Having just come home from the Ring of Fire con in Hampton, VA with the Rebel Legion, this is a project I was immediately drawn to.

CharlieMcN33l has ridden a Harley for years but has been a Star Wars fan for even longer. He even customizes helmets for himself to wear. When he started using his X-Wing pilot helmet, he wanted a flight jacket to go with it. Charlie is an Industrial Designer/DIYer/amateur tailor, so he decided to make a motorcycle jacket for himself.

Usually, Charlie wears a “Carhartt Duck Detroit” jacket or a MA-1 Bomber jacket when he rides. To break it down, his new jacket is 60% X-Wing flight jacket, 30% Carhartt jacket, 10% MA-1 Bomber jacket. He laid out the pattern for the grey vest based off the measurements of his size 40 Carhartt jacket, based off of scene shots of the Empire Strikes Back X-wing pilot jacket Luke wore. Once he sewed together the grey vest with the padded ribbing, he added reflective ribbons to be easily spotted at night. He also chose to attach the grey vest to the orange jacket all in one piece. Next, the grey arm pleats went with the rest of the orange arm pieces.

It’s hard to see in this picture, but Charlie also added a wind breaker and a very soft polyester lining (the same soft polyester that is used on blankets), making it soft and warm.