Happy Holidays, my friends! Boy, oh boy, have I been busy, and hard at work, since my last posting. The first couple of weeks in November were spent making Christmas gifts, and since then, I've been creating a pageant for The Nutcracker. I've been planning, or intending to do this, since last Christmas, and was very excited to get started.
Over the years, I've collected several beautifully illustrated children's books of the Nutcracker, but Don Daily's, in its watercolor opulence, has long been a favorite. It never occurred to me that the actual Nutcracker costume he designed, might prove to be more of a challenge than anticipated, but I'm then, often humbled quickly once the project gets underway. There were just some things I had to puzzle out. Like how to interpret metal, or feathers!, from fabric.
The Nutcracker is best known to us as a two-act ballet. Act I opens with a Christmas Eve party where young Clara (sometimes known as Marie), receives an unusual gift from Herr Drosselmeyer, and the magic that follows after the festivities. Act II takes Clara to land of the Sugar Plum Fairy, escorted by the Nutcracker Prince. It was originally choreographed by Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov with a score by Russian composer, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. The libretto (story line for a ballet or opera) was adapted from E.T. A. Hoffman's story,
The Nutcracker and the Mouse King. It premiered at the Mariinsky Theater in Saint Petersburg on Sunday, December 18, 1892.
Although the original production was not a success, the 20-minute suite that Tchaikovsky extracted from the ballet was. The complete
Nutcracker has enjoyed enormous popularity since the late 1960s and is now performed by countless ballet companies each holiday season. Major American ballet companies generate around 40% of their annual ticket revenues from the performances. Perhaps, the most appreciative audience is amongst children, since ballet companies generally use every young student in the production. Many a child has dreamed of dancing in The Nutcracker after seeing the show at Christmastime. To be a part of a Nutcracker production for a young dancer, is Christmas in itself.
The first time I saw the production was when I was 20 years old. A friend at work was taking her daughters to the matinee of the San Francisco Ballet Company, and purchased an extra ticket for me. Thank you, Lavonne! What an experience this was for me!
I actually began and completed Louise's costume for Clara initially, but let's have a look at the star of our show first. The image from Don Daily's book, that I followed as closely as I could, is from the battle with the Mouse King. While nutcracker princes have been rendered in a wide variety styles, I'm told this one is representative of a Prussian uniform. (I don't know if anyone has noticed, but this year seems to have been one quite often focused on various hues of blue, red and gold.)
Lawrence's costume consists of a jacket, trousers, hat, gaitors, and gauntlets. Just a few pieces, but the details I had to create to come with this look was daunting. I just motored through, and happily was successful with each detail I tried.
I began with his red trousers which are made from a bright red cotton sateen. The crossed sashes on his torso are also from the same fabric, but these were actually the last pieces to be made. The trousers have pleats in the front and back, creating fullness. The next items I made were the gaitors. After studying the illustration, I noticed that these appeared to be gilded, which is okay since he was a statue, or doll come to life. I happened to have this metallic wool felt on hand, and it worked beautifully for them. The sides have hand-made scalloped edges and tiny gold buttons. (Lawrence's black boots are Lawton Doll Co., or Boneka made.)
The Nutcracker's blue jacket has tails and closes in the back for a smooth continuity of design on the front. Three gold bands with silk covered buttons on each end curve decorate the front. The bands were made from silk covered faux suede. Faux suede was chosen because it is sturdy, but also super thin and flexible. The epaulets were really "something else" to construct. I ordered the gold twist cording from a seller in the U.K. to get the color, sheen and size I needed. It wasn't until I was actually making the epaulets that I realized how tough this was going to be. I do appreciate how they turned out though.
Another thing, was that I needed a sword for my Nutcracker. I purchased several sword letter openers until I found a one that was perfect in scale. And, the handle turned out to be almost identical to the one Daily drew. A stroke of holiday luck!
I think the Nutcracker's hat took the most time. Its probably the most elaborately designed and decorated hat I've ever made. The base is actually thin cardboard, or rather one of those manila file folders, and not buckram this time. It needed the stability of cardboard due to its shape and height, but flexibility for the curve and oval top. The gold bands were made the same way as the jacket bands, then glued on. The medallion is a silk covered button with light stitching added for design. And, then there is a faux plume. Yes, that's a plume. I wanted this costume to resemble Daily's illustration as much as possible. Its a soft-sculpture plume of gold silk. Take a good look at the illustration. Interesting!
The strap is, again, the same silk covered faux suede with two covered buttons at each end. One end hooks to a tiny thread loop on the right of the hat. The visor on his hat is black cotton sateen over the faux suede, trimmