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Costume Project Post-Mortem: Armorer

 For Halloween 2021, my costume was the Armorer from Disney Star Wars The Mandalorian. I did not intend for it to be a very intensive pattern-making project. Many things are made from patterns by someone else. I was going for close accuracy but not detailed accuracy. It was close to perfect except for the portion that I did not have a pattern for, the apron. The belt had some struggles. 

Some of the major take-aways:

  • Hot glue weakens against my hot body. LOL. 
  • Velcro isn't always the strongest or best way to close things up. 
  • Don't cut shaggy fur with scissors, use a craft knife
  • 3D printing is awesome

The Original Plan

My intention was not to make a 1 to 1 accurate remake of the show's costume. That was more work than I wanted to do. I did know that I was going to 3D Print a lot of this costume! So I purchased some STL files for the helmet, the chest piece, and the hammer. There were some free STL files for the belt doo-dads and the Grogu head. I also found pre-made patterns for the belt, gloves, and boot covers. 

The plan was to print what needed to be printed, sew the fabric bits according to the patterns and figure out the apron, shoulder pieces, and cape on my own. I was going to use real leather for some of these pieces. 

The prop plan was to have the hammer, some beskar plates, a Grogu doll, and the belt doo-dads. 

Everything else would be repurposed clothes! 

How the Plan Changed


The project started in November 2020, so I had a lot of time to work on this. Perhaps too much time. I started to become less and less interested in spending a lot of time on it. So although I bought bias tape, I never used it for the edge of the sleeves and gloves. I didn't use quilt batting on the gloves. I used leftover vinyl instead of the real leather. I wasn't going to make the backside of the chest armor or the apron. 

So now I have some suede I need to figure out what to do with. 

What went Right

Everything that needed 3D printing came out beautifully! I'm especially proud of the Helmet. The Grogu prop was ADORABLE! It looked so good and he was quite popular at the office. (I may just bring "the child" to work every day. XD) 

What Could have been Better

The Belt became a problem point. Even though I had a "pattern" for it, it was needlessly complicated. It had an obi knot cover in the back that just got covered by the cape and called for velcro closures. Granted, I used a thin velcro that did not have a lot of grip, but I think it's just the wrong material to use to close up the back. I think I would have preferred nylon webbing and some D-rings or clips so it would be more adjustable. Didn't help that I was bloaty. 

The apron I also started with glue but switched to sewing halfway through. The parts I sewed stayed together, the parts I glued lost their adhesion against my warm body. I ended up using duct tape which also would have been a great adhesion tool for the apron all around. On the plus side, I did add nylon webbing to tie it in the back. That helped keep the belt on most of the day. 

Overall

The costume served its purpose. I was recognizable and it looked really good...until the belt came apart during the photo shoot. 
My coworker is the Tuskan. I helped 3D print mask parts.
But it got good reviews...
I can't tell if this is real. I'm floored!

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