We have a baby hobbit!
I've wanted one for so long. And now I have my very own. Hobbits are adorable and baby hobbits are even more adorable.
I used the
Sense and Sensibility Girls Regency Gown pattern for this. The pattern arrived yesterday so I whipped this up in feverish excitement. I ran into a few snags along the way - mainly, the tan double-knit fabric I tried to use to line the thing just did NOT work out at all. . .so I had to rip the lining out and re-line it. But besides that, the pattern went together well. I like Sense and Sensibility patterns a lot. (and there was a purpose to the insanity of attempting to use a non-woven fabric for the lining. I thought it would be warmer for the baby to wear.)
I dug into the stash for fabrics to use so this costume ended up not costing me anything at all. The main dress fabric is a sheer woven plaid in sage green cotton. The trim is made of strips of wool-blend fabric that I dyed to a light violet color. The lining is natural colored muslin. I made the skirt lining a smidge longer than the sage-green skirt to give the appearance of a double skirt.
Now, I cannot claim authenticity on this dress. Simply because there are so few pictures of hobbit babies from the LOTR movies. The most famous example is Rosie holding little Frodo and the details are almost impossible to see. It looks like the baby is wearing a simple shirt and a sleeveless gown over it and a little gathered brimless cap.
I thought about making an outfit like that, but then decided I really wanted the baby to look as hobbity as possible. A simple jumper and shirt could look like ANYTHING. . .it doesn't really scream "hobbit".
In the end, I decided to combine elements from my own hobbit costume with modern practicalities for dressing an infant. Anne's dress is all one piece instead of being different elements (like the chemise, skirts and bodice that make up my own outfit).
I still wanted to give the appearance of having different elements so the sleeves are different from the main fabric of the dress, the waist seam has a welt of wool to give the appearance of a separate bodice and the two skirt layers are treated independently. Instead of lacing up the back I used flat buttons (bulky buttons would maybe look more "hobbity" but would be uncomfortable for the baby to lay on).
The sleeves are gathered with elastic to make a "cuff" that loosely fits Anne's arm.
I made the size 1, which fits her a bit roomily at present but still looks well. I think she will be able to wear this dress all winter.
I made a little mob cap to finish it off. Gathered-circle mob caps are not historically accurate so I thought that it would look hobbity to have one since a mob cap does not point to any particular era of history. Besides, several hobbit ladies in the LOTR movies wear mob caps so why not??
Just a few more days til the movie comes out!!! I can't wait!!!
Love,
Sarah
