Concerning Hobbits

Let me start by saying, I am a Tolkien fan. I started with the movie, which I have seen hundreds of times and is the "background" for much of my sewing... in fact, I can tell exactly where in a movie I am by the music or noise. And of course I mean the extended version! However, in my hopes to get my girls to love reading, I began reading The Hobbit to them at bedtime. It lulled them to sleep and made that entire process so much easier, which made me love it even more. We are currently around page 70 of LOTR, but the girls do not settle in as well for this book.

Let me tell you that my enjoyment of the movies pales in comparison to my children's! Especially the youngest! We have watched the behind-the-scenes and appendices so she completely understands that its all pretend and make-believe, so she just gets to have fun watching it. The fight scenes aren't scary and what would have scared me to death as monsters... well, lets just say that for a good 6 months, every time Gollum came on the screen she BURST into laughter. Spritely, bubbly giggles. From Gollum. Her favorite number is 87. (Kudos to the first person to figure out why) and when she wants someone to be quiet, she changes her adorable little voice into an Uruk's and says as deeply as she can "You want some? (pause) Then keep your mouth shut!"

And - MOST IMPORTANTLY - they want to eat like hobbits. Hobbits enjoy seven meals a day. But why stop there? My kiddos want to eat some of the same things. Today, it was lembas bread! Well, it was supposed to be lembase bread....

In fact, this was the necessary bribe to get little C-Bear to dress up like a hobbit boy.... although she did thoroughly enjoy wearing it....

Sadly, a pukey morning (oh the joys of parenthood) and an ill-timed nap foiled our plans. So we must try again tomorrow.... Which means you can look forward to more pictures, and a lembas bread recipe review!

So, first things first, what do hobbits wear? Britches, buttoned shirts, suspenders, waistcoats, coats and hooded capes. Well, of those things, I only had a cape so I needed to find some patterns to create the others. For the waistcoat, I made a vest which may or may not be "proper". For the suspenders, I found Little Lizard King's PDF pattern, and I think it worked out great! For the breeches (or britches), I used Scientific Seamstress' Easy Fit pants and just cut them off so they looked like funny little hobbit pants. I also used Scientific Seamstress' Ethan shirt and made some adjustments so the sleeves would and collar would look right. Please note that if you make this pattern as written you will end up with an impeccable shirt, but it will not look like the ones I have pictured. I used poplin for the pants, and cotton for the shirt, vest and breeches.

With the vest

Without the Vest

In her Hobbit girl dress :)

Now, the girls outfits would be incredibly difficult if I made them in as many layers as I needed to make it look legit. So, I sort of faked the funk.... I used Viola Lee's Olivia peasant dress patterns and made the front of some of them look corseted. I lengthened the skirts and used one panel, so once again, the patterns I used will not look the same if you make them as the instructions say. The most recent dress (the blue one!) I made was not my usual pattern, I used Foo Foo Threads' Tasha pattern, but with changes. Same disclaimer goes with this pattern.

Viola Lee's peasant dress pattern (beautiful pics by Keri Gernand Photography!)

Foo Foo Threads' Tasha (Rosie Cotton)

For the fichu (the handkerchief-shawl type thing hobbits wear) I once again kind of faked it til I maked it. Heehee, I did a triangle with a scooped neck because one of my customers is having a Hobbit wedding but depending on the weather, may want something to cover the girls' shoulders. I used a beautiful crushed penne for these.

 

These items are, of course, for sale in my Etsy shop!

UPDATED 4/12/2014

I wanted to add a shot of my Hobbit style cape. It doesn't come from a pattern, I free hand it, but I think it completes the costume perfectly!