A Tale of Tradition

Four years back, when the twins were only one year old, a friend put an idea into my head about making the girls little Winnie the Pooh and Piglet sets for Halloween. The idea appealed to me at once as I reminisced over their first days home when I opened the vintage pages and began to tell them the beloved stories of that silly old bear.

True to my sentimental nature, the intention for making these sets meant so much more to me than just one day of dressing up. I saw it as a gateway to bringing the world of story and imagination to life. What I did not yet know was that it would become and invitation for me to take part in the extraordinary adventure of childhood.

When the next year came around I had no idea how I’d ever manage to create something I’d love half so much as that bumbling bear and its most faithful friend. But one evening as we sang Hey Diddle Diddle, The Cat and the Fiddle, for the millionth time, a vision set in. And it is with great joy that I can report that Fiddle, the cat, and Moon, the cow, have continued to bring lasting pleasure through years of dress up alongside their pals from the hundred acre wood, even to this very day.

The following year, when they were three, we were gifted the book Miss Suzy by a dearest friend (who happens to be the shopkeeper to a wonderfully curated collection of books and ethically made toys and goods, Mouse in the House). The book captured all of our hearts in such a tender way. And this time it was their very own idea to make dress up clothes for Miss Suzy and the Toy Soldiers.

A new challenge arrived when our little Emma was born. We had all grown so fond of our story book dress up tradition, and I was now in need of story that had three good characters, and it was pressed upon me with the utmost enthusiasm that two of them must be girls. I sought out direction from my dear friend Ashley, the shopkeeper at Mouse in the House, to see if she had any brilliant ideas for stories with two girls and a third little character (preferably a cute animal who could done a bonnet and bloomer set, as I find them irresistible on babies and toddlers). Her daughter at once recommended the book, Snow White and Rose Red. Before we even opened the pages, Lucy had decided that she was Snow White and Jane had declared that she was Rose Red. Upon their first descriptions, it was almost as if the author had written the very characters of my own girls in exactly the persons who they had claimed. Later that same week we checked out the book Snow and Rose from the library, and were each captivated by the whimsical illustrations and retelling of the story by Emily Winfield Martin. This book gave us the visual for how we would design the clothes and also inspired a second character for Emma to play—an unbearably cute little toadstool baby.

While we were in the works of brining the cast of Snow and Rose to life, our household fell ill and had us all resting our Halloween week away in bed. In an effort to lift restless spirits, I printed out some little Witchy paper dolls and we cut scraps of fabric and made clothes and hats for them. The girls had the jolliest time playing with them and creating characters and dialog, and I found the whole of their production so diverting, I began to scribble notes on any medium I had available.

As the day went on my notes started to arrange themselves into lines. As I’d share them with the girls, they’d tell me more about the witches and I’d take more notes, and before the end of the next day we had a completed story.

Night after night they’d ask me to read The Tale of Three Little Witches. During they day, they’d play the role of their own storybook characters, and all through spring and summer they brought them to life out in the garden and in the woods. And just as soon as summer gave way to autumn, things really began to take shape. Jane and Lucy had crafted their own visions for Autumn and Spring (their storybook characters) and to see them begin to bring it all to life was like a brilliant reflection of their own magical selves.

My heart was all butterflies over the idea of making something that was our very own. But in truth, I almost felt guilty because I didn’t feel like there was much for me to actually “make”. The clothes had been selected straight from the closet and the only thing I really needed to come up with were the hats. Then I had a moment of pause where I could see that it wasn’t the sewing that made everything so special, it was the time and thoughtfulness that went into each article. And these little characters were overflowing with both.

A while back, I inquired with a very sweet and talented artist about the idea of bringing some of our stories to print with illustrations as a gift for my girls. Over the past year she has become a most treasured friend, and through our correspondence, a merry exchange of letters solely by way of post, I had discussed the idea of their wardrobe with her. As this was the first time I was creating with no visual influence to help guide my direction, I was feeling a bit anxious and rather unsure of myself. When we came to the mailbox on October 26th and found Claire’s letter inside, I knew it would hold just what I needed. In her letter, she included a sketch of little sweaters and bonnets and capes and nature, and Jane’s beloved patched dress . Everything was simple and lovely and reflected the whimsical beauty that I cherish in our every day together. It was exactly the prompting I needed to move forward.

Using a handful of sticks, a bushel of stems, a portion of straw, and sprinkling of stardust, our original story, The Tale of Three Little Witches was brought to life. An enchanting experience that will no doubt continue to thrill and delight us for years to come.

I’ll share more of the Three Little Witches in an upcoming entry, including the completed tale and a full collection of enchanting pictures.

To conclude this entry, I’ll leave a set of notes regarding each set of dress up clothes and links for any small shops that were included in the making of the final production. I hope you may find this useful, as I think it is something I would really appreciate for my own resources.

Winnie the Pooh & Piglet
Handmade wool bonnets and bloomers
Thrifted Sweaters

Fiddle the Cat & Moon the Cow
Handmade wool bonnets and Bloomers
Hand stitched wool patches onto black and white tights
Thrifted sweaters
Handmade linen moon
Toy Guitar (or fiddle in this case) from Wild Creek

Miss Suzy *& The Toy Soldiers
Handmade cotton flannel squirrel bonnet & tail.
Handmade cotton apron
Handmade cotton flannel soldier hat & bloomers + linen straps
Miss Suzy’s dress from The Simple Folk
Miss Suzy’s shoes from Zimmerman Shoes
Toy soldiers boots from The Humble Soles
Thrifted Toy soldier sweater— swapped buttons for vintage gold ones I had on hand.

Snow & Rose + Bear & Toadstool
Handmade cotton dresses
Handmade Cotton flannel capes- Pattern from Twig & Tale
Leather Boots from The Humble Soles
Bear bonnet from Briar Baby
Handmade Toadstool cap adapted from tutorial by Woodlark
Toadstool baby romper from The Simple Folk

Three Little Witches
Autumn’s (Jane) pinafore dress from The Simple Folk
Autumn’s (Jane) gingham dress from LiiLU
Spring’s (Lucy) dress from The Simple Folk
Winter’s (Emma) sweater from The Simple Folk
Winter’s (Emma) suspender tights from Luralu
Leather boots from The Humble Soles
Handmade pointy hats
Handmade wreaths made from dried flowers from our garden and foraged nature from our yard
Handmade brooms made from sticks in our yard and dried feverfew stems from the garden

I hope you’ve enjoyed our little Tale of Tradition as much as I’ve enjoyed walking down memory lane and recalling every bit of wonder that has shaped our years. I consider it a most joy-filled and humbling privilege to foster, and share in the imaginings of these enchanting little people.