Hey, it’s me, Hannah.
Let’s get hobbity. I am hosting a Hobbit picnic, my very first fantasy content event, here in Richmond this weekend. Me and 15 or so other content creators and appreciators of The Hobbiton lifestyle and potlucks are going to get together and share food and drink, dressed as denizens of the Shire. So, I thought I would take you along with me as I prepared for this event. Starting by finalizing my Hobbitcore look, which involves sewing a hobbity bodice to wear over a blouse and skirt. In terms of the rest of my outfit, I already have a top and skirt that I’d like to wear, this brown button up skirt and white button up top with puffy sleeves and a big, beautiful collar.
For the bodice, I’m going to be using this pattern, the Butterick 4669 corset vest, in this fabric, which is a thrifted sheet and a thrifted tablecloth. I wanted to add a touch of color and a little bit of floral, so this fabric ended up being perfect. I did also use this fabric for my Regency-style cottagecore look, so check out that video if you haven’t seen it already. So I’ve already cut the fabric after adjusting the pattern to my measurements. So let’s go ahead and jump in to sewing up this hobbity bodice.
I’m pretty happy with this. This turned out pretty good. All right, so now that I’ve got the fit straight after my first try, I got the fit almost perfect. I am going to go ahead and remove these side seams and duplicate this whole process for the outer fabric before connecting the lining to the outer fabric. Leaving, leaving the side seams unsewn.
And actually, before I connect to the lining and the outer fabric, I think instead of doing eyelets like the pattern calls for, I’d rather do button loops on the center front. So what I’m going to do is take pieces of this cord and use that to create button loops. So I’m going to mark and measure this cord to make sure that it’s the same size. And I’m going to pin the loops in place between the lining and the main fabric, which will be right side to right side, before sewing those pieces together.
Good morning. I finished my bodice yesterday. I think it turned out really, really cute, and I’m very happy with it. I think I’m going to go ahead and continue to sew today. I still feel like my Hobbitcore look is missing something. So I’m going to spend today sewing up a little half apron for myself to go over my brown skirt and kind of really tie everything together.
I’m not really following a pattern for this. I think I’m just going to kind of freehand it, essentially just take the skirt that I’m wearing, measure 2 to 3 inches in from the side seams, and that will essentially be the width of the apron. I think I’m going to try and use fabric from my grandmother in law fabric haul, so if you haven’t seen that video, give it a watch. So now I’m going to try and figure out what fabric to use and try and knock out this apron really fast. Let’s get started.
You don’t get to see that until the reveal. Okay. So I finished my apron. I am now going to start working on a string of flags that I’d like to use as decor. I found this perfect spot in a park nearby called Maymont. Big, beautiful park; if you’re local to Richmond, you know exactly what I’m talking about. So I’ve decided for decor to create my own sort of patchwork flags using cloth and crocheted flags that I’m going to make myself. I actually started crocheting a couple last night. I think that this will be about the size that I’m going for, but I do I want to mix it up with a couple made of yarn, a couple made from cloth, a couple different patterns, different colors. I think that that will bring about that sort of Bilbo’s birthday party vibe. I’m not positive how I’m going to do all of these, but let’s figure it out together.
I start my crochet flags with a foundation single crochet stitch, and I don’t really count the stitches, but rather just make sure I go to about the same width as my previous flags. Actually a stitch or two longer than that, since it shortens when you turn. After reaching the right length, I chain three turn and then double crochet into the second stitch from the end.
I then chain one and double crochet into the second stitch from the previous double crochet. So I’m double crocheting into every other stitch. I do this until the end, then chain another three before turning and double crocheting into the first gap in the previous row. Then I chain one before double crocheting into the next gap. Again, just do this to the other end.
Finish with a chain three before turning and rinse and repeat until you get to the top. For the fabric flags, I simply worked out some measurements based on the crochet flags and cut out a bunch using scrap fabric that I had lying around. I made sure to cut out two of each piece of fabric so that I could sew them together back to back, pull them open, press the seams and have a nice, clean look. What a day!
I had so much fun hosting this Hobbit picnic event, and I’m so grateful to everyone who came out to join me in making an event like this happen. We ended up having some severe weather in the forecast, but it held off for the perfect amount of time to allow me to lounge about the park for a few hours, sharing food and catching up with my internet friends in real life.
I am so proud of how this bodice came together. I feel like I am really getting good at bias tape. I know bias tape can be a controversial topic in the sewing world, but I like it well enough and I think it’s a useful skill to have at least. I also liked how the button loops turned out as an alternative to eyelets.
I think it makes the whole piece feel gentler and more hobbity to me. The apron too, ended up being a precious addition to the whole look. But what really stole the show in the end were the homemade party flags. I really feel like they added the perfect touch to photo backdrops and picnic party decorations, and I’m definitely going to keep them permanently in my office.
And most importantly, I had so much fun putting this all together. If you had as much fun as I did, it would mean the world to me. If you would like and subscribe. And if you do, I’ll see you in two weeks for my next video. Take care.