How to Make a Pair of Fleece Twi'Lek Lekku to Wear As a Hat.

Materials List:
Blue Flece (blanket from Ikea £5)
Brown Fleece (blanket from Asda £2)
Polysyrene Beads (£3 from Hobby Craft for more than enough beads)
Brown and Blue/white Thread
3 Inches of sew in Velcro or other sutible fastning.

I wanted to make some proper latex Lekku like the excellent Pam at Pam' Twi'lek Creations but I don't have the facilities at home so I went with what I know and sewed them.

This was all guess work, not really working from a pattern and only really drawing upon a pattern for a jesters hat.

The hat is filled with polystyrene balls so its really cozy.

(Needless to say I do not own rights to this, I have nothing to do with Lucas Arts and this is simply a bit of fun and I won't be selling them or profiting in anyway.)

Step 1: Measure and Cut

The measurements you need are: Around your head from the nape of your neck to the front of your forehead (tophead), around your head over your ears (roundhead) and the length you want your Lekku (LL).

My roundhead is 60cm. My tophead is 40cm. My LL is 80cm.

Once you have that you can mark the shapes then cut them out.

Step 2: Check and Sew

Sew along the two longest sides. Due to the nature of fleece, the bottom fabric will feed faster than the top (unless you have a walking foot) but as long as you are neat it won't cause a problem but will not lie flat.

Sew the ends in such a way that when you turn it right ways out the ends will be pointy.

Step 3: Pin and Sew the Straight Bits

Now sew the straight bits together. (Sorry, it isn't a particularly good picture.)

Step 4: Inside the Hat

Cut two half moons and sew them together to create a simple beanie hat. Plonk it on your head and adjust to a good fit as this will be the inside of your lekku.

The second picture is the pointy bits from the last step inside the beanie so that it can be sewn in.

Step 5: Sewing in the Lining

I don't have any photos for this bit because this is a hindsight fix. The line highlighted below is where I have sewn to keep the stuffing in the tails and out of the head bit. Its a semi circle that takes in as much of the head bit as possible to avoid a big head. I did this after I stuffed it but I really recommend you do it before you stuff it.

Step 6: Stuffing

I used a toilet roll tube and a cone of paper to do the stuffing. I tried a plastic funnel but the static stopped the balls from going through it. It was possible to do this alone but a lot less hassle if someone else helps.

As you pour the balls in, make sure you squeeze them right down into the tips. XD

Keep checking the shape as it is way easier to get the stuffing in than it is to get it out. I made an absolute mess because I over stuffed at first and those things are a real pain to clean up.

Step 7: Hat/head-dress Bit

Cut a rectangle of brown fleece and round the corners off. This rectangle should be big enough to wrap around the back of your head and those blue bits should go over your ears.

Step 8: Ears

Cut two rings out of brown fleece and two circles out of blue fleece the same size. Put the blue over the cone of brown fleece then the ring over the top and stitch down.

If I were to make this again I would make the blue bits smaller and maybe have them sticking out a bit more.

Step 9: Tail Straps

Cut two half inch strips a couple of metres long each. Then wrap around from head to tip then back again crossing over.

Step 10: Sewing Head-dress to Head

Cut another long stip, thicker this time so you can hem it. I started from the back then wraped around the front, tucked it under the other brown bit and out round the front again. This bit was really hard to photograph because its brown on brown so i'll label as best I can and then you can just give yours a good eyeball and figure it out.

In these photos everything is just pinned. When it comes to sewing it make sure everything is in place (ie. the tail strips) so you don't have to make too many passes with the sewing machine.