When i originally put together my Scout armour/outfit i managed to do the entire thing without sewing anything. The only exception to this was the 7 vertical lines of stitching that run down the front of the bund. I did these by hand. The hot-glue gun became very much my friend during those manic weeks. I used it for absolutely everything from securing the armour elastic to making the pouches on the bund. Of course a hot-glue gun isn’t going to give you a flawless finish, far from it. Luckily the Scout is something of a dirty character. They are not meant to be pristine like Storm-Troopers. This means you an add a bit of weathering to hide any unsightly edges.

Now. Recently i invested in a sewing machine. I decided it was about time i learnt how to use one. After all, having a sewing machine and the ability to use it is a pretty handy skill, no ? I wanted to go back and remake the parts of the outfit i rushed in the first place. There isn’t to be a hot-glue gun in sight.

The first thing i wanted to do was the remake the bund/pouches. This can be reasonably tricky. After all you are basically making an a tailored item of clothing from scratch. It has to be the right width, depth and made from the right fabric. A trip to Truro fabrics was in order. The first stage is to make the bund. This is basically just a long section of fabric that wraps around your middle and does-up at the back with velcro. This is simply a matter of cutting the fabric to the right shape (imagine making a pillow-case), filling it with wadding and stitching it up. Then the velcro closure is stitched on. The bund has seven vertical lines down the front, 1″ apart. Next you need to do the ‘cod’ (cod-piece). This is a triangular section made in the same way as the bund. It also needs to be filled with wadding and have two chevron shaped stitches running width-ways. Then you need strapping to make sure it stays put. You have a pair of elastic straps that go over the shoulders (like braces) and a strap that goes from the point of the cod, through the legs and attaches around the back to the bund. This now means the bund cannot ride up or slip down.

Then you have the pouches. These are a pair of rectangular pouches (7″x6″x3″) that sit on the front of the bund. They also have lids which are cut at an angle. Top make the pouches you first need a paper template. Much like you would if you wanted to make a cube from paper. You draw and cut you template and fold it all up so you know it looks right. This template then needs to be laid on top of your fabric. Draw around it and cut it out (cutting fabric is not as easy as cutting paper !). You then need to stitch all the sides together and turn it inside-out so the seams are on the inside.

Oh and remember to turn your second pouch inside-out twice as the lid is cut the other way (see the picture below). Once you two pouches are finished they then get stitched to the bund and you are done ! I went back around the edges of my pouches and added a line of stitching to really give them sharp edges. The pouches also need velcro closures. One of mine houses a speaker/amp. The other can be used for wallet/phone if you are on a night-out.

Next it was time to do the riding patches. Now these are not actually a requirement if you want to get your scout costume cleared with the 501st. However they were present in the film so if you want to be ‘screen accurate’ then you’ll want to add them.

I wish i could say there is an easy way to do these but it isn’t true. They are a bastard nightmare ! How do you sew patches on (using a machine) on the inside of the legs ? You can’t. You need to slit the stitching up the outside of the legs so you can lay the fabric flat on the machine. The fabric is a faux-suade and is designed to look like the patches found on Jodhpurs. The patch covers the inside and rear of the crotch. There is also two elastic straps that go around the legs.

Then you have the boots. My first pair were made from an old pair of desert boots and were a little rough & ready. I wanted to remake these with a new pair of boots. The boots themselves i picked up from ‘shoe-zone’ for about £20. They are not the best quality but then again im only going to be wearing them a few times a year so they should be ok. The first stage is to heat your vinyl to make it stretchy and pull it down over the toes. This is then pinned in place while it cools. Once it’s held the shape you need to use a leather glue to stick it to the boot. A small strip is added where the fabric meets the sole to tidy it up.

Then you need to make the calf sections. These are tubular section that start at the sole and go up to below the knee. They have a velcro closure at the back. You also need to cut out a little ‘dog-bone’ section to cover the join and glue it all down. The finished product should look something like this

The last job with the boots is to cut the soles. Again this is not a 501st clearance requirement but was done on the screen used boots. The chunks are simply cut out with a sharp knife

That is as far as i have got at the moment. I still need to finish the flight-suit as it’s massive on me (my old one was a little short). I’ll need to add the vecro patches and stuff. The last job will then be to tart up the lid. I have got some proper size bolts which will need cutting down and painting. I also need to lengthen the mic-cable as it was sticking out just below the neck last time. Stay tuned

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