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Amy - Virginia, USARosie Cotton's Party Outfit As strange as this sounds, I have always loved Rosie’s character; strange, because she has such a small part in both the books and movies! But I think there is a little envy of her in every young lady. I mean, to have someone like Sam for a husband? Nice. Anyway, we envy her for her cool clothes, too! I love this dress! It is
so fun and joyful! When I wear it, even though I am 5' 2," I somehow feel
like a Hobbit! It is very hobbitish in the design, cute, functional, and
fun. It was so great in the movie how, in one of her only 3 shots in this
outfit, she happens to dance right up to the camera, lift up her arms, and
give us the greatest view of her dress! I got most of my info from pausing
the film and making sketches of it. All of the materials in this outfit are
cotton broadcloths. I actually had all the fabric I needed to make this
already, except for the dark blue used for the overskirt. So I got one yard
of it off the bargain table for $1.00 a yard. Plus I got an extra 20% off,
so I paid around $.80 for the whole thing! If I did not already have the
other fabrics, I could have pulled this dress off for around $12 (this
includes all the fabric plus the bias tape, cord and grommets). The great
thing about doing Hobbit costumes instead of elves’ is that you use fabrics
like cottons and wools instead of velvets and silks! It is MUCH cheaper, and
a cinch to work with. The pattern however, was not a cinch. Far from it. If I had just done the logical thing and bought a pattern, modifying it slightly, this would have been so much easier. But I, being crazy, decided to make my own. It came out ok in the end, but about halfway through it aIl I was about to give up, thinking that it could not be saved. The skirt is your basic Hobbit skirt. (See Alleycat’s great pattern!) However, there are three of them all on top of each other! What I did to save fabric was make two skirts, one on top of the other, and sew a gathered strip of the lightest blue fabric at the bottom to give the illusion that there was another one under there. It kinda worked. When you look at it, it really just looks like I sewed a strip of fabric in instead of making the other skirt! (Imagine that! ;) ) Anyway, the skirts are then stitched together and a waist band is attached. The back opens so I can slip the skirt on comfortably, then is closed with Velcro and hook and eyes.
Then, there was the bodice. *Mordor theme plays in the background* This
was by far the hardest part. I had a nightmarish time trying to get the
thing to fit right, and then there was a whole new host of problems. Once I
did get it to fit, I began working on the bias tape border. Word to the
wise, do not attempt to sew half-inch bias tape on something that clearly
requires at least 1-inch tape! There will be many tears. Then, good luck
with the grommets. Since my bodice is lined, I had to puncture through
several layers of fabric to get the hole. NEVER punch holes through your
fabric with the point of very sharp scissors while your hand is under the
fabric. This requires just some plain old common sense that was lacking at
the time of night I did this. Needless to say, I went through a lot of
Band-Aids that week. But they were in! I laced it up and it looked great!
The final touch was putting 3/8 inch ribbon down the front to make the The choker was fun and easy! I just took some of my dark blue fabric and sewed it into a 3/4 inch strip and slipped an 8 -shaped piece of Sculpey on it. It closes in the back with a hook and eye My hair is naturally straight; it goes all the way down to my waist and is very thick, which makes trying to curl it nearly futile. But I discovered that the overnight method with sponge curlers works very well. I just have to make sure not to brush it and they will remain fairly intact. I pulled the top of it back and secured it with ribbons.
Now I just have to master that dance..................................... ;)
Also check out Amy's other outfits
This page was last updated 11/21/09
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