Owen is obsessed with Star Wars.
Like OB-sessed, which is funny because he's only 4 and it's not like Casey is wearing droid costumes to Comic Con (I think).
But. Well.
It started when he caught us watching the Family Guy version of Star Wars and must have thought,
Oh Darth Vader is a cute little baby who speaks British. Then he saw C-3PO and Chewy, and well....it was over. He wanted to know everything. So now he's seen the older 3 movies, loves all the Lego star wars stuff, and pretty much turns anything he sees into a Star Wars moment. We see a red light of some sort? It's Darth Vader. There's an open field with a small hole in the middle? It's the Sarlac, etc. etc.
Lately he's been into the character Mace Windu, which is actually from the newer movies which he doesn't like as much and barely understands. I think what he really loves is that Mace has a purple light saber.
Ooooo.
So when it came time for Halloween costumes, all he wanted to be was
Mace Windu.
And....I caved.
No more ensemble costumes for the kiddos, for now at least.
So I give you, Mace Owen-du.
(too much?
yea. too much)
He's got the same sweet moves as Samuel L.
And he's added in a few of his own.
Seriously, seeing him put that costume on the first time was the cutest thing. He LOVED it. He was kind of giddy.
And when I brought out the purple light saber that he'd seen at Target
for months, it was Christmas morning. Those are the payoffs of making
costumes for kids, right? Knowing they are loving something you made,
especially for them. Win-win.
He took the sabering pretty seriously.
So. Need to make a Jedi costume?
Or
Lord of the The Rings getup? Or
Harry Potter robe? Dungeons and Dragons? (they're all kind of the same right?). Here's an easy solution, using some of the tutorials and patterns from my site:
PANTS: These were the easiest. You can make your own of course, using the
Kid Pants tutorial and pattern HERE (just taper the legs to make them "skinny"). But I bought a pair of cheap khakis from Target for $4 and sewed right down the sides of the legs to make them skinny. In the real Jedi photos, they're wearing leggings. But cream colored leggings on my boy? I thought pants were a better option.
MUSLIN VEST: The real characters have fancy long-sleeved kimono type things. I went with a vest because it's easy and it's hot here in Texas. So, I used the
Frontier Vest Pattern and made a few tweaks (I was sort of winging it as I went). I used a simple nubby muslin (about $3/yard from Hobby Lobby) and cut the front and back pieces into more of an "A" shape on the sides so it would overlap well in the front. I serged all the raw edges and ironed them under/sewed. If you don't have a serger, just fold the edges under and sew. It's just a costume. But when I was finished sewing the vest was too flat. So I took out the shoulder seams and cut a punch of strips of fabric, ironed the edges of the strips under, and sewed them randomly to the front of the vest. This made it look like the vest was folded and pleated on front. Totally worked. Then I sewed the shoulders seams back together.
ROBE: This is the piece that really completes the outfit. I used the
Beach Robe Pattern and decided to add a satin lining to make it extra special (the outside fabric is a faux-suede knit). I extended the length on all the pattern pieces, sewed both robes separately, then pinned/sewed them together around the outer seams and hood, leaving an opening at the bottom hem so I could turn the whole thing right-side out. (note: keep the sleeves out as well, don't sew those together till the very end). Then I turned it out, tucked the lining inside, ironed the bottom hem and sleeve hems under and sewed the openings closed. Done!
Oh and one final touch is that I added a small piece of looped elastic to the collar when sewing both robes together and placed a button on the other side to help the robe stay on (similar to
reversible hooded capes)
THE REST: All you need now is a pair of boots (ours are from Walmart, last winter, $10), a T-shirt, and a belt. I used scrap pieces of fabric from the robe and tied it like a sash around his waist.
And of course, don't forget the light saber. You can do the real thing or the Noodle method:
One Jedi master, in training.
May the force be with you.
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