Costuming Rey from Star Wars: Belt & Accessories

Little girls and grown women alike were inspired by Rey in Star Wars: The Force Awakens. So naturally, we want to build/buy/wear the costume(s), right? You may find the scavenger outfit all over the place, but my friend Aimee Miller wanted to wear the outfit Rey has on at the very end of the film, known & referred to by the Rey Costume community & Rebel Legion as Resistance Rey. We will most likely see this outfit at the beginning of The Last Jedi, just looking at the movie previews/photoshoots. Aimee and I worked on this project together and wanted to share the build with you all. While the specifics may not be 501st/Rebel Legion quality (neither of us are that good), we’re very proud of how the costume turned out. This blog post is specifically for the belt and accessories build. Shirt and pants can be found here, jacket and gauntlets can be found here.

This post contains affiliate links. If you click an affiliate link and make a purchase, Red Shoes. Red Wine. will earn a small commission for the referral at no cost to you. Read more about affiliates & disclaimers here. We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.

Aimee did all the research and pattern sourcing online, mainly from the Rey Cosplay Community Facebook Group, so a special thank you to the contributors there. I was just the monkey at the sewing machine, and the monkey with the blog. Aimee is the real hero here. After the shirt and pants were a success, as well as the jacket and gauntlets. Aimee found the belt pattern on therpf.com made by Division6. Since my work was at the sewing machine, and her work was just about everything else, I’m just going to let Aimee explain…

Aimee’s Notes:

This is where I can take over and put my skill set to work. Sewing scares me, but leather working is my happy place. A big thanks to Division6 for the layout/measurements of the belt. For the length of the belt you’ll want to measure at your natural waist line and then measure from your left hip angled down to your right leg. I can honestly say this was the first time I chose to lay this all out on Darice 2mm Foamie Roll, 36-Inch by 60-Inch, White (creating a mock belt) before putting it to leather. Once I was happy with all my measurements and fit of the foam belt I placed it on the leather to trace out (use pencil on leather). I used a fairly thick hide (8 to 9 oz.) and one that I’ve used for many of my leather builds, because leather is expensive I will use every square inch possible.

No matter how long I’ve been working with leather, when making that first cut I get a little nervous. I still double and triple check that I’ve laid my pattern out on the correct side of the leather (smooth side being out & rough side against you when belt is on). I use an Xacto X3311 N0. 1 Precision Knife With 5 No. 11 Blades to cut out leather, making a smooth and deep cut into the leather. Take your time as you cut down your lines.

Before securing the rectangular rings the area where the leather will overlay needs to be thinned. This is done with a Tandy Leather Safety Beveler 3001-00, essentially you just shave layers off (not to thin) making to so that where the leather overlaps itself it is as thick as the rest of the belt. Using the Tandy Leather Sewing Awl Kit 1216-00 I pushed the needle through on one side first, then overlaying the leather use the awl to go through the other side (this way the holes line up on both sides). Once all the holes are made, slide the rectangular rings into place, apply Barge All Purpose Cement, 2 oz, Neutral to both ends and fold together. I put a 5lb weight on the leather areas to help the cement set (at least 12 hours). The cement is what really holds the leather together, but those holes are where the double stitch X will go using the sewing awl.

When it comes to leather dye, working with the Eco-Flo brand is easy and forgiving as far as leather dyes go. It is a water based dye and it dries fairly quick. I went with Tandy Leather Eco-Flo Leather Dye Bison Brown for the color, applying a couple of layers and making sure to get all areas dyed (even the underside). Once the dye was set, take a clean dry sponge to apply a non-glossy sealer like Fiebing Resolene. Be sure to apply going in one direction, and no need to apply a lot….a little goes a long way. The final touch to the belt was adding the cord (Darice 15-Yard Natural Hemp Cording, 20-Pound), just start wrapping in the areas marked by Division6 sketch. Weathering the cord was easy, just a couple quick hits with the same Design Master 12-Ounce Glossy Stain Aerosol Spray, Glossy Wood Tone that was used on the pants.

Probably considered one of the most recognized pieces that comes to mind for costuming Rey is her arm wraps. I was lucky that one of my Scavenger Sisters from the Rey Facebook Group was kind enough to grab the screen accurate Boots Wraps (only found in the UK & 1 of 2 pieces I was determined to have as screen accurate) and mail them me. I first tried to dye my wraps (Rit Pearl Grey is recommended if you go that way) and was getting more of a purple tone and not the grey needed to match the jacket/gauntlets, so I went with what I know….floral paint. Floral paint is great, in the fact that it doesn’t add a layer of thickness to the material & won’t flake off (unlike regular spray paint). To get an even color throughout the whole badge the most important thing is the stretch out the badge & keep it taut as you apply the floral paint. First I did a layer of Design Master No.734 Brilliant Silver Colortool Spray, followed by a light dusting of Design Master 751 Blue Sky Colortool Spray, then a light layer of Design Master No.725 Flat Black Colortool Spray (don’t be afraid if too much black is applied) if need be another dusting of grey can be added if there is too much black in areas. Do this to both sides.

Your arms are going to be hot and sweaty (thank you gauntlets & arm wraps). To help I highly recommend picking up some athletic dri-fit sleeves (DRI-FIT SOLARSLEEVE DARK GREY/BLACK S/M) to help wick away the sweat and keep your arms cool. Also the wraps and wool can be itchy to some when in direct contact with skin so this helps alleviate that as well as help to keep the wraps in place. After many days of putting my google skills to the test I found the perfect lightsaber for my wallet. ACLightsabers (Etsy) makes a great, simple & sturdy lightsaber with a removable blade (makes for easy packing). While not screen accurate, it gives the right look, is great fun, and has all the correct markings of the Skywalker Lightsaber. Anakin Custom Lightsaber – with blade $69 (for $10 more it can have sound effects). Boots by PoZu was the other screen accurate piece I wanted and while a little pricey, well worth it. This is the company that does all of Rey’s footwear for the movies. These boots are very comfy.

– Aimee

Also available on the blog: Rey’s shirt and pants and Rey’s jacket and gauntlets. We’d love to see your Rey, so come back and visit and let us know how everything turned out!

Other Star Wars costumes on the blog:

Costuming Dark Rey (Concept) from Star Wars

Costuming a Jawa from Star Wars

Costuming a Jedi from Star Wars