Picking flowers in the Shire

The Road goes ever on and on
Down from the door where it began.
Now far ahead the Road has gone,
And I must follow, if I can,
Pursuing it with eager feet,
Until it joins some larger way
Where many paths and errands meet.
And whither then? I cannot say.

JRR Tolkien - The Lord of the Rings

---

I'm a Hobbit. That much is clear, I'm small, I love eating, I love cooking and I love flowers. If I would be a fantasy character, leave the Elves to others, for there's no doubt about my Hobbit-ness. So, I've known for ages that I wanted to make a Hobbit costume. I've started making this two years ago, but I only finished it a month ago. I think, construction wise, this is the best costume I've ever made. For those interested, it features:

Green bodice of cotton velvet, edged with burgundy velveteen and embroidered with flowers and wheat (you can see a bit of the wheat on the picture)
Yellow stomacher, from leftover fabric from this vest: e-sidera.deviantart.com/art/En… It was perfect, I tell you!
All eyelets are done by hands, 44 in total! The back also has lacing. To keep the shape, I've inserted spiral steel boning to the front of the bodice and spring steel boning to the lacing at the back
The woolen skirt is cartridge pleated, which I'd never done before, but I love the result so much! You can see it a little bit in the picture
Sheer blouse that has 2 rows of honeycomb smocking at the upper arm and at the neckline
I've made this straw bonnet a year earlier from straw plait (which took me HOURS, but it was so rewarding as I absolutely adore the result)
My favourite wig is perfect for a Hobbit. It's the very first wig I bought, ages ago, and it is getting thinner and thinner. I'm thinking of purchasing a new one of a similar style and colour, it's so versatile!
No Hobbit without foot hair! In order to get myself some perfect hair, I simply shaved my boyfriend's beard - perfect donation! Unfortunately, the glue started to peel off during the day and you can see a bald spot - oh, the Hobbit shame
I am wearing a corset underneath, but just to get the smooth shape. It didn't cinch my waist at all, because you don't want a thin waist as a Hobbit!

This picture is taken at Castlefest 2014, at Castle Keukenhof. It was a very busy event, yet this little spot makes it look just like the Shire.

---

picture by Caspar Stuart
model, costume & make-up (yours truly)

---
</i>
Please do not publish or anything alike without permission