#fun fact I listened to my weeb playlist basically the whole time haha

[wwhatisstutorials]

The Last Jedi Rey Vest Tutorial

Alright guys! I’m going to do this tutorial a little bit different from other times. Instead of giving a picture of the pattern, I’m going to be putting the different pieces in throughout the process. Here is what I started with so you can get an idea of what piece is for what, but honestly I changed it a lot throughout making it. You’ll understand why

First here are the materials:

2 yards grey herringbone fabric, Grey Thread, batting or stuffing

My fabric is a little darker and has some metallic yarn in it. I got it for 3 dollars a yard at fabricmart and honestly as a broke college student that is a really nice deal and I knew this was not going to be made into a full-fledged cosplay.

1.       First things first. We are going to be making what will turn out to be a&b in my sketch. I honestly was not sure how to go about this so I started with boxy patterns and refined it as I went. Now you are gonna need four of these pieces (2 mirrored). Figure out your measurements too in a small sketch.

How to figure out the arm hole

2.       I decided to combine a&b into one big piece then add the seam in after. Here is how to do that. I always use chalk when working with patterns because it is always easy to come off. That works to our advantage here. Using the photos for reference, figure out where your seam is going to go. Make sure there is a lot of chalk because then you are going to match it up with the other three pieces and transfer the line to make them all symmetrical pieces. If your fabric is not double sided please understand which side is facing out. This Jacket is going to have an inside piece so anything that is going to be shown you want to make sure there is no seams being shown. Pin and sew. Be sure to only sew about a ¼ inch from the edge.

3.       OKAY the Back Piece. I tried my best to not have the seam going down the center but the way I sewed it, there was no possible way I could have left it out. I also decided to only have one back piece instead of two just out of choice. So Instead of making a duplicate, you just need one. Look at the progression of the photos to help you out. Mostly, its just a lot of fitting to get the pattern the exact way you want it. The fit is very important in this vest because the shape of it is what originally caught my eye while watching the movie. Pin the two front pieces to the back and start figuring out how much needs to be taken in where. Use the front pieces to figure out where to chalk the same extra pattern piece. In the back and left/right seams in the back, you gotta utilize these to get shape. Hopefully the photos help. NOTE: I extended the middle back seam all the way down. I realize That is not pictured.

4.       Okay some minor fixes to the front. I took the extra seams we made in the front in a little bit at the bottom to give it some extra shape. Also, look at the front and cut to what you need for the collar. To make it more true to the original I later adjusted the shape of my front from what is shown in the photo.

5.       Okay so now we are going to put the inside and the outside together separately. When you sew the collar together, fit it to your neck. That would mean sewing the collar together at an angle. Once done to both, pin and sew the whole outside of the pieces. MAKE SURE THE GOOD SIDES ARE FACING TOGETHER AND THE UGLY SEAMS ARE FACING OUT.

6.       Okay now attach the back! Make sure the collar and back are the same length so they can fit together nicely. OKAY NOW TAKE A LOOK AT THE PHOTO. I DID SOMETHING VERY FATALLY WRONG AND I HAD TO UNSTITCH AND RESEW BECAUSE mistakes were indeed made. The back is showing the good side facing out when either all the seams should be facing out or all of the good side. Please pay attention to what you are doing.

7.       Alright time for the bottom half! The bottom half is also shaped very nicely. This is pieces c&d. Measure the front and back of the top half where the bottom is going to be attached. You want the seams to line up so keep in mind the fact that you have to make seams which will make the fabric a little shorter. I made d first then used the sides of that to give me the length of the one side for c. This will also be double lined so double everything. Sew the three pieces together, then do so again. Sew the two full bottoms together like a pillow but leave the top open. IRON!! IRON EVERY SEAM MADE. This is very important and will make EVERYTHING EASIER!!

how to get both sides symmetrical. 

Use edge to get edge for c piece

8.       Alright. Now all seams from the top of the vest that have exposed ends, you need to finish them off to prevent fraying. I used zig zag stitches here because they were not shown. In the future stitches I’m going to be using what’s called a blanket stitch. I’ll explain that later. Once you have all the loose ends stitched, sew the bottom half on. It is very important that everything lines up. Take careful notice to that.

9.       Okay now that everything is basically put together except for the shoulders, use the blanket stitch all the way around including the bottom. This is what the stitch looks like. I put the size of the stitch up to as big as it can get on my machine.

(What the stitching and Rey’s actual fabric looks like)

10.   Okay Now onto the shoulders. I ended up making three and picking the best two because these were some-what difficult. To get the size of the half circle, measure from your neck to how far out you want the shoulders to go. Double that and you have your diameter. My diameter was 11 inches with a 5 ½ inch radius. Sew like a pillow, meaning leave one edge open. To apply stuffing or batting. If using batting, cut the shape of the half circle and add it in. If you use stuffing, its going to be a little more difficult. This is what I used and you have to make sure it is even everywhere and do not make it too thick. Once the filling is in, fold in the hole and sew all the way around the piece. Now add lines as guides for you to sew. Take your time. It will be a little frustrating to get it all even.

11.   Okay now jump back to the main form. Pin the shoulder pieces and determine how much of the shoulder you can remove underneath. Now that the arm hole is cut to size and still has raw ends, apply a zig zag stitch all the way around then fold under and secure with the blanket stitch as the bottom half of the hole will be visible. PLEASE make sure that the arm hole is big enough to be comfortable. These were always my down fall and before I did this I made my arm holes bigger. Okay now pin and sew the shoulder piece on making sure to sew on top of the seam that is already on the shoulder pad.

12.   Alright. Cut any Loose thread and admire your handiwork

If you have any questions, feel free to ask. : )