Though I was born and raised in New York City, I've lived in SoCal for over ten years now and am proud to call this beautiful and diverse place my home. My husband and I have a son and baby daughter (whom I was 9 months pregnant with when this photo was taken!). Prior to becoming a mommy I spent several years in feature film publicity and acquisitions for Miramax and later as the Creative Executive for Hilary Swank Productions before seguing to the music industry where I did Online Communications for the GRAMMY Foundation and MusiCares. In my ample pre-parenthood free time, I also freelanced as a script analyst and screenwriter. Gotta finish the costumes for Rory and me now, Obi-Wan and Han Solo, respectively. What? There are no other girls in Star Wars! (besides Queen Amidala, but I barely count those “first” movies.) I was experiencing a brain fog as far as where to begin. For some ridiculous reason it didn’t occur to me to just modify a simple peasant dress! I felt like I *needed* a Leia dress pattern. This step took a few tries to get right. I didn’t want to over cut and end up with super tight sleeves and a snug body shape.

Princess Leia Cosplay Belt - Etsy UK

This is where you really have to let your perfectionist instincts go. It doesn’t matter if the seam here gets a little messed up, so long as the sleeve is entirely attached. Please trust me: no one will notice! I can’t wait till my twins grow a little older and I can talk them into dressing as Luke and Leia ;). I’ll keep this tutorial in mind when the time comes! Iron on the fusible interfacing to one side of the collar on the wrong side of the fabric if you are using interfacing. Remember, this is not Project Runway. No one is judging your craftswomanship. They will be too busy admiring the fact that you made this costume out of a sheet, like some kind of modern day Maria from THE SOUND OF MUSIC. The collar is the hardest part of the whole darn costume! You may be able to find a better collar diy out there. This is all I had the brain power to conjure up. Cut a piece of fusible interfacing if you want it stiffened up but my daughter said it felt better softer so we didn't use it. Collar is cut on a fold and measures:With right sides together sew the short sides of the collar together leaving about 1/2 an inch un-sewn at the long raw edge. Turn right side out. I used an old queen size sheet that was earmarked for textile recycling at H&M anyway. Because of my height, I had to fold it diagonally to make sure it was long enough. I had no problem cutting the bottom corners off though so this was not an issue and saved me having to go out to buy a new piece of cloth. Note that you don’t need to line up the side edges perfectly since you’ll be cutting them off anyway! Cut out the head hole This is not a “hot Princess Leia” costume. This is a “comfortable Princess Leia” costume. It does not need to be form-fitting.

Sew Easy Princess Leia Costume (Eco-Friendly and Cheap DIY No Sew Easy Princess Leia Costume (Eco-Friendly and Cheap

With right sides together sew the hood together on both long sides. Turn right side out and press. Using a long machine stitch, gather the short ends of the hood. Imagine my delight when I was looking for Princess Leia costume tutorials and found a good one on one of my favorite blogs!Have fun making a Princess Leia costume! May the Force be with you!Please let me know if you need any help with the pattern! Finally when I felt it was not too baggy but also not yet too tight, I made a half inch diagonal cut into the armpit area to allow room for a small hem. Cut the bottom length and the final cut of the arm length After the rough cut, but before the final cut of the sleeves Again I laid down and had my husband fold the fabric to just above my ankles. If you want to make a hem here then be sure to cut it a bit longer than the desired final length. Going with my philosophy of not sweating the small stuff too much in making this costume, I decided it’d take me less time to cut the bottom carefully, than hem it up with tape. Ditto with the arm length, which I finalized before taping the inside seams so that I wouldn’t have to do one bit of extra work with the fabric tape. And since I only plan to wear this Halloween costume a couple times and mostly in the dark, I didn’t think anyone would notice (and in fact, no one has). Tape the arms and sides together

Princess Leias Belt - Etsy UK

hours of kid-free time to focus on your work (probably the hardest item to find on the list) Fold the sheet in half and lay out on the floor

old silver ribbon just long enough to comfortably fit around your waist (I have tons of random pieces of ribbons in my wrapping paper box, but if you don’t, just ask around. I’m sure you have a mommy friend who’s got something you can use.)