Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader (Kid-friendly)

For this Halloween, we were interested in costumes that our boys could wear comfortably.  Not having a mask over their faces or hats that would inevitably be pulled off as well was a must.  Our boys have opposite personalities, so it was fun to dress them as opposing sides of a classic story!  After all was said and done, we had to take pictures of our adorable little characters with our "good camera!"  We were inspired to make the pictures even more fantastical with the help of a little Photoshop magic!

Step 1: Luke Clothing

First, go to your local fabric store and find the McCall's pattern shown here.  Make sure to get the right size!  Find some fabric that will work well for the top and the pants for Luke's costume.  We used some upholstery fabric for the top and cotton for the bottoms.  (Also find some black shiny flowing fabric for Vader's cape while you're there.  A yard was PLENTY for me.)  This was my first time to follow a pattern to make a costume, so for me, although this was an "easy" pattern (thank goodness!) it was still the most time-consuming portion of making both the Luke and Vader costumes.  Follow the steps on the pattern to make the top and pants, omitting the karate belt.

Step 2: Luke's Belt

To make the belt for Luke, use 4-inch wide black elastic.  Cut the elastic to the size of the waist plus 1 1/2 inches for overlap.  On the overlap portion, use some black Velcro to fasten it together.  I used the stuff that comes already sticky on the back and didn't sew it on.  It held up just fine through 4 different costume-wearing Halloween expeditions!  I found the binoculars and walkie-talkie inside a play set at the dollar store.  I used the sticky Velcro to attach these to the belt.  

Step 3: Luke's Boots

For the socks/shoes, we used some canvas shoes that we already owned and wrapped ACE Bandages around the shoes and halfway up the shins to create a boot look.  The kind of bandage that adheres to itself works really well.  We didn't have to fasten it on with anything, and these bandages lasted through several costume usages, as well.  

Step 4: Luke and Vader's Light Sabers

The light sabers were probably our most exciting find.  Our boys are one and two years old, and they're small for their age as well.  The store-bought toys we found were all way too big for them.  At the Dollar Tree they carried huge glow sticks and handles that were sold seperately (pre-packaged with many smaller glow sticks to stick in the handle).  My husband was convinced that the big sticks would fit in the handle, so we decided to buy the things and give it a try.  Eureka!   Perfect fit!  He made the handles look cool with some black electrical tape and silver Duck Tape.  The glow sticks seemed to last forever.  We'd freeze them and re-use.

Step 5: Vader's Top

For the top, we found a toddler girl's plain black fleece jacket at Wal-Mart.  I used small sheets of black and red felt, along with silver Duck Tape, to cut with scissors and make Vader's panel.  This panel was then attached with self-stick Velcro to either side of the zipper on the front.  To take the jacket on and off, simply undo the Velcro and re-attach.  I also made a strip out of the felt to hot glue on the hood (helmet) from the front to the neck for extra detail.  To make the illusion of a belt, I just used pieces of silver Duck Tape strategically placed as the metal on Vader's belt was.  I used the silver Duck Tape to make the stripes on the breast of his armor, also.  To make the cape, just cut a triangle shape without the top point.out of black, shiny, and flowing fabric from your local fabric store.  I sewed the sides of the top of the shape to the shoulders of the jacket and just left the edges raw.  They didn't unravel and I knew I wouldn't be washing the garment.  

Step 6: Vader's Pants and Feet

The pants are simple.  Use what you've got! Sweat pants, cargo pants, etc.  If it's solid black, it works.  Our one year old didn't wear shoes.  We used black socks for one outing and red for another.  They both looked cute!

Step 7: Vader's Mouth Piece

To make the mouth piece we just used the corner of a 1/2 gallon milk jug, a pacifier that we already had, and black electrical tape/silver Duck Tape.  My husband skillfully wrapped the tape to look like Vader's mouth piece and attached it to the handle of the pacifier.  Voila'!  

Step 8:

Following are some of the fun pictures that we took of our kids!  Here you can see the before and after too.  (The backgrounds may have been slightly... eh-hem...modified, but the costumes are untouched and oh-so-awesome!)