Sartorial Saturday: Mad Hatter Day

Of course it’s Mad Hatter Day.

Yes, I know my petticoat is showing (It ripped, I fear. Again.). I didn't know then, though...

Outfit Rundown:
- tricorn hat: Ludwigsburg palace souvenir shop
- blouse: H&M
- T-shirt: self-made
- skirt: self-made
- tights: green clothing shop
- lacy socks: H&M
- shoes: Danish Duckfeet

Accessoires Rundown:
- umbrella (see outfit picture): Lisbeth Dahl
- rocking horse necklace: I am
- club stud/ teapot earring: Bijou Brigitte/ Claire’s
- hair ribbon (see below): self-made with Coppelius button
- fork bracelet (not pictured): artisan’s fair

Thanks to Imp for taking these pictures! :)

Preparations Again: Mad Hatter Day

October 6th is Mad Hatter Day!

I already wrote about it two years ago and completely left it out last year, but here we go again!
Here are some (old and new) ideas how to spend this holiday:

1. Dress in rather unusual fashions (in normal standards) or at least something wonderland-related. Blazers and jackets could be nice, as well as knickerbockers, striped pants or victorianesque skirts (no problem here if you’re a Lolita). Speaking of stripes, this is the ideal day to mix any pattern you’d like. Have a look at the myriads of Mad Hatter interpretations made by artists from three centuries. Another point could be not to dress in neutral colours, at least not completely. Try to find accessoires that resemble something from the books, be it chess pieces, card suits, rabbits or caterpillars. Oh, or tiny tea dishes! Don’t forget your pocket watch.
2. Drink tea. Bring out your favourite china and complete tea arsenal, make one cup of each and have a tea-testing session. Invite your friends and/ or favourite stuffed animals and dolls and have a tea party with fairy cakes, sandwiches and cake.
3. Why not have a tea party in public? Get yourself a picnic blanket or sit down on park benches, in your school’s or university’s hall or your workplace’s cafeteria. Take your tea with you in a thermos flask and make a Wonderland-themed bentō with apple bunnies and card suit shaped sandwiches. Don’t forget the cake (as mentioned before) and take enough with you to offer some to a passer-by. Don’t bring your best teacups, go for something rather sturdy instead to prevent the breaking of china and hearts.
4. Wear a hat! Obvious, isn’t it. Decorate it with a pretty piece of thick paper with the writing 10/6 in this style and maybe some needles and pins. If you don’t own one, make one. Which brings me to my last point:
5. Make hats or headdresses. It’s Mad Hatter Day after all. Even if it’s only a paper hat, but you could also follow the many instructions for more fancy pieces. One of my favourites is the infamous Tim Burton’s Mad Hatter top hat from Threadbanger. My favourite German DIY community also has a wonderful tutorial for a tricorn. :)
   Small headpieces that look like tea cups or cake would be great, too, and why not go so far as to make a whole set of matching accessoires?

I hope you’ll enjoy your Mad Hatter day, and if you celebrate and make a blog post about it, leave me a comment with a link!

Skirts and Books – What I made

Of course, as it was a swap, I made something, too.

First, the skirt swap.

The demands were fir green, silver and black in colours, a dislike for patterns but love for butterflies and in style something between Alice in Wonderland, military and Steampunk. The girl I was fairy godmother to also wanted the skirt to end above her knees and told me that Lolita didn’t suit her. This is what I came up with:

The elfin one was so nice to model for me.

And here are the details:

(photo not by me but by Schiriki who got the skirt)

clock embroidery

And the accessoires I made, too:

The clock-alike thing is a hair clip.

At the book swap, I decided to make something matching to Rumo and His Miraculous Adventures, one of the books that were given as favourites of Ravna, the girl I was a fairy godmother to in this case.

She also had given black as her favourite colour, maybe with red accents, and a liking for second-hand fabric and some sort of grunge in the design – not too perfect, after all – too. Plus, she wished for a sweat jacket, something I never made before. But I like a good challenge and so I went to the thrift store and got some old sweatshirts and this is what I made of them:

Front with open collar

Front with collar closed

The hero of the book, Rumo, is named after a Zamonian card game, hence the card inlays. I like the grungy effect on the symbols.

Hearts

Spades

Diamonds

Clubs (my favourite)

Collar detail

Collar with label

Back

In the first part of the book Rumo is also in search of a “silver ribbon” which actually leads him to “his” girl. Well, anyway, I had lots of fun painting the ribbon:

Ravna also collects fairy tale books. When I found the Anderson book at the book store across the street, I instantly thought of her! Also, I usually pack something sweet into the swap boxes, but Ravna had written before that she didn’t like sweets so much and preferred tea.

All pictures were taken in our front yard, the light and scenery were  just perfect.

The parcel arrived and Ravna was really happy with her sweat jacket. She even allowed me to use her pictures for the blog. I’m so glad it fits!

I must confess that this jacket was he most difficult piece I made for a swap as yet. At the moment I’m in a pirate themed swap until May, but after that I’ll need somewhat of a hiatus from swapping. There are so many things I want to sew for myself, after all!

Year of the Rabbit

Yesterday, according to the Chinese calendar, the year of the rabbit began. And as I live with two rabbits I thought it would be a nice idea to dedicate a post to the matter.

