Halloween 2011: Homemade Indiana Jones Costume Satchel

Much like drunk relatives and Thanksgiving, costume accessories are what make Halloween a real holiday. It's all in the details!

Indiana Jones and The Tweed Suit of Respectability

Indiana Jones is, of course, a Professor of Archeology and Hotness at the fictional Barnett College and therefore needs a sturdy field bag for his journal, passport, and other assorted academic fripperies (magnifying glass, excavation brushes, machete, revolver, etc.). It is also a good place to stash any "rescued" antiquities.

Indiana Jones and The Manly Man Purse

Since I earlier discovered that the real thing is a WWII British gas mask bag,  I had to make one for Henry. I needed it to be easy and cheap too.

Why, yes, he IS wearing a shirt from another Harrison Ford film.  That is a total coincidence, I swear! 

I put the snaps on after Henry tried it out.  I think they could be a little bigger, but it is what I had in my sewing box. Technically, the buckle on the belt and the snaps should be brass, but you get what you get.  It is fully lined in the same fabric which I'm sure my 5 year old really cares about deeply. 

To make the satchel I took the Valentine's Day chairback pattern from the beginning of the year and used it as a base- you can find a detailed tutorial at Our Scoop for the chairback. Obviously, I made some changes to turn it into an adventure-worthy satchel. I skipped the heart cut out, the straps, buttons and ruffles/ric-rac.  To attach it to the belt I inserted squared loops into the seam at the sides between the lining and the exterior, in the same way that you insert the fold over flap. Since the belt is so stiff I made the loops by stitching together two strips of the cotton (both with fused interfacing) and then I back stitched the whole loop to just give it extra strength when I inserted it. Just make sure the loops are centered in the sides, that they are the same size and fit around the belt. 

Use your imagination to remove the Calvin Klein embossed logo.  It was a $1.98 at the Salvation Army.  Finding a leather belt small enough to slip across Henry's chest was not easy.  I wasn't going to use leather at all but everything else I looked at just looked... wrong.

All the pieces spread out.  I used a cheap khaki colored cotton, less then $2 worth, but if you are making this spend the money and use canvas.  It will keep it's shape better if nothing else. 

The best thing about this project for me was the fact that it was so plain how much I've improved in my sewing.  This bag took me maybe an hour and a half and I was sipping tea and listening to the kids play in the other room.  It was simple!  Comparing how I struggled with the chairbacks originally it's pretty pleasing.  The notes I made all over the pattern eight months ago seem self-explanatory now. Hooray for me!   Wait, I take it back!  The VERY best thing about this project was how happy Henry was to have it.  "Mommy!  I can put my candy in it!"  Love him so much.

He's probably dreaming about Legos.