The Tomten outfit Sadie and I made for Delia for Winter Solstice was a huge hit. HUGE. Two nights ago, when Delia wore it all to bed (the whole outfit) she woke up twice, hysterical, because her beard had come off. Here's a drawing of all the pieces. I have not found suitable keys yet, but they appear in the book below, and they look cute in the illustration, so I added them in. This outfit is based on the book combined with the ornament in this post. I got smart and made sure the whole costume worked over the red nightgown I was sewing for her gift anyway.
Some specs:
- The hat is soft fleece. I didn't finish the seams or anything, just made a wide cone and stitched it up. The pattern came with the nightgown pattern below, which was so convenient.
- The smock is felt and made from an enlargement of the smock pattern in my book. To make it look like a pine cone, I cut out strips of scallops and stitched them on (actually Sadie did.) It just ties in the back.
- The beard is one layer of cotton quilt batting with elastic sewn on.
- The keys don't exist, but should, so I am looking.
- The slippers are the classic ballet leather ones.
- The red nightgown is a simple pull over in red mini-corduroy made from McCall's 5510. I love this very versatile pattern. It's great for dresses, nightgowns, and costumes—super easy and fast.
The Tomten says in character all day. She is quite solemn and a bit gruff, and it's all very very funny. She knows this, but won't crack a smile.
We got this surprise in the mail—The Tomten and the Fox book with no note or message. It was quite thrilling. We now know who sent it (thank you!) and love it so much. This whole Tomten business is so wonderful. I love the woodsy, natural, bearded little troll gig. There is a lot of princess love in this house and this is such a nice balance—you know what I mean.