Ahsoka Tano Cosplay - Finishing touches

The Ahsoka Tano dress being done, I had to make a few accessories to really create the character.  The biggest thing was the belt with its apron front.  Then gaiters for the feet, and leggings with diamond-shaped cut-outs.  I'll post about the belt and leggings today, but not the gaiters, because (I'll be honest) I found the gaiters really annoying to do and I'm not happy with them.  They're not bad... just not gonna be in this post.  Maybe I'll post about them in future, when time has passed and I can be objective. 

THE BELT

The inspiration pic I found for the costume had a tone-on-tone purple pattern on the apron front, which I approximated by quilting.  First I cut out the shape I wanted and sketched the swirly, symmetrical pattern on it:

Then I cut two layers of the purple fabric, and pieced some fleece together for the batting.  Remember the quilt sandwich method I used before ?  Since it works well for small quilting projects, I'm doing that again.  So I start by laying the two pieces of purple fabric, right sides together, down, then put the batting on top.  Then I sew around the perimeter, leaving an opening (between the two red pins) so I can turn it right side out. 

The quilt sandwich

Sewn and ready to turn.

Then I turn the sandwich/bag so the purple fabric is right sides out, and that puts the batting in the middle.  (That's why I didn't mind using stained batting!)  I use chalk to transfer the basic lines of the pattern onto the apron, and begin quilting.  Quilting right next to the edge of the piece closes the hole from the before, so I don't need to slip-stitch it. 

I really love the look of quilting! 

Close up of texture

The whole design

The next step was to make the belt that holds the apron.  There's a rectangle in the back, which I made to contain a small pocket for a cell phone or ticket stub:

The black mesh is old screen door fabric (same as I used for the two Glengarry Caps), which I used here for interfacing to make the rectangle stable, so it wouldn't stretch and warp with wear. 

I took the yellow grosgrain ribbon and sewed the ends to the front and back pieces it to make the belt.  The interesting part was making the velcro closure in front, which I stabilized with buckram.

back pocket (outside)

Back pocket (inside). I used safety pins for the bottom straps so I could adjust the size later

Front (inside view) - Closed

Front (inside view) - Open

THE LEGGINGS

The leggings are a last minute project.  Simply put, I mark the location of the diamond-shaped cut-outs on the RTW leggings while C. is wearing them.  Then:

1. I lay a knitted facing fabric on top of the right side of the legging leg, and transfer the markings to the facing.
2. I sew the facing to the fabric along the marked lines, with a slight zig-zag stitch.  Just slight, just so it has some give when the fabric stretches.  I sew the shape as one big loop, never crossing my stitching lines with each other.  So in the center where the diamonds meet at their pointy tips, I sew in almost to the center, then turn and sew out. 
3. I cut out the ziggy-zaggy hole
4. I turn the facing to the inside, press, and top-stitch. 
5. I hand-sew the points together to turn the big jagged hole into several diamond shaped holes. 
   

Step 1: the pattern on the facing, on the leg. The pattern is green paper, the facing a red nylon knit, and the leg gray knit.

Step 2: the pattern marked and ready for sewing.

Step 2: the facing sewn on. See the center, how the lines don't cross?

Step 3: cutting out the zig-zag hole.

Step 4: the facing turned to the inside, ready for top-stitching and pressing.

Step 5: sewing the center points together to make diamonds.

To make the second leg match the first, I tuck one leg inside the other, making sure the seams all match neatly, and trace the markings:

Then I do the same for the second leg as I just did for the first.  Here is the completed cut-out:

Inside

Outside

side view