DIY Luke Skywalker and Yoda Halloween Costumes

so our yard doesn't look much like Dagoba.....

As I mentioned yesterday, we dressed up as Star Wars characters this year. Today I'm posting Mr M and River's costumes, tomorrow I'll do Sunshine and my costumes.

I'll start with Mr M's Luke Skywalker costume, because it was super easy (and cheap!) to pull together. The hardest part was the boot gaiters, which you could easily skip if you're not as OCD as me. So, starting at the top and working counter-clockwise, here's the components of our DIY Luke Skywalker costume:

1. gray or tan t-shirt (in this case, a free shirt Mr M got for donating blood)
2. lightsaber
3. boot gaiters
4. tan boots or shoes (Mr M wore his combat boots- these could easily be worn alone if you don't want to make the gaiters)
5. tan cargo pants (511 pants that Mr M had in the closet)
6. Yoda in a baby carrier (more on that in a bit)

See? Pretty easy. The lightsaber, gaiters and Yoda are the only parts I made. I consulted some Star Wars costuming sites to find pictures of Luke's Dagobah outfit and Yoda's outfit, and then designed things from there. It was a bit of trial and error, with some checking for fit as I went.

we used our Boba carrier, but any carrier that allows you to strap your kiddo to your back will work

The gaiters are made of a double layer of canvas duck that is basically in the shape of a column. There's a zipper (partial length because that's what I had on hand) in the back to help get them on and off, and a strap that goes under the instep of the boot to make sure the gaiter doesn't slide up or shift too much. Three velcro straps wrap around for a custom fit and to make them more like Luke's boots. I used some twill tape I had to bind the edges and give it shape.

I rubbed a little dirt into the canvas, but we have red dirt, so it didn't make things as grubby as I was hoping. Just red dirt-y. Oh well.

We had a cute one-year-old on hand to stand in for Yoda, and I imagine this would work even with a two-year-old. If you don't have a handy child to use or borrow, I've seen some costumes that used a stuffed Yoda doll in a knapsack or a Yoda backpack.

there's writing on the front of the shirt Mr M wore, so we turned it around so River would cover it

Mr M's pants had a handy loop on them already, so we used that to clip his lightsaber to. (click on the link for how I made our lightsabers)

And now it's Yoda's turn! Isn't he just the cutest Yoda ever?  :)

River's Yoda costume was fairly easy, though there were a few parts that were more difficult. Those are mostly optional, though. We had most of the materials on hand, so his costume was also pretty inexpensive. Unlike Mr M's costume, I did make all the parts of this costume.

Again, starting at the top left and working counter-clockwise, here's the components of River's Yoda costume:

1. brown onesie 

I traced one of his footie pjs to make a very basic pattern (i.e., front and back with a velcro close in the back) and then made it out of brown knit fabric. I wanted a one-piece for extra warmth, but a store-bought onesie or t-shirt and pants would work also.

2. Yoda hands 

Optional. I drew a three-fingered hand, sewed it from the same fabric as the hat and booties, and lightly stuffed it. I then sewed them into the seam of the robe sleeve. I had originally intended them to be mitten covers, then realized River wouldn't keep them on. Sewing them to the sleeves means they won't get lost- definitely a win with small kiddos.

3. Yoda feet booties 

Optional. I drew a three-toed foot, sewed it from the same fabric as the hat and hands, and lightly stuffed it. I also sewed a bootie shape out of the same fabric and hand sewed the feet on top. Some elastic in the top of the bootie shape keeps the booties on.

4. tan robe 

I sewed this out of a drop cloth I had sitting around. I just made up the pattern as I went- robes are fairly easy to wing. Before I sewed the placket on I attached the hood, lined with a piece of an old sheet. I used River's measurements to approximate the sleeve length and robe length. They didn't need to be exact so I didn't sweat it too much. I also sewed small strips of drop cloth on the inside and outside of the side seams and robe flaps. The inside robe flap is tied to the inside side seam and the outside robe flap is tied to the outside side seam, keeping everything neatly in place.

5. Yoda ears hat 

You can buy Yoda ear hats online, usually crocheted ones, but I went the cheap way and used what I had. I made this out of some green fabric from a duvet cover I found at the DownEast Outfitters Outlet store a couple years ago. It was super cheap and I intended to use it for bedskirts in Sunshine's room, but never got around to it. This was the trickiest part and I will admit I had to remake it a couple times because it kept ending up too small for River, despite checking his head size and using one of his hats for the original pattern. To try to make it look like Yoda's head, I sewed some forehead ridges on a double layer of fabric, making sure each "ridge" was open on the side or bottom. I then lightly stuffed the ridges before sewing the front to the back. As I sewed the front and back together, I also sewed in the ears. I had made the ears by drawing a Yoda ear shape and sewing it inside out. When I turned it right side out, I checked to see if I liked the shape (I think I made a couple alterations before I got it mostly how I wanted), then tacked the folds in place so they would be in their proper place when I sewed them into the rest of the hat. I should have put some Pellon or stuffing in them to give them a bit more shape since they tend to flop backwards. I also hand tacked a bit of fleece inside for warmth and comfort (covering all the threads and such) and attached some twill tape to tie under River's chin to keep the hat on.

And a couple more shots of the cuteness:

Materials purchased for the costumes:

Luke Skywalker

• canvas duck for gaiters- half a yard, I think? about $4 maybe? I don't remember for sure
• velcro for gaiters- about $3, I think
• lightsaber- about $8

total: about $15

Yoda

• brown knit fabric- I bought 1 yard for this and Sunshine's costume, and I think it was about $8 or $9 for the yard. So about $4 for what I used for the Yoda costume
• stuffing- $3 for the package, but 99% of that is leftover (I was a bit overzealous in my decluttering and got rid of all my stuffing. oops!)

total: about $4.50

Two costumes for less than $20! And I used materials in my {depleted} stash. Even better! They're not perfect (especially River's costume), but I've managed to squash my OCD, and it's ok. I'm actually really happy with how they turned out. It's so nice to see my vision come to life. And the real-life version is close to my mental picture :)