Marc's Examples
Nova Scotia, Canada
Click on pictures for enlargements.
Frodo and Gandalf
Marc as Gandalf and Sean (age 6 1/2) as Frodo
Frodo Baggins:
Ears - band-aids on tips of ears (See technique <here>)
Mithril mail - silvery/pewter look lycra tank-top, generously
donated by female coworker. (when asked if the top would be too large for my
son, she replied that she used to wear it to the clubs and , um, well, no it
wouldn't be too large on him)
Shirt - Mandarin collar cotton dress shirt purchased from
Salvation Army
Vest - black fleece vest purchased from Salvation Army Brown Coat
- purchased from Salvation Army. Removed the shoulder pads just out of
principle.
Dark Green Cloak - Sewn from pattern - Simplicity #9887.
View "C" cloak , taken in at shoulders to fit youngster. I ended up using an
artificial suede fabric, a bit pricey but the colour and feel of the fabric
was great. The pictures I took don't do it justice. Rather than try to
invent the overlapping tabs that Frodo's cloak has in the film (this was my
first sewing project ever ! ), I went with a frog clasp instead. Ring &
chain - purchased from local Accessories store.
Sting
- purchased from WalMart. Purchased several weeks before Halloween, so
naturally the motion sensor mechanism inside the sword was broken by this
time.
Pants - brown pants out of the drawer, cuffed below the knee.
Feet - beige wool socks were pulled over some sneakers, and nylon
"anklets" pulled over the socks. Curly brown hair was sewn into the top and
cut short to give curly hair look. A glue-gun was used to apply several
beads of glue to the bottom of the shoe, for traction. And toes were drawn
in with a black marker. See technique <here>.
Gandalf:
Hat
- made from pattern - Simplicity #9887. Pattern was modified to give the
funnel shape to the brim, and to give the half-collapsed look to the top of
the hat. Rather than use wire, I chose to use several layers of stiff
fusible interfacing instead. Grey hair was taped to the inside of the brim.
Beard & Hair - taken from a rubber ghoul mask which had a long
grey beard and hair. The rubber face was cut away to leave the rubber along
the jaw-line containing the beard hair, and straps attached so that the
piece could be worn supported over the head. The mask's other hair was
removed, and taped inside the hat.
Robe - a grey bathrobe purchased from Salvation Army. Pockets were
removed with a stitch remover. Cloak - Semi-circular cloak, roughly the same
as the "Fellowship" cloak
pattern found in Alley-Cat-Scratch . Same fabric as the hat, a very
inexpensive grey fabric purchased off the discount shelf ($1 / meter) at
local fabric store
Boots - high winter boots borrowed from wife.
Staff - an uprooted pine tree, debarked and trimmed.
Gloves - grey gloves with the thumb cut off
This project was the first time EVER that I have tried to use a sewing
machine or using sewing patterns, so the cloaks were a HUGE learning
experience. It all started when I had the urge to try and make a Frodo-style
cloak for myself, but when I bought the pattern, my son insisted that I make
it for him to use on Halloween. And so it started. First time with a
pattern, first time using a sewing machine (a 1959 vintage Singer). The
finished cloak is great, and will no doubt be used by my son for years to
come. The ears and feet were last-minute additions, and would have been
impossible without the suggestions from Alley-Cat-Scratch.
Half-way through the project, a friend made the suggestion that if my son
is dressing up as Frodo, then I HAVE to go as Gandalf. So I started working
on that costume as well. That cloak was significantly easier than Frodo's,
but the Hat took a ton of effort - it was hard making it look close to the
real thing. The pattern hat's brim was too flat and straight, and the peak
went almost straight up.
For Gandalf, I had also made a crystal - looking chunk of plastic with a
light inside for the top of the staff, but the batteries died so fast that
it didn't make it to the picture.
Had a ball on Halloween, and we impressed a lot of neighbours.
