Having tried various outfits and styles for Mini-Mes I decided to attempt a more complex costume and so I looked to historical outfits for inspiration. I decided to try an 1870s Victorian inspired style.
As I was making the whole figure and clothing from crochet I knew I would be restricted to the level of detail and accuracy as I did not want the finished figure to be too bulky or unbalanced.
I started initially with a basic Mini-Me body shape of head, body, arms and legs. I knew I needed to make the body shape the contours of the altered body-shapes popular of the time which would require a narrow waist and bustle shape. I decided the easiest and strongest way to do this would be to re-create a corset and bustle from crochet and wire. This would then lead on to adding all sorts of interpretations of accurate detailing for the time period. I also made her some knicker-bockers in white with pastel blue trim.
I made a petticoat to cover the bustle and reach to the floor with a scalloped edge to imitate a lacy trim.
I moved on to working on the outer layers which would be the parts of the outfit that would be most noticeable in the finished character.
Whilst looking at various pictures of both original art from the era as well as modern replicas and museum pieces I settled on a simple way to imitate the layered detailing of a skirt with apron and train. I made each piece in a rich emerald green with a black trim. At this stage I had still to attach her arms which gave her a rather bottom-heavy feel but I hoped this would become less so once the top parts of her body and outfit were added.
Next I made her jacket, again replicating a simple interpretation of the fashion of the time and fitted it to her and added her arms.
Now she was clothed I worked on her hair. To make this I created her a head of hair in a similar way to making most Mini-Me’s hair, with a “hair spider” I sewed this onto her head and then began to style it initially using pins and then sewing the hair on. I created a style based on the fashion of the time with some curls hanging loose down the back but the main body of the hair piled on her head.
She was finally coming together and beginning to look the part.
I added a little more detail by giving her some basic plain brown boots to represent traditional Victorian leather boots.
Finally I made her a black hat embellished with green flowers which I attached securely to her hair helping to give her hairstlye the stylised shape of the period.
She was finally complete and fully dressed to the period. A little Victorian Mini-Me!
Pixie Creations 