How to make the Red Hood's belt and holsters

Just as Jason Todd's Red Hood wields two guns in Red Hood and the Outlaws, he also wears dual holsters. In most of the comics this comes off as not far off a western gunslingers two-gun rig, black or sometimes silver/grey to match the rest of the costume. Again I was running short of time, but as I had the right belt it only took me two evenings to whip up these holsters from scratch and to figure out the needed strap lengths. The last time I made a holster I had a pattern to follow, but turns out the shape is simple enough to make on the fly. This method can also work for a variety of other quick holster builds, and the rivets and faux leather give it a nice touch.


Materials
-Black leather belt with rectangular silver buckle
-Black flexible binder
-Black "leather" vinyl fabric
-Rivets
-Velcro

Tools
-Scissors
-Crop-o-dile (holepunch and riveter)
-Needle/thread

Reference Image

1. Gather the materials
Most of these materials are cheap and easy to find. The black flexible binder can be found at most dollar stores. The rivets, black webbing, and faux leather vinyl can all be found at a craft store. Velcro squares or strips can be found in plenty of places, including craft stores, and large stores like Walmart of Target.  The belt was the trickiest to find, as I was looking for one with a large rectangular silver buckle like the one pictured above. But I did end up finding this one in a thrift store for a couple dollars, so it is possible to find something similar.

2. Trace pattern for holsters
The holster pattern will be different depending on the dimensions of the prop gun, but I found this basic shape to be useful. The grip of the gun should protrude from the top so that it can be easily drawn. For this particular gun, that meant the holster should be 7 inches deep, and the width of the binder which is 9.75 inches.



3. Cut plastic and fabric for holsters
Cut the plastic in shape traced above. Then cut a piece of vinyl "leather" of the same size and shape, using the plastic to trace it.


4. Rivet holsters into shape
Layer the "leather" on top of plastic and bend it in half lengthwise, keeping the leather on the outside. Where the two ends meet, punch holes at four points like you see below. Fix rivets in these holes to hold the holster into shape.


Repeat for the other holster, and the result should look like these.


5. Cut slits for straps
One way to attach the straps is to make slits in the holster. I cut 1.5 inch horizontal slit near the top of one holster on the back, and two 1.5 inch vertical slits near the bottom, The top slit is so the belt strap can be fixed there, and the two bottom slits are so that the thigh strap can be threaded through. See the picture below for an idea of where they all should be. 


6. Cut holster straps
Though the exact length may vary depending on your frame, I cut two straps at 12 inches and two straps at 24.5 inches. The shorter straps will be the strap the attaches the holster to the belt, and the longer straps will go around the thigh to keep the holsters from moving around too much. For the thigh straps, some Velcro will be needed so that you can easily attach and detach the thigh strap. Below is a picture showing the front and reverse of the thigh straps, with two Velcro patches at one end and one patch at the other, so that it can be adjusted. One long strip at each end will also serve. If using a self-adhesive backing, it will not be strong enough to hold on the webbing. Add a few stitches to the edges of the Velcro to fix it in place. 


7. Attach straps
To attach the belt strap, loop it through the top slit of the holster.


Fold it back on itself and add stitch it into place. This overlap section should be about 1 inch.

Between the holster and the belt, measure out a length of webbing to hang of about 4.5 inches. Depending on the width of the belt, make a loop at the other end. Stich a line to secure the loop. Cut off the excess webbing if you want to.


Here's what it should pretty much look like at the end here.


Attaching the thigh strap is easy, just thread the strap through one slit and out the other.


And there you have it, a simple way to replicate one version of Jason Todd's dual gun holsters, as seen when he is the Red Hood in Red Hood and the Outlaws.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

How to make a simple medieval hood from cloth napkins

Image
All right, so to exercise my rudimentary sewing skills I have challenged myself to make a medieval hood. Before committing myself to making a more complicated design with my better fabrics, I decided to play around with basics with some fabric that won't matter if it goes all to hell. So I experimented with some old cloth napkins and it worked out pretty well. Obviously the rougher design is not all that useful for cosplaying as nobility, but could easily work for a basic outlaw, forester, or Robin Hood type costume. Forgive the stare of death, I needed a dramatic photo... Materials -4 decorative table napkins -Antler or other medieval-type button Tools -Scissors -Needle/thread -Superglue -Measuring tape 1. Gather the materials The materials list is pretty simple. The key part here is finding a set of four cloth napkins that have a believably medieval look to them. Given the roughshod approach, this is a hood better suited to a lower-status medieval person, so...
Read more

How to make rebel pilot leg flares

Image
Another basic part of the Iden Versio costume or any other rebel pilot are the leg flares and flare holder. It's the gray/olive band holding 8 silver "flares" on the left leg of Rebellion pilots in New Hope , Empire Strikes Back , and Return of the Jedi . There's a great tutorial using olive nylon webbing by Gil Guemes aka JediXXL at Rebel Legion , but since I couldn't find suitable webbing I adapted this for using basic fabric instead. Inspiration Materials -Olive green heavy fabric -3/4 inch diameter wooden dowel -Silver spray paint -Clear coat spray enamel -Snaps (or Velcro) Tools -Hacksaw -Sandpaper -Needle/thread -Snap tool 1. Gather the materials First I had to locate just the right fabric. The original Gil Guemes tutorial recommended using olive green 2-inch wide nylon webbing at the basis for the flare holder. Unfortunately I could find none in local craft or hardware stores. Instead I roamed a fabric store looking for ju...
Read more

How to make the collar from the Stargate Anubis Guard

Image
For those intent on becoming the Prime of Ra and adopting the appearance of ancient Egyptian gods to terrorize the populace, welcome to my step-by-step guide of becoming the Anubis guard in the Stargate film. Most of these elements are going to be made from EVA foam, so this simple collar-piece was a good introduction to cutting, detailing, shaping, and painting foam. References Materials -8mm EVA foam -E600 clear glue -Dark copper metallic spray paint -Plastidip -Turquoise acrylic paint Tools -Dremel tool with sanding attachment -Box cutter -Woodburner -Foam wedge for painting, paper towels 1. Gather the materials For this build, you're going to need a thinner EVA foam most easily purchased these days from craft stores. I chose a 8mm thickness, picking up a roll from a craft store for about $20. For this project, I needed about a third of the 24in x 60in roll. For the paints, I chose a dark copper metallic spray paint from Rustoleum. For the Horus guards...
Read more