FOUNDATIONS REVEALED COMPETITION ENTRY
Tom Bombadil Bodice
(click images to to enlarge)
Outline the story …
After going immediately to my bookshelf, I was hit with inspiration in the form of poetry. In the first stanza of the the poem “The Adventures of Tom Bombadil” ("The Adventures of Tom Bombadil and other verses from the Red Book", JRR Tolkien, 1961), Tom Bombadil is described wearing a “bright blue” jacket, yellow boots and a green girdle.
Thus armed with a colour palette and good old rule-63, I set out to create what I called the ‘Tom Bombadil bodice’. A practical piece of clothing that lady!Tom could wear, romping about the countryside and while getting tipped into rivers. Unfortunately, I couldn’t afford more fabric at the time to also make a skirt.
Outline the construction…
In preparation, I watched so many tutorials. Because of budget constraints, I couldn’t buy a pattern, but I had a dress that had an excellent fit and the right shape for what I wanted, so I had to give copying the pattern a go. This worked out really well. Since the original dress already fitted me, I only ended making up one mock-up from my pattern - which fit so well, I straight up used it to make the lining.
I tried to keep things as simple as possible to keep myself from getting frustrated. Because I used a ‘finished’ mock-up to line the fashion fabric, I had to think of a different way to turn everything out, as what I originally planned wouldn’t work anymore. What annoyed me the most, however, was that the old embroidery yarn I got from my mother’s stash kept snapping, so I had to re-thread so very many times.
On a more basic note, the fabric is cotton poplin, construction seams were done on machine, s/a trimmed and zig-zagged. The bones are just zip-ties. Bias binding attached with hand back-stitch and felled on inside to lining. Boning channels incorporated into s/a of centre front with back-stich. Eyelets finished by hand. Finishing touch, added embroidered buttercups. Let it be known, I’ve never used bias tape, boning or made eyelets before.... I don’t know what else to say - photo ‘making of’ in link.
Yay for Tom Bombadil !!!! 😀
It looks very cute, and the tiny embroidery are perfect ! Well done !
Still love it! (I commented on a Tumblr post about this a while back.) That shade of blue with that shade of yellow remains the most lovely thing. Do you still plan to make the skirt someday when you have fabric for it?
A wonderful bodice! The contrast of the yellow eyelets with the blue fabric shows them off so well, and with the laces gives the bodice a lovely brightness. Hope you don’t getting tipped into too many rivers wearing it!
These bright colours are gorgeous. Love your Lady!Tom interpretation.
I love the addition of the embrodiery. It is so pretious.
I had to look up what rule 63 means. You executed it well. Congratulations!