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Susan R- British Columbia, CanadaIndex
|
 | Aragorn (Strider) |
| Arwen Angel Dress |
| Rosie Cotton |
| Gandalf |
| Boromir |
| Hobbit Gal (another page) |
| Cloak (another page) |
My
model is my 6-year-old son, Evan. I made him the costume to play in.
That is all he wants to do after school.
This costume was a lot a work and took tons of time. It was a labor of love though, because my son (6-years-old) plays Lord of the Rings everyday. He wears this costume when ever he can.
| Cloak - I used the Fellowship Cloak pattern from the website. I
ordered the leaf clasp from Costume Craze online. (see Cloak Closet
section for more pics etc.) |
| Boots - I modified boot covers from McCall's 3746 using the drawings in the Strider section of the website. I cut the pattern apart, added seam allowances along the cut lines, and sewed it back together to match Striders boots. I added cuffs and braided ties. Finally I painted mud on. |
|
 Jerkin
- I used faux suede that was a knit so it didn't fray. That way, I
could use strips of it to braid for ties and to bind the edges in.
When I was binding a straight edge like the side seam, I just turned
the seam allowance to the front and topstitched rather than binding.
It looked the same and saved time. Before I started putting the
Jerkin together, I cut it further apart and used a machine blanket
stitch to sew it back together. When I was done, I painted mud on the
raggedy bottom edge. |
| Jerkin pattern adjustments - I used size 8 for my son (he's big for 6!!) Since I was not using the sleeve and was binding the arm hole, I cut the 5/8" seam allowance off. I also cut down the neck edge by 5/8" but then again because the jerkin isn't tight up to the neck like the mandarin collared tunic pattern. Then I just decided on a length, but I feel I made it way too short. |
|
 Duster
- I splurged and bought a fairly expensive faux suede because it was
the perfect color of deep green, but the challenge was that it did
fray a bit so I couldn't leave raw edges showing like I had for the
Jerkin with the knit faux suede. I made bias binding for all the raw
edges which was a lot of work to press a 1/4" edge under and then 1/2"
binding. I used the wrong side for all the bias to add to the
textured look. I punched holes once the binding was on for all the
lacing. I used purchased lacing because I couldn't use my fabric in
strips because of fraying
issues. |
| Duster pattern adjustments - I cut the 5/8 seam allowances off the top of the sleeve and armhole and then bound the raw edges. I just turned the seam allowance to the right side for the under arm, centre front & back, and side seams. I just added a centre back seam so I couldn't split up the back. I also cut the neck edge down quite a bit so the jerkin would show. Because the hems are raw edges and my fabric frays, I drew a generous line of Fray Check, let it dry and cut jaggedly along it. The result was convincing of real leather, I think. |
|
 Sword
- I ordered a kid sized Ranger Sword from Costume Craze and the
Evenstar pendant. (He wouldn't wear the wig or pendant to school, but
wore them trick or treating and around the house) I just used nylon
webbing to hang the scabbard I made from a belt. The scabbard was
just made from vinyl upholstery fabric. I added a pocket for a little
dagger he uses for a hunting knife. |
| I have a shirt and pants planned, but I ran out of time for Halloween. I plan to get them done since this is his play clothes. |
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I used Simplicity 5520. I had to make a some changes to the pattern to make it work.
| The main thing was to get rid of the princess seams on the front and back of the dress. For a shapeless little girl, this wasn't too difficult. I just overlaid the front and side front at the bodice area to maintain intended size and let the skirt are overlap quite a bit to eliminate the gore at the front. |
| I also changed the sleeve. I needed an out and inner sleeve. For the narrow inner sleeve, I just eliminated all the long drape and made it a more normal sleeve shape. For the outer sleeve, I have to change the seam placement. I took out the underarm seam and moved it to the front of the sleeve. Then I added the trim and stitched only the top section of the sleeve so it would fall open. |
|
 Also,
I added a split up the front of the outer dress. I then sewed the two
dresses together (wrong to right sides) and put the neck facing on both
neck edges together. Then I added all the trim. |
| The neck trim is made of 3 rows of narrower trim. That way it was
easier to put around a round opening. |
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| For the Bodice, I switched the lacing from the front to the back and took off the point and peplum from the bodice waist. I also added a circle cut-out in the front and lots of piping and narrow braid trim. |
| For the Apron, I made the apron wider, used box pleats not gathers and made the ties really long. |
| For the Skirt, I shortened it for mid-calf and added a second skirt a few inches shorter. |
| The blouse is the dress just cut off at hip level. |
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My
model is my hubby of 17 years, David. He's one of those Tolkien fans
who have read the books 40+ times and can quote chapter and verse!!!!
The
Hat - I wasn't happy with the hat. I used a wizard hat pattern and I
will change quite a few things when I try again. I couldn't find a
grey-blue suede so I used navy. Big mistake. I should have used a
light grey instead. I used heavy iron-on interfacing on both layers
of the brim and on the top, but it still wasn't stiff enough. I going
to use buckram next time and soak the finished product in fabric
stiffener and then mould it. And finally, I'm going to change the
brim pattern. It needs to me a bit narrower, but more importantly, it
lies too flat. I need to cut the centre back seem at more of an angle
so the brim tips down like a funnel when the seam is sewn. Plus it
was too small with the wig on.
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| Detail of the Yoke | Detail of the hem of the robe |
My
model is my brother-in-law. I made him the costume for his birthday
present.I used Butterick 3249 as the basis for both the red tunic and the black jerkin.
Red Tunic - I used embroidered silk from an East Indian fabric
store. I couldn't get the wedding dress fabric like they used in the
movie. Those dresses are pre-made and shipped from India. I had to
choose a close second. I bought the gold trim and appliqués from them
as well. I also did some embroidery for the sleeve using my sewing
machine and gold thread.
Red Tunic Collar - is made of black faux suede with gold bullion trim and gold appliqués from the East Indian store.
Red Tunic - The main change I made was obviously to make the pattern bigger, but more importantly, I cut the arm hole much deeper and made the sleeve wider to compensate. The woman's style is far too close-fitting in the shoulder and sleeve area. Also, I added a centre back seam and slit it up to the hip.
Black
Jerkin
I just used upholstery weight vinyl and gold braid.
I extended the pattern's shoulder and make it sleeveless. I didn't bother with facings - I just hemmed all the edges. Instead of pressing the seams, I topstitched with a feather stitch to hold the seam flat. That really helped it look better.
Vambraces - I just cut out a piece of black vinyl and hemmed it. My hubby painted the tree. Then I added eyelets to the back and laced them up.
Shield - it is made from a Rubbermaid garbage can lid with edge cut off and a bowl glued on. I painted it, added strapping and handles, and decorated it with heavy gold braid.
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This page was last updated 11/21/09
