Might Start MY Jedi Costume Tonight

[Zren Tobas]

I know what I could do actually. I could fold the leather fabric thick enough to hold up. Could that possibly work out? Thought just came into my head. Like cut it wide enough to still have a wide belt look but enough to be able to fold the leather as well. Just a thought.

[Ziran Le]

The reason that Tandy only has light tan leather, is because it's raw.  You have to dye it; its part of the process.

 

[chicago.jedi]

That upholstery leather will not make a good belt, Zren. Trust me. Don't get hung up on it because it is black. It is more like fabric than leather.  It will be a waste of your money.

As Ziran Le said, all leather is light colored until you finish it. Tandy does sell pre finished belt that are black and all you need to do is put a buckle on it. http://www.tandyleatherfactory.com/en-usd/home/department/leather-belts-leather-straps/4512-14.aspx ,but they are a bit expensive in my opinion.

If you look at Hobby Lobby you can find belt blanks for about $10. A bottle of dye is about $5. You might even be able to find a cheaper leather belt at Home Depot.  I am talking about the kind carpenters use to carry nail pouches and hammers on .
Look around a little more. I bet the materials are closer to you than you think.

[Zren Tobas]

Ohh I seen that one but already had a buckle on it. Could the buckle be taken off??

[Steffenator]

Look at my cotume post, it has my jedi belt that I made entirely from Tandy Leather products. Not cheap, but the result was awesome.
Also, two yards of fabric is barely enough to make a decent sized cape. A proper robe could take 6 to 8 yards of fabric alone... more if you're a tall guy. I'm making much of my stuff from scratch. So far I have the shirt, and tabard, and that's cost me nearly 7 yards of fabric. But then again, I'm putting a bit of extra effort and material into it, because I want it to hang and look like a real outfit, not like a costume... I'm uptight that way.
I just bought 5 yards of curtains from Lowes because it's cheaper, and it's all going into my robe. It might not be enough, come to think of it.

[jedi Kai-gon]

it says it is upholstery weight meaning it is paper thin.

Oops I missed that, sorry Zern. In that case it will definatly not work for a belt.

[chicago.jedi]

Ohh I seen that one but already had a buckle on it. Could the buckle be taken off??

It does not come with a buckle but it is set up to put a buckle on it. The buckle you would want is this one....


http://www.tandyleatherfactory.com/en-usd/home/department/leather-belts-leather-straps/11687-00.aspx

.....and all you need to put it on is a screw driver.

The pre finished belt and that buckle would make for and excellent Jedi belt that will last you a lifetime of cosplay.

Good luck.

[Zren Tobas]

I got it figured out. I found out Jo anns has strips of real leather I can use so its good. I'll post updates when I can.

[Zren Tobas]

Found out from a god buddy of mine that does costume work and leather work that you don't need to hem or sew the sides of real leather so I'm good there. =] Just need to find a blank piece of leather at Jo-Ann;s, buckle, then I'm good.

[Zren Tobas]

Also I might do the Ultra Sabers Obi-wan Kenobi next year for Comic Con. Just thinking of getting a Guardian in a standard stunt saber. =] Since my one costume is kind of similae to Obi-wan's TPM costume anyway figured I might as well. Though finding movie style pouches will be hard but not the belt props thanks to Sedsti.