Costuming

Introduction

After making my “Old Luke” costume last year, I decided that I wanted to sew some more Star Wars costumes, so I set out to find another project. I settled on the Imperial Officer uniform because it involved a lot of sewing, not a lot of non-fabric parts, and I could sew just a couple of items, and mix-and-match them with accessories to have several different costumes. Plus… they just look cool…

I already had the McCall’s M4745 pattern that I used to make the under tunic for my “Old Luke” costume, so I decided to use that as a starting point.

Officer Variations

I hope to join the Imperial Officer Corps of the 501st Legion, and they have a long list of approved costumes to choose from in their Costume Reference Library. Most of the uniforms are pretty much identical, with just minor differences between them other than color and accessories (i.e. rank insignia, code cylinders, etc.). My plan is to alter the McCall’s pattern to allow for these variations, share the results on this page, and make as many of the costumes as I want!

On a separate page, I have taken all the information I could find (from the CRLs, forums, wikis, etc.), and put it together into a single, unified, and coherent reference guide that I will try to keep it up to date as I learn more:

• Uniform Reference Guide

Pattern Modifications

If you dig through the forums, you’ll find a lot of people saying that the M4745 pattern requires a lot of modifications, but it can be rather difficult to determine how to make those modifications yourself… So, I’ve played around with the pattern, and put together some detailed instructions, with animated diagrams showing exactly what modifications to make, depending on the variation you’re doing:

• Tunic Patterns
• Trouser Patterns

Materials

I’m going to use the XL pattern, and take it in if necessary.