I've been meaning to write this walk thru for a while, but the fact that I finally am getting around to it the week The Last Jedi comes out is much more fitting than any other time I could have posted it. I made Resistance Rey over the course of about five months, and considering I patterned the vest myself, I'm pretty impressed with that. Before I get into the walk thru, I should mention that not everything about this costume is Rebel Legion approvable so if you're looking for some assistance making your RL cosplay, you'll need to make some adjustments. I'll make note of instances of things I know that would need changing, for easy reference. You can also find their full guidelines
here.
Boots
Starting with the easy stuff, I decided to upgrade since the last time I made Rey and splurged for the
screen accurate Po-zu boots. They are so worth the money, they're super comfortable (even all day at a con) and high quality, and they're sustainably made too. Po-zu recently released an
official Star Wars line, which includes the Rey boots.
Belt
I used the same belt as from my scavenger Rey cosplay, the instructions for which you can find on
my post for that build.
Blaster
There are lots of options for getting Rey's blaster (Etsy, Nerf, making it yourself, etc), but I bought this
3D printed one on Etsy.
Holster
Using the same roll of suede I used for the belt, I used
this tutorial as a guide. I didn't really make any changes to their instructions and pattern, and the pattern fit perfectly around my blaster as is, no trimming necessary.
Lightsaber
I just got the Disney Store Rey lightsaber, but it's not RL approvable, and there's also plenty of other fancier options (Black Series, Etsy, etc).
Bag/Satchel
I used
this tutorial (but got canvas fabric at Joanns instead of taking apart a bag). The fabric I bought was a little too green instead of olive drab, so I tea dyed it. Like a lot.
Pants
I bought a pair of olive drab jeans at the thrift store, cut them off below the knees, and used the extra fabric and some batting to make the knee pads. I vaguely followed
this tutorial, though mostly I just used it for the knee pad pattern because I didn't do the extra part with the seam above the knees.
Shirt
I used
this pattern, making the tank top version with the mandarin collar. I used a slightly heavy white stretch knit fabric from Joanns that had a similar texture to a closeup I found of Rey's shirt.
There is some confusion with the direction of the wrap, which is supposed to be right over left (the RL page says left over right I believe, but that could just be a mix up that never got revised because all the RL approved cosplayers I've seen have right over left).
As for the collar, it's not easy to see just from stills of TFA because she's wearing the vest, but promo stills we've gotten from TLJ show the mandarin collar.
You'll also want to keep all the edges raw (this includes leaving out the neck band piece from the pattern) and use a zigzag/overlay stitch on the edges (you'll probably want to iron the edges too because if your fabric acts like mine, it'll get very squiggly).
Arm Wraps and Gauntlets
For the grey under wraps, I used the same pattern as I did for the scavenger Rey wraps (
instructions once again in the previous post), which I also sell in both colors on
my Etsy store (as of right now (12/13), my store is temporarily on vacation while I cram too many cosplays before ECCC but as soon as I'm able, I'll be opening it again).
The gauntlets were a little harder. I used parts of
this tutorial as a general guide/reference, but mostly I made things up as I went along. I used a gauntlet pattern from an old Legolas costume, traced it out on butcher paper, and added on the flared bottom part that goes over the hands. Once I had made a couple mockups to test my pattern, I cut it out on the same material as my vest (I'll get to that later). I also patterned out the pieces for the elbow pads and cut that from the same material and from a few layers of batting (you'll need lots of reference pictures because I eyeballed a lot of this and didn't take progress shots).
For the hole details on the wrist, I used this
pattern and two different sized punches on a screw punch (you can find these for pretty cheap on Amazon and they are truly a blessing, I highly recommend getting yourself one). Once I'd punched out the holes, I used Fray Check to keep them from getting messed up.
The scalloped edges at the bottom are about a finger width each, so I used a nickel and traced out the scallops, then cut them and locked it in with Fray check.
When you go to sew up the seam, keep in mind that the flared bottom part around the hands is open along the edge (so zigzag stitch your edges, because everything is raw edges with Rey). So make your seam only to the wrist, and make a clip in the seam allowance to allow the flared part to flare properly (if that makes any sense. If not, feel free to comment and I'll try to make more sense).
Vest
Arguably the hardest and most important part of this costume is the vest. I made my pattern myself, using another vest pattern as a guide, and because I didn't really take progress pictures, giving you a real walk thru of my process would be messy. So I'm just going to give you a basic overview, give you some tips, tell you the changes that need to be made for RL, and point you in the right direction for some resources.
So first of all, the fabric I used was a grey herringbone wool from
Dorr Mill. The exact one I bought is sold out currently, but they have a few different shades and their customer service is very helpful so you can always shoot them an email and find out if/when they'll get certain products back. I got two yards so I'd have enough for both the vest and the gauntlets (and have extra in case of screw ups).
For the pattern, basically I took the pattern pieces I already had and traced them onto butcher paper, making adjustments so the front wouldn't have princess seams, and slicing everything at the waist for the peplum. I made the back all one piece and cut out the extremely curved princess seam pieces. I made the peplum pattern myself (and had to adjust it a bit to add more flare). Before you go and cut up your expensive wool, definitely do a mock up on some muslin or scrap fabric so you know your pattern will actually work (this is how I learned I needed to make adjustments on the peplum).
Before I move on to the next part of the vest, I need to point out the adjustments that needs to be made to my method in order to be approved for the Rebel Legion. The collar is supposed to be all one piece with the body of the vest, with a side seam that matches up to the shoulder seam. My collar is a separate piece (and doesn't have the side seams). You'll also need to have ladder stitching on the back princess seams and the collar side seams (as detailed in this
tutorial).
Once again, all the edges on Rey's costumes are always raw, so you'll need to have a zigzag stitch.
Finally, the shoulder pads. I used an actual shoulder pad to make my pattern, cut out a couple layers of batting and a layer of wool for each piece (make sure to have about an inch extra around the edges to fold under the batting). I used pretty much the same method as I did for the knee pads on the pants and the elbow pads on the gauntlets, sewing the wool over the batting around the edges, then sewing the topstiching details (I totally freehanded those ridges and I'm still amazed that it worked out perfectly). Then you just sew them onto the shoulders of the vest.
So there you have it! I hope my tutorial is of some help, at least to get you started in the right direction. If you have any questions, don't be afraid to leave a comment, or you can message me on
instagram! You can also find a ton more resources, including reference pictures and more tutorials, on my Rey cosplay
Pinterest board.
