thought making that bag would be cool and handy for Cons and such. But I can't find much info on it.

Thanks!

Goldhawk · May 17, 2017

Question on the shoulder pad. Exactly how large a square should you cut out to trim down? Also, which paints did people use? I have rust and brown acrylics, but do i need spray paint?

DidiUK · May 18, 2017

And a quick question. Does anyone have a pattern or breakdown of Rey's large scavenger tote looking bag? Or a full pic of it? I don't have the resources to do the full scavenger build, but I thought making that bag would be cool and handy for Cons and such. But I can't find much info on it.

Thanks![/QUOTE]

Hi, if you look at Kendra's posts on Pages 115 and 117 of this thread she shows how she made her large scavenger bag, I followed her instructions to make one for my daughter and it turned out really well. Hope this helps and thanks again to Kendra!

Redwillow · May 18, 2017

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.

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.

mbotastic · May 18, 2017

Thanks Redwillow and DidiUK. I looked up those bags on eBay and after seeing them it occurred to me that I have one. I got it years ago at an army/navy surplus store for a big canoe trip. Never used it since. So this seems a perfect reason to dig it out.

again, thanks everyone for your openness to sharing!

Redwillow · May 18, 2017

...here are some of it

kristen jones · May 18, 2017

If anyone else is interested in making one of these bags, we have loads of them here in the Army/Navy store i work in. They are like 3.00 apiece, and we have tons.

kristen jones · May 18, 2017

Redwillow said:
@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.
View attachment 729583

Indeed I did spray paint mine... but for my next one I'm going the acrylic route. It'll make it easier to get into all the nooks and crannies.

The scale Redwillow used is the same as i did. I also backed my rug with a layer of green canvas, and stitched around the perimeter about 1/2" in before I trimmed the edges of the rug. That way I could control the fraying a bit more, and it gives some structure to the pad.

Redwillow prolly did too.... we're both of us clever like that

Redwillow · May 18, 2017

yes, Kristen is correct, you will need to do both of those things. Without a back it's going to totally come apart when you cut into it.

duckybegood · May 24, 2017

Goldhawk said:
I have seen those vids before, and they are definitely not accurate. However, if you're really not sure about making the belt and cuff there are some that are very close to accurate for sale on etsy.

Redwillow said:
heads up on that belt vid though, that is not accurate for the way it connects at all. It has long ends on both pieces that fold back through rectangle rings at the rt hip side. The division 6 pattern will give you the accurate results. I knew something was off when she said 8-9 oz leather in her vid. You will need thinner leather ( 4-5 oz) so you can fold back and thread through the slots and around the rings. It has no snaps or any hardware on that tall side. To make it the accurate way you need a LONG piece of leather.

You guys are gods amongst men. I cannot, cannot thank you enough. If I had made that belt and it turned out to be innacurate, well-- things would have been thrown. My dry wall thanks you. You are a total lifesaver.

Unfortunately, I do think the leather I got is about 8-9oz. So... ~We're in for an adventure!~ Let's see if I can get it to fit!

So I didn't want to post until I had things to contribute, so here's a doozy.

One: Broomstick Pleats for total beginners.

NOTE: Broomstick pleating is not essential for Rey's costume. It does look like it's just a lightweight material gathered at the shoulders. I just really liked the way the broomstick pleating looked when someone used it earlier in the thread. Padme's Funeral Dress as well as the red underdress on her grey kimono dress from E1 and the golden handmaiden costumes from Scene 2 of E1 as well as the parade scene in E1, however, do appear to use broomstick pleating (also known as delphi pleating, not to be confused with Fortuny pleats which are more uniform.)

I searched up and down the internet for tutorials on broomstick pleating, and the only visual tutorials I could find had you either twist the fabric around the (broomstick) or twist the fabric onto itself into a rope and then nuking it in the microwave. I tried both methods, neither got the result I wanted. So finally I tried this method from the book "Manipulating Fabric" and it finally worked like a charm. However, I'd failed so many attempts, I completely forgot to take pictures of the process. Instead I used my non-existant drawing skills to put together a visual tutorial for broomstick/delphi pleating:

So, hopefully helpful!

(More to come in Post 2)

duckybegood · May 24, 2017

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

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:

(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:

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?

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

Master Member

Active Member

Active Member

Active Member

Master Member

New Member

New Member

Sr Member

Well-Known Member

Active Member

Well-Known Member

New Member

Sr Member

Active Member

Sr Member

Master Member

Master Member

Sr Member

New Member

New Member

Attachments

Similar threads