So I want to introduce you to the girls as I haven’t done this before properly. The rabbits dwell in Bambi’s room and officially, they’re his. The “old ones”, Kajal and Abigail, moved to their old home at Bambi’s sister’s again after she returned from Norway where she had been for a year. So, in with the new!

The right one in white with some darker spots is Emma. She’s the shy one, likes lying flat in her corner in the cage and doesn’t go out much.

The other one with a dark head and a white stripe is Feline (a coincidence that is quite funny ’cause it’s the German version of Faline, which is the name of Bambi’s girlfriend in the Disney film), the fierce one. She’s the one to climb out of the cage and explore the world outside.

The girls like each other very much, but I guess sometimes Feline is a little bit bossy. And one of these situations prooved that Emma can be wild, too, as she kicked Feline out of the cage and didn’t let her in again for several hours…

And now even their cage is decorated with a rabbit-shaped charm! I found it on my way to the Christmas days and thought it quite cute for them.

Another topic that is linked to rabbits (no, not really rabbits but hares) is one of the dresses I plan to make since last December: The March Hare outfit.

Maybe this is finally a project to use my “hunt the hare” buttons for!

A Mad Hatter’s Work

Finally, the note-book is working again. And as my swap parcels have arrived at their destinations as well I may present what I made for the Hats & Headdresses and Alice in Wonderland theme.

Hats & Headdresses

For Cuore.Lacrimante who wished for something a little morbid in black and purple.

Front

"Profile"

Back

Materials: Black felt, purple embroidery yarn, purple trim, white polymer clay, black feathers, black dot tulle.

Swap Card

Alice in Wonderland

This one went all the way north to anti.mensch who likes to see the mad hatter as the key figure of the (filmed *cough* ;) ) story.

Front

Price Tag

Materials: Green & black felt, black trim, white polymer clay, acrylics, old keys, cogwheels, white rocailles, black and white embroidery floss, white organza, black dot tulle.

Well, that’s it for now as I’ve got an x-ray date tomorrow and should definitely sleep more. ^^

Dramatic Effects

After I paid a visit to the doctor for a final blood count this morning I signed up for a craft swap. Again. Now it’s not only Headdresses & Hats but also, mad as a hatter, Alice in Wonderland (due to the hype of Mr. Burton’s… special… version). I’m really looking forward to the profile of the latter. I already got the one for the first swap and am full of ideas. :)

Something I forgot to show you when I was talking about hares yesterday is this wonderful post by Rima from The Hermitage. I really admire her painting skills.

Yesterday evening I felt the urge to draw the design for something I call “Brit Lolita”. In fact, it’s more of a Classic Lolita-Mori Girl crossover with robust fabrics, leather patches at the elbows and motives like roses, white and red dragons (together with harps and thistles to represent all parts of the UK ;) ), cups of tea or city silhouettes.

I still need a scanner... photos are just not the same.

Also, I checked an important point that I had on my to-do list for weeks and cleared some points for a workshop I want to attend in autumn. Now I’ve got to find my university papers again as they were not at their usual place… Oh cruel disarray!
*faints for dramatic effect*
However.

I’ve been so quiet lately

It has been a little quiet here, hasn’t it? But don’t you worry, I’m still alive, just recovering from a flu I had additional to my illness.

So… what did I actually do since my last post?

I finished Bambi’s birthday present (deadline was next Sunday, so I’m not late, once! :) ).

I made lots of copies for my assignment and started to filter them for information (it’s amazing how few people concerned theirselves with the culture contact in the Welsh Marches!).

I entered another swap, this time for headdresses and hats. I’m pretty excited, as always. presumably I’ll get the profile this weekend… *fidget*

Yesterday we went to a graveyard again, this time one in the upper city but comparably old like the other one and this time the battery was all charged and I took more photos. I think I’ll upload them tomorrow in an other post, they don’t really fit in here with my prosaic update. ^^

I went down to Aschaffenburg to watch Fantastic Mr. Fox with Goblin and have sushi with Jules.

Jules managed to get me a pair of Claire’s Alice in Wonderland socks as we don’t have Claire’s in Marburg. I have not seen the film yet and really don’t know if I’m going to (it’s more likely that I’m going to watch How to Train Your Dragon). I am too much a fan of the books and in the end, I’d only go to the movies to see the all hailed and praised costumes and Burton designs. Oh well. And then, when everybody else is running around in Alice-inspired garments, I’ll be wearing pseudo-viking, completely historically incorrect. *g*

I still need a hair trim, my tips are in a most horrible condition. I also reminded in my pajamas way too long today, something that I owe H.P. Lovecraft whose work I started to read yesterday night. I had to lighten it up with some Awful End at 3 A.M. when I recognized that I had spent the last hours in a kind of unhealthy semi-sleep. Finally with Great Expectations I finished another book from my reading list and also fulfilled one of the daring deeds by going to bed before midnight for a whole month (weekends excluded ;) ).

Actually, I should be writing letters now. Poor Mela and Iris, you’re surely waiting eagerly and I really feel bad about letting you wait. I will get out my stationary immediately!

So, good-bye and forgive my late laziness!

Bonnie