Princess Leia - Ceremonial Dress

The belt is made from 5-6 oz. leather. We recommend undyed leather as it paints very easily. There are seven metal pieces that decorate the belt that are spaced about 1/2" apart from each other. The center metal piece is the only odd shape - a pentagon. The other shapes are octagonal and are identical to each other. The image below shows the completed belt.

The length of the belt is determined by the waist size that it will accomodate. The width of the belt starts out at 2-1/4" and stays that way all the way up to the first set of octagonal metal pieces after the center pentagonal piece. From there, the belt widens down to a V-shape to 3" wide. Cut your belt to the correct length and shape. Again, refer to the image above for the overall shape of the belt.

Burnishing the edges of the belt will give it a nice, finished look. You'll need some wax and an "edge slicker". This is a little time-consuming, but it's worth it. Just apply some wax to the edge of the leather belt. Use the slicker to burnish the wax in by running the it along the edge several times.

Burnishing works by heating up the wax, causing it to bond to the pourous surface of the leather, creating a finished seal. Once you've burnished the edges, paint the belt using the silver shoe paint. Go in with 3-4 light coats instead of one heavy coat. You only need to paint the top surface. Don't bother trying to paint the back part of the leather. Set it aside and let it dry completely.

Note: The belt shown in this tutorial is the white ANH version. It is identical to the silver Ceremonial Dress version.