At long last I got the hobbit costume I started last year finished! The bodice and skirts had been finished for months, but then we moved, and after that I had other things that needed doing before baby arrived. Now though I’ve had the time to work on it, when the children have been sleeping. The other day I finished a shift I’d been working on now and then for a couple of months, and put the finishing touches to a straw bonnet. Everything is hand stitched, partly because Hobbits “did not understand or like machines more complicated than a forge-bellows, a water-mill or a hand-loom” and partly because I am much the same – I usually prefer hand sewing to using the machine.
The shift is made from a thin twill cotton fabric that was in one of twelve banana boxes of fabric I received from a friend a while back. (After going through the contents I kept three or four boxes worth of fabric, and gave away the rest. I’m sure you’ll hear more about that amazing gift, as I can see it being used a lot.) I had to piece it here and there to get a shift from it, and it’s still a bit shorter than I’d have liked. It won’t show under the bodice and skirts though. It uses classic geometric construction (with rectangles for the body, sleeves and cuffs, gussets for under the arms, and gores at the sides), and has a drawstring neck.
The bodice is made from several scraps of linen and cotton fabrics in my stash. It’s trimmed with finger loop braids, boned with zip ties and have sewn eyelets for lazing up the back, where a modesty panel covers the gap.
The top skirt is made from what once were cotton curtains from the charity shop. It works the same way as 18th century petticoats, with the front waistband tying in the back, and the back one tying in front. The ties are made from cotton tapes I wove myself, just because I felt like weaving. The bottom skirt is one I made for modern use. It doesn’t show in the pictures, but it’s in olive green raw silk.
As hats and hat sizes are mentioned quite a few times by Hobbits in the books I decided I wanted one. If my hair turned out badly it would also hide the fact that my hair doesn’t like being curled. I could just arrange whatever hair did get curly to frame my face and hide the rest under the bonnet. (It worked very well.) The bonnet is made from an old straw hat, found at a charity shop. It had some severe rifts at one side, so after wetting and reshaping it, I folded and stitched down part of the brim to hide the rifts and make the hat a bit more bonnet shaped. I trimmed it with strips of cotton fabric – the heavy trimming in the back is obviously to hide the rather crude fold in the brim.
When everything was done I pinned my hair up in the hope of it turning out curly over night (sadly, it did not turn out too successfully, but the bonnet saved the day), so I could have a photo shoot of the finished outfit. As it threatened rain we stayed close to the house – in fact we only stepped out in our small garden. We grow potatoes there, which felt like as good a setting as any for a Hobbit.
As you might tell by the surrounding buildings, I portray a Bree Hobbit, with Men for neighbours. Hobbits would never build such tall houses 😉
The outfit has a lot of greens and yellows in it, as those are supposed to be colours favoured by Hobbits. I’m more of a blue, brown and wine red person myself, so I guess I just have to make more Hobbit outfits… I would like one that is more muted, so it could be worn in my modern life without looking too odd. One with a front opening bodice would be good, to make breast feeding easier. A fitted bodice would be nice to wear in my modern life, as it gives some shape and structure to my present post pregnancy fluff.
peculiarseamstress.blog 
I think it looks very pretty. Has a 'folk costume' feel to the ensemble.
do hobbits do folk dance?
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Thank you 😀
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Hi! Love your blog 🙂 I nominated you for a Liebster award, congratulations! all the details here: http://fairyfingers.blogspot.ca/2014/06/ive-been-nominated-for-liebster-award.html
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This is adorable! I love how you've really thought it through in and balanced all the construction with what Hobbits would do!
Will you use any of the pieces for historical wear?
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Thank you 😀 I like to make fantasy clothing as realistic as real historical clothing – if it's not believable, where's the fun?
No, I do not plan to use any of it for historical wear. None of it is quite right for that, though most of the construction techniques are 😉
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It's such fun to see what people come up with for hobbit garb, and how things can lead in fascinatingly different directions! Your post on this bodice last September was the inspiration for my own hobbit gown — and then kitting out the rest of my family! — but as it happened I ended up making a short gown based on the Kallfors one from Duran Textiles.
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I would like to see your outfit!
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You look very hobbity! It's ages since I used any of my own hobbit outfits. Are you a member of any local Tolkien society?
Pernilla/Saffran Took
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Thank you! No, I'm not in any Tolkien society. So far my nerdiness have not taken me there. I do feel that Ruby would be a rather good hobbit name for me though 🙂
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We started one in Lund several years back, but then most of the active members either moved away or got very busy with babies or dissertations and stuff, so everything kind of went on hiatus, and I haven't had the energy to start anew. I really miss it sometimes.
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You look so fabulous! I missed this when you first posted it, but thanks for the link. Your dress is gorgeous!
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Thanks Jen 😀
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Just a quick question, because it is seriously bugging me.
When you made this, you posted it to a (rather small) Middle Earth sewing group on FB, which we are/were both members of.
….where is it? I cannot find the group, and wanted to post to it…was it deleted?
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Just lovely! As a spinner/weaver I am delighted to know that you wove your own tapes! I do also! My husband who is a wonderful woodworker has made me (and some friends of ours) a replica of the tape looms from the late 1700’s which were called “tombstone” tape looms because of the shape of the piece that has the slots and holes. I LOVE weaving those tapes and have woven linen and cotton tapes as well as Christmas colors and sparkling strings to put round the Christmas tree. But your lovely hobbit dress is stunning! Thanks for sharing this with us.
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That’s what nerds do 😉 Thank you for your nice comment!
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