FOUNDATIONS REVEALED COMPETITION ENTRY
Momo
(click images to to enlarge)
Outline the story …
Michael Ende's "Momo" is about a girl who lives in a community that gets invaded by time thieves, embodied by the grey men. The girl, Momo has a special talent for listening to people, other than that, she is just a normal girl. She goes on a journey where she befriends a dry-witted turtle who leads her the way to the master of time.
The modern fairytale is about slowing down and being true to yourself. As someone who always was one of the last ones in class to hand in the exam, leave the room, and sometimes also to get the joke, I feel seen. Being slower than other people is not a bad thing.
It was clear to me from the start that Momo’s costume had to be colourful and it had to be mended tremendously. I read the passages in the novel again which describe Momo and her surroundings, mostly the old amphitheatre, to get a closer picture of the character. I started with a rough sketch of the costume and choosing the colour palette. Colours are very inspirational to me, that’s why everything basically went from there. I knew that I wanted to dress Momo in earthy tones. I wanted her dress to be in a colour that "swallowed“ dirt.
I also wanted to involve different textures in the design of Momo’s costume. Momo is widely appreciated in her community for her ability to listen. Therefore, I wanted her clothes to be tactile and spark interest of children and adults alike. I envisioned something about her to sparkle without it seeming out of place for a girl who lives on the street. I aimed for all the materials involved to look like the girl found them somewhere or someone special gave them to her and she treasured that piece of cloth or that button for ever. I was keen to let the character of the turtle Cassiopeia appear in the design, too. All in all, I settled on making three new pieces: a jacket, a dress and a belt bag and using my recently made crochet headband as an accessory.
Outline the construction…
For the jacket I looked into my wardrobe and traced the pattern of a really simply cut jacket to get my first machine sewing project started. I'm the new lucky owner of a Singer 99k and no serger, which means that all the finishes had to be done by hand. I was eager to incorporate as many historical sewing techniques as possible and to learn them by carefully watching Bernadette Banner nail them.
I sewed various patches on to my jacket which all consist of the most beautiful silk and printed cotton fabric samples I had collected. I tried some sashiko and seed stitches on two of the patches. The dress was the most ambitious project for me because I never worked with a pattern before. I found a pinafore dress fitting for the childlike Momo and chose the Burda skirt pattern number 118 for Momo's costume. I bought a mustard 100 percent wool gabardine from a local Etsy seller, which I envisioned my skirt in, and a forest green silk from a Chinese Etsy seller for my turtle bag. The little belt bag was the most fun. The fabric for the jacket is a vintage cotton or viscose mix I got from my friend for Christmas. The lining of the skirt was improvised and I used the polyester satin which another friend got me for Christmas. The instructions of the pattern were like a foreign language to me, so the process was very slow, which I did not mind.
My lovely dear Momo! You have totally convinced me to read finally that novel! You did such an awesome job and your entry is such delight! Love everything about it and especially the colors! 🥰🥰
Thank you very much! The story of Momo and the Time Thieves is very dear to my heart and I love that I get to share it with others in this fun way 🙂
I love that novel, and I really like your thought process on your yourney and all the little details you put in there. Awesome!
Thank you, it makes me really happy that you like my interpretation of the character! The details were so much fun to make 😀
Ooh, we both did Ende novels! What a super cute a beautifully made garment! I’ll have to put Momo on my list to read next!!
I have to check out yours! Thank you for the compliments 🙂 I hope you’ll like reading MOMO! It is a very comforting read that feels like recharching the batteries while being gripping at the same time <3
Wheee! you look fantastic! (craftyroo here) i love this project. was just showing you off to my kiddo– he is impressed!
Thank you, Rebecca and also for your encouragement on Instagram <3 The approval of your son makes me really happy since Momo herself takes a child's opinion much more serious than the opinion of an adult 😀
Beautiful, fun, and creative!
Thank you! I had a lot of fun making it 🙂
SO many wonderful details in this!
Thank you so much 🙂 Every day, a new idea sparked in my head to make the costume look more “Momo” 😀
Superb costume. I’m off to look for the book.
Thank you! I hope you’ll enjoy the book as much as I did making this costume for the main character <3
Wow, what a wonderful, intricate, colourful costume with so much (beautiful) personality! You do Momo more than justice. Certainly my winner of this year’s competition …
You’re making me blush …… <3
Momo was one of my favorite stories when I was little and I think you really captured her essence with this beautiful costume! Amazing work!
Thank you 🙂 I feel really honored that you like my interpretation of the character! <3
😍 You did an amazing job and I love that you so thoughtfully included so many details of the character into your pieces. I love the colors you worked with and the embroidery on the purse with all of its treasures.
Thank so much, Anasazi! <3 Momo has a small collection of buttons and tiny things she found on the street that is the most precious to her and not valuable at all to the grey men. That's why it makes me so glad that you appreciate the little treasures I encluded 🙂
This costume just warms my heart! Every element is just perfection.
That makes me so, so happy to hear, thank you! … I hope it’s a similiar feeling to a warm, delicious cup of tea! 🙂
Clara I’m such a fan! I’ve commented on your Instagram so many times but again I have to say that THIS IS SO COOL! The colors work so well together and all the little details really make it work. Amazing job!
Thank you, Alice, for ALL of your encouragement! <3 I'm really glad that you like the colors since they were such an important part for me in potraying the character's joyful spirit!
Oh, my goodness! I feel like I could explore this darling outfit for an hour and still not find all the nifty details. I love it!
That is such a wonderful compliment, thank you! I spent many hours thinking about all the little details and making them – I love thinking that I encapsulated time into the costume in that way 🙂
It is so wonderful to see another entry about Momo ! You did such a wonderful work of creating a believable character !
Thank you very much, Marion! It was really important to me that my interpretation of Momo looked like a girl you could run into on the street as well, as having something special about her appearance to be remembered like little sparkly details.
I adore this concept and how you used the costume to show all the skills you were learning . I always thought this one of the best I saw for the thought that went behind it . Very clever and very well done. I love it ! Congratulations on your entry 🙂
Thank you very much, Senta for All of your encouragement along the way! 🙂 <3
This is fabulous, well done! Love the colours and textures!
Thank you! It makes me really happy that you appreciate the colours and textures! 🙂
Oh wow! I especially love that Sashiko work you did! That’s my favorite type of embroidery! Thank you!
Thank you very much! It was so much fun to learn about sashiko and the seed stitch and experimenting with different yarns and beads 🙂 There is SO much to learn …. I saw the most beautiful examples of sashiko embroideries online <3
Well done! I love how you envisioned the character. The amount of detail and creativity, the colours, the fabrics, the embroidery, fits so well with Momo.
Thank you, Elizabeth! It makes me especially happy when people who know the book appreciate my interpretation of Momo because she is such a loveable character 🙂
I adore how much of Momo’s whimsicality you brought to life with this costume. All of the details are just amazing! I get the impression that Momo has been living in this outfit, patching it up when needed, and collecting precious treasures to remind her of her adventures and stories.
I’m so pleasantly surprised to see Momo entered in this competition! I read the book years ago now, but because it’s a German book I have not been able to find a single person here in America that’s heard of it. The Grey Gentlemen still haunt me to this day, and people responding to my mentioning them or Time Thieves with, “The who? What gentlemen in grey? People don’t steal time.” is just downright eerie sometimes.
Thank you, Anita,
your appreciation for the book really comes through in your comment 🙂 I feel flattered that you like my interpretation of Momo! Being German myself, the book is a well-known children’s read in my friend group, but I wasn’t too sure if it would resonate with many people participating in this worldwide competition. I am pleasantly surprised that the story of Momo seems to matter to a lot of people who got touched by it, like I did. I was quite scared of the Grey Gentleman as a girl and I still am to be honest – or rather cautious, so that they don’t get a hold of me 😉
I love this, it’s such a great representation of the character. And the turtle bag is a perfect whimsical detail!
Thank you, Annick! I’m really glad that you like my interpretation of Momo 🙂 The turtle bag was so much fun to make and iI cannot wait to wear it with my skirt this summer to carry of piece of “Momo” with me …