It seems like it was ages ago when I started working on my Jedi costume. Well, that long road has finally come to an end. I AM A JEDI!
It was not easy, though. I came very close to being Order 66’d. Last Friday was the deadline I had set for myself so that I could wear it into work, so Thursday was designated as a cram day. It was all going well until we got to the vinyl, namely the boots and belt. That stuff would not cooperate for nothing! We ultimately ended up making three belts. (Hacking up the first two for scrap as they kept getting twisted.) As for the boots, we got the extensions tacked on easily enough. Surprisingly, we didn’t run into trouble with the boots until we started adding the straps, specifically not being able to punch holes in it large enough for the buckles we had. It was closed to midnight by the time we got there, too, so we were at our wits ends. We had managed to figure out the belt except for the buckle in the back, which suffered the same problem as the boot straps, but the boots were simply beyond us. We gave up. My mom was literally in tears, saying that she had failed and let me down. I tried to assure her that I didn’t care that it wasn’t finished in time and that, in the end, I’m more interested in having a good Jedi costume then a good Halloween costume. Still, it was very disappointing.
The next morning, I woke up and was instantly bummed. I had sort of made a big deal at work at how I was going to be dressed up, so I knew that it was going to be embarrassing when I went in in my normal street cloths. So, I started getting ready, same as always, when a thought occurred to me. I went over to my costume and started laying out the individual parts. I realized that the only thing that really wasn’t done were the boots. I considered it for a moment and decided that my normal shoes were acceptable. (Well, actually, they specifically are not. They have huge holes in them and I desperately need to get new ones. But for the day, they were fine.) Still, I was left with the problem of securing the belt without the buckle in the back. And then it struck me like a bolt of lightning. In hindsight, I realized that we had been so focused on getting it perfect the night before that we had completely forgotten to be creative. Having had a decent night’s rest, my mind was in much better condition for problem solving. The answer was quite simple, really. Potato chip bag clips. We had about a half dozen tiny metal clips that would be perfect. I figured they’d hold it all together at least for a little while, though I’d probably have to redo them every little bit. Turns out I was wrong, though. Those things were clamped on for the rest of the day, not even beginning to go loose.
And so, with a little bit of creativity, I was set. Though I figure I’ll be doing a little bit of tweaking here and there, I’m more or less ready to call this project complete.
And it’s paid off, too. I was just about the only person to participate in the dress up at work on both Friday and Saturday. It was a little embarrassing at first until I realized that I had basically outshined everyone else. Everyone seemed really impressed. Plus it got me into Buckeye Con for free this morning. (More on that in another post.) But probably the most satisfying reaction I got, I think was my mom’s, who had been so heartbroken when she had “failed”. When I told her on the phone that I had made it work, I could tell that I had really made her day.
What can I say? It’s all in a day’s work for a Jedi.
PS: Check out pics of my costume on my Facebook page here.
