DIY Star Wars Family Halloween Costumes

With the popularity of the Star Wars movies on the rise again, we just knew it wouldn't be long before the boys wanted to be Star Wars characters for Halloween. And 2018 was that year! We actually chose Star Wars as our family costume theme in 2006 when Aidyn was only a little over 1 year old. That go round, Aidyn was Yoda, and Jaxon had not yet been born, so in fairness, neither of them remember us ever doing family Star Wars Halloween costumes. They've just seen pictures.

So guess where I headed? Straight to my costume closet to search for our Han Solo and Princess Leia costumes. Of course, Ryan and I are old school Han and Leia from A New Hope. (We are old enough to remember the original movies the first time they were in theaters.) And you know what? After 12 years, the costumes still fit! If that ain't some Halloween magic, I don't know what is.

The original Han and Leia are in prime form!

Aidyn also wanted to be Han Solo, and lucky for him, I knew how to sew a DIY Han Solo costume since I had already done that once before. (Details below.)

So that meant we had a duo of Solos, which is OK by us. We'd like to think of it more along the lines of the happy Ben Solo that Han and Leia never got to have. Can't you just imagine it? Father-Son talks about how to always shoot first.

And swinging on the swing set without a care in the world . . . but things like that can only come to fruition on Halloween because we ALL KNOW that the real Ben Solo turned out to be a rotten egg and followed in his Grandpappy Darth Vader's footsteps.

But I digress. Jaxon wanted to be Chewbacca, which took a little more ingenuity to create a DIY version. (Details below.) And he totally got into character - even making random Wookie noises throughout the night while we were trick-or-treating.

And if you're wondering whatever happened to Aidyn's old Yoda costume, well that fit our pup Smitty perfectly this year. We repurposed our old Darth Vader costume for our boy Chance too! Here's a picture of the whole motley crew:

So that's a wrap for the Walkush Family Halloween 2018 - Star Walkush.

If you want the Force to Be with You on Halloween, read on for tutorials for how to make your own Star Wars costumes.

DIY Han Solo Costume Tutorial

So, the main pieces of any good Han Solo costume should be relatively easy to find. You will need a pair of navy blue dress pants, a black vest, tall black boots, and long sleeved cream colored or off white shirt. (Han's was actually more of a 3/4 sleeve fit, but long sleeve is easier to find and will work perfectly for a costume.)

I headed straight to the thrift store to hunt for these pieces, and I found the pants, the cream colored shirt, and a black button-down shirt that I then modified into a vest.

Supplies Needed for Han Solo Vest:
Black button down shirt
Seam ripper
Black extra-wide double fold bias tape
Black thread

This requires a minimal amount of sewing. First you'll use a seam ripper to take off the collar, buttons, and sleeves. It will start to look more like Han's vest almost immediately!

Next, you'll try it on your model and pin the bottom up to the right length and cut off any excess. Use a sewing machine to hem the bottom and sew black bias tape around the arm and neck holes.

Cut the excess fabric into four pockets, hem, and sew them to the front of the vest. And you're all done.

Lucky for us, Aidyn and I have the same size feet right now, so I lent him a pair of black riding boots to complete the costume. We purchased a gun holster and some iron-on blood stripes for the pants. And his costume was all set!

DIY Chewbacca Costume Tutorial

Chewbacca Costume Top

The Chewbacca costume needed a little more effort in the sewing department. I purchased a furry Chewbacca hoodie for the main part of the costume, but if you are a more accomplished seamstress, you could easily sew one of these too.

Chewbacca Costume Pants

Supplies Needed for Chewbacca Pants:
Brown Grizzly bear faux fur
Black or brown thread
Parchment paper or wax paper
Marker
T-shirt material (optional)
Elastic
Safety pin
Pair of pajama pants that fit your child to trace

For the furry pants, I purchased one yard of brown Grizzly bear faux fur at our local craft store. Instead of using a purchased pattern, I traced a pair of pants that already fit Jaxon onto parchment paper and then used this DIY pajama pants tutorial for the main part of the sewing.

The only thing I did different from the tutorial is that before I finished the waist, I sewed a band of t-shirt fabric to the waist opening and then threaded the elastic through that. I figured that would probably feel more comfortable on the skin than an elasticized waist made out of the faux fur.

Chewbacca Costume Shoe Covers

Supplies Needed for Chewbacca Shoe Covers:
leftover Brown Grizzly bear faux fur
Black or brown thread
Elastic
Chalk pencil

I used the leftover fur fabric to sew some simple shoe covers for the costume. I took a pair of Jaxon's shoes, draped the faux fur over top of the shoes, and cut around the edges (making sure to leave plenty of extra).

I then cut another piece of fur the same size as the first one.

I then flipped the fur inside out and roughly sketched a line up the back of the heel where I would need to sew a seam.

And I sewed a straight seam on that line, which looks like this when you turn the fur right side out.

But, we're not done with the wrong side yet! While you have the fur on the wrong side, roughly trace an opening for the foot by feeling where the shoe opening is beneath the fur. Remember, it is better to trace a hole too small and go back and cut more than to cut the hole too big the first time!

Sew two pieces of elastic to the shoe cover so that they will cross under the shoe at the ball of the foot and at the heel.

Cut out the hole and flip the shoe cover inside out, and repeat for the other shoe. Your shoe covers are complete and Chewie will have furry feet for Halloween night!

Chewbacca Makeup Tutorial

I used this makeup tutorial to recreate the look of Chewie's face:

And you're all set with your homemade Chewbacca costume!

DIY Leia Costume Tutorial

Most of these notes are from memory, since I made this costume years ago, but if you want to attempt your own costume instead of purchasing one, here's the way to do it.

My costume dress is actually a white liturgical (praise) dance dress. It was the right length and had the high neck and flowing sleeves. I opened up both shoulder seams and then took a small strip of fabric and sewed it into the seams to mimic the hooded part of her dress.

The belt is made out of faux white leather and the silver parts are actually the backs of soda cans cut into the right shapes and then glued on. I outlined the metal shapes and "drew" on buttons in the center with silver glitter paint.

I wear white go-go boots with this costume since those are the easiest white boots to find in costume shops.

And this is the tutorial I use for doing the big Leia buns. You'll need faux hair in the same color as your own to get the volume to create large buns and don't forget LOTS of bobby pins!

I actually split the hair into two portions and wrapped the portions in two separate directions, pinning as I went along. If you don't want to go to the trouble of using faux hair, and you have fairly long hair, you can always use the hair donuts to make smaller buns or just purchase a Leia wig.

Happy Halloween from the Walkush Family!

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