Laura Croft Costume


This page is just a copy of an email I sent someone asking how we made the holsters. For the rest of the costume she got a teal tank top, kakhi shorts and hiking shoes. We should have gotten black finger gloves as well, but I don't think we did.



Basically, I bought 2" and 1" nylon straps from a local sewing store (Joanne's Fabrics). There are black and 'metalic' plastic clips that are made for the straps which I used as well. With these, I just measured Cindy's waste and made a belt with A 2" strap (make sure to fold over the cut end or else it will be sharp on the wearer and may unravel. Actuall, I think I folded them over twice so the cut end isn't showing at all. I used a 2" black clip as the belt clip, since they don't seem to make metallic 2" clips. I then added a small section in front of 1" strap, sewn to the 2" strap, and added a metalic clip in the middle of this, right over the black clip, so it would look from a distance as if the metallic clip is the only one.

So, the main belt being done, I made two sections of U shaped strap, one for each leg, so the holster would hang lower than the belt. The tops of the U were sewn into loops that can slide over the belt part. They need to be a little more than 2" on the inside so they can fit over the clips. To make the shape I just bent the strap 45 degrees in four places, pressing it as flat as possible, then sewed around the parts of the bend that were overlapping it's self. I think I added some clips between the bottom of the U section and the belt loops, just for looks, but I'm not sure.

I ended up buying some cheap nylon holsters to use in this, but I was planning on building our own. I was going to take the guns, fold over a sheet of vinel (sp?), put the top of the gun at the fold, then trace around the outline of the gun, leaving the trigger gaurd uncovered, plus a half inch extra for sewing space. Turn the butterfly shape you end up with inside out and sew it, leaving the top (butt end) and bottom (barrel end) open, then turn it back right side out. This should make something that holds the guns securely and is easy to make. If it was too floppy, and it was hard to get the guns in and out I was going to bend a wire coat hanger into the shape of the opening of the holster and sew it in, to keep the holster open. This would make pulling and holstering the guns much easier, but if you're not going to be doing that it doesn't matter.

The last step is to cut two small slits in the inside wall of whatever holsters you end up with, about a half inch apart. Thread a 1" strap through that, sew 1" black clips on the strap to form the straps that hold the holster to the legs. The clips on these should be as far toward the holster as possible, so it's easy to get at them while putting them on and off (besides, it looks neater).

So, this is how I made the holsters. :)


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