Carly Mallenbaum

USA TODAY

Corrections & clarifications: An earlier version of this report gave an incorrect place of residence for Clint Randall. He lives in Mesa, Ariz.

LOS ANGELES — Star Wars: The Force Awakens has been in theaters less than a month, but costumer Dawn Bright already has homemade outfits inspired by the film. Among her Force Awakens creations: a Kylo Ren costume based on actor Adam Driver's edgy baddie that she wore to the premiere (through her costuming group, she was invited to the Los Angeles event and after-party, where she was seated next to Driver), screenings and charity functions.

The Kylo Ren project started with research at April's Star Wars Celebration, a fan event in Anaheim, Calif. "I took hundreds of photos (capturing) exactly where the zippers were on Adam Driver’s sleeves … to exactly where the seams are located" as seen in clips from the movie, says Bright, 35, of Riverside, Calif. She also watched "about 100 interviews with Adam Driver talking about how he felt in the costume" for inspiration.

The intricate costume has four layers:

Folded armor. Bright's version incorporates 11 yards of tucks, sewn in place top to bottom. "You can see it in the meditation scene" in the movie, she says.

Woolen coat. It's open in the front, with four panels of material below the belt.

Pleated sleeves. The arms have five layers of pleats that are uneven ("Just like Kylo Ren"), each one-half to three-quarters inches wide, Bright says.

Overcoat. Bright's version is made of 8 yards of fabric, woven together in a basketweave pattern.

She also worked with clay to mold her own helmet and cast parts of the outfit in silicone and resin. Though she purchased a Kylo Ren crossguard lightsaber, she upgraded it with the help of 40 hot glue sticks and glass paint to give it a fuzzy, lit-up look.

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Bright isn’t the only one who began building her Star Wars costume before seeing the new movie. Thousands of members of costuming group 501st Legion, a global organization, also are making and wearing Force Awakens attire.

Clint Randall, 41, of Mesa, Ariz., gives tips to fellow costumers on Internet forums about building Force Awakens armor. He has had his First Order Stormtrooper costume since Lucasfilm invited 75 fans to build their own versions at Star Wars Celebration.

For Javier Esqueda, 46, of Joliet, Ill., cosplaying means he’s fulfilling a dream of his since he was 7: to be a Stormtrooper. The police officer with a family dresses in the plastic bad-guy suit at charity events and is sometimes teased for his hobby. “If we’re all such dorks and geeks, I’m proud to be labeled that,” he says.

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Tasha Ruth, 29, of Rio Rancho, N.M., has fun disguising her feminine appearance and voice in a Star Wars helmet. She’s working on a new TIE pilot costume and has a costume based on the original trilogy version of the flight suit.

“Star Wars is like its own culture," Ruth says. “It’s a lifestyle, it’s a glue that brings people together.”

Cosplaying “is not just buddies who get together on their own and pretend they’re in Star Wars,” Randall says. In fact, he got interested in costuming only after seeing how much joy Darth Vader brought to kids at the adoption event where he met his son in 2013.

“I’ve always been a huge Star Wars fan, and now it’s kind of real.”