While I'd hoped to take pictures of our Halloween costumes before we went out that night, it just didn't happen because we were working on them until the last possible moment and then we were running out the door and
into the madness of the evening.
So I'm sorry these are a little late, but I figure Star Wars costumes are appropriate for all occasions year round, no?
A couple months ago, I said to my boyfriend that it would be kind of fun to go as Return of the Jedi Leia for Halloween, then I went on vacation for two weeks and forgot about it. When I got back, he was making a Stormtrooper helmet. Oh crap, I said, I guess I must go through with this in a VERY limited amount of time...
We wanted to do things as cheaply as possible and our costumes are mostly made from paper, craft foam (the stuff that comes in sheets at the craft store) and wire. I'm happy to report that mine didn't fall apart (or off) and I wore it for approximately 12 hours. The most expensive things I bought were my fake braid (you'll notice I have two different ones, long story...) and the skirt fabric, which was about $10.
I've taken some closeup shots outlining how I made the bikini top, which is the hardest part, and I will explain the rest via finished photos as it uses similar techniques. If you have any questions or need more info, comment on the post and I'll do my best to help. I've bolded all materials used.
Gold Bikini TopI started by making a wire frame from this
craft wire from Michaels. I chose it because it's thick and can support stuff being built on top of it, but it's quite easy to bend with your hands. You'll still need
pliers to bend loops into place though.
I put on an
old bra and built the initial wire frame around it. The bikini top frame was made in four pieces. The neck is a U shaped piece with a loop at each end for the cord. Second is the outer edge piece. I held it up to myself in the mirror and shaped it roughly with my hands, then used pliers to make the bends at the sides. As the wire comes in a coil, it already wants to make a curved shape anyways, so doing this isn't too hard. The hardest part is the inner bra piece - again, shape roughly in the mirror and form curves with the pliers. Remember this piece has to curve outwards as well. Last, make the piece that fits underneath and around your back. It helps to have someone bend this into place for you.
At this point, tape all the pieces together with small pieces of
duct tape, which holds really well. Here's a shot of the inside of the assembled bikini so you can see how the parts all fit together.
Use some
scrap yarn, tie the frame on over your bra and bend it until it fits properly.
The white stuff you see over the frame is just
tissue paper, cut into about 3.5" strips and twisted into sturdy tubes.
Tape the first layer on and then use a
glue gun to attach subsequent layers until you get the shape you want. This method is super easy, allows for tons of detail and isn't messy like papier mache.
I then used this
thick acrylic medium I had lying around the house to fill in gaps and add some texture. I applied it with a
palette knife, but a
butter knife would work as well. This stuff is quite expensive, but you can substitute
white kids craft glue, you might have to do a few layers though.
After the frame was built up with paper and acrylic medium, I painted it with
gold paint. After I finished the bra, I found
gold tissue paper in the dollar store and used this for the rest of the costume to save a step.
I cut two circles of remnant
velvet from a fabric store which cost $3 and cut the straps off my old bra, keeping only the cups and the bit of fabric that attaches them at the middle. I glue gunned this fabric to the edges only of the bra cups, and then glued the velvet into the frame.
I wrapped the raw edges of the fabric around to the back and glued them in place. I found the middle section was still sticking out too far from the fabric as in the photo below, so I used a
tapestry needle and sewed a couple stitches right through the bra cups and over the wire frame, pulling it tight and knotting on the inside.
The strap is a thin
leather cord cut in two equal pieces. I tied it at the neck and glued on some
beads to cover the knot, then did the same on the other side. Cross the pieces at the back and thread the cord through the holes at the back. Tie another bead on each end so the ends don't come out when you put it on. Leia's actual bikini just crosses in the back (if you want to be authentic) but I found it stayed on best if I tied the pieces in a double bow at the middle of my back as well.
Gold Bikini BottomsThese actually give more coverage than you'd think, but are totally open at the sides. I figured out pretty quickly that I needed to hold it up when going up or down stairs!
Start by making a pattern for the front and back from newspaper and hold it up against yourself. To make it symmetrical, just draw one side and double the paper when you cut it out. The front should extend from your hip bone to just below the crotch (probably around 7 inches) and the back should cover you to the widest part of your backside (try 7.5" or so in length).
When you're happy with your pattern, cut the pieces out of craft foam. Make two fabric panels for the back and front and sew them directly to the craft foam before you decorate it.
The front and back are decorated the same as the bra, with rolled tissue paper, acrylic medium and gold paint. The "discs" are made from
lightweight paper clay which you can find at craft stores or dollar stores.
Front
Back
When you are finished the back and front, cut two pieces of heavy
florist wire several inches wider than the front and back. Make loops at the ends by twisting the wire around itself. Cut some pieces of
wide elastic, pull through the wire loops and sew the elastic to itself, forming a loop.
Glue the wire to the inside of the front and back pieces about 1" from the top edge, use A LOT of glue, and then glue another piece of craft foam to cover the wire. Make sure the elastic is exposed because you need to attach the sides to it. This structure means that if there is pressure on the costume from sitting down or whatever, the wire will take the stress and the foam won't rip.
The sides are made of wire loops decorated with tissue. One side should be completely closed with the wire wrapped through the front and back elastic loops and then around itself. The other side should act like a hook, with one side that can slip out of the elastic loop at the front so you can get it on and off.
I wore green underwear underneath it.
ArmbandThis will be really, really easy to do after finishing the bikini!!
HairclipsA little banged up after Halloween night, but you get the idea. Glue a bit of wire to the backs of the points so they bend. make one for each side. The thing in the middle is a small jello mold that cost $1
BraceletIt's basically a dome shape with one straight edge. Attach to a wire cuff, add more wire at the top to shape it. Add a couple beads.
CollarA 1.5" strip of craft foam, big enough to go around your neck and overlap. Add
velcro at the ends to close it. Then cut a 3/4" wide, shorter strip of foam, slide on some gold painted
plastic rings (craft store) and glue gun them to each other so they stand out from the collar. Glue this strip to the main collar. I took apart a
thrifted chain belt to make the chain.
I have to say that my man's Stormtrooper costume attracted WAY more attention than mine did, despite the fact that I was half naked. Everywhere we went, people asked to have their photos taken with him. As the night progressed, he lost a few bits and pieces of his costume at our friends house, so I can't take a head to toe shot of him until we get them back. If anyone is interested in this or more deets about how he made his costume, let me know!
I will tell you that he made his helmet by downloading this
small origami template, printing it, re-scanning as a jpg file and then we enlarged it in photoshop to fit his head.
Yoda came to hang out with us as well. Happy belated Halloween people! Phew. Next year I'm going as a ghost or something...
