Entwife Sneak Peak!

When Spring unfolds the beechen leaf, and sap is in the bough;
When light is on the wild-wood stream, and wind is on the brow;
When stride is long, and breath is deep, and keen the mountain-air,
Come back to me! Come back to me, and say my land is fair!

-an Ent, in the song of the Ents and Entwives in The Two Towers by J.R.R. Tolkien

One of my friends is an amazing seamstress and is hard at work creating an Entwife costume. The Ents are tree shepherds in The Lord of the Rings and they lost the Entwives many years ago. The fate of garden-loving Entwives is one of the many mysteries of Middle-Earth.

I'm very excited to see how the costume will be when it is finished-- she is creating a very gypsy/bohemian/woodland look, entirely from scratch! What you see here is only a sneak peek, helped out by various bits and bobs from my closet. At the time I took these photos, she had only finished the corset, underdress, and cloak.

In just a few weeks I hope to share some pictures of the finished outfit! I'm designing her a jewelry set which is definitely challenging me to learn some new skills. This Entwife idea is just so inspirational!

The detail on the corset is amazing!

The corset has a very tree-like texture. It's made up from scraps of fabric and vines of yarn.

She thinks of all these creative details, like this soft shawl (or cloak, I'm not sure what to call it) in dappled greens and browns.

It was knit by hand! 

Fitting in with the overgrown randomness and beauty of trees is a collection of jewelry... these are all the green, brown, and copper pieces that I happened to have in stock when she was over.

I absolutely love the way that light sprinkles on the ground in the woods.

And now for a sneak peek at the jewelry I'm designing...

My workbench with a necklace in process!

Some detail on a new technique I'm attempting.

If you want more costume goodness, go check out Laura's blog, Sew Many Seams, and like her facebook page! She also has an Etsy store, but at the moment is only accepting custom work.

(P.S. This is my 500th post on this blog!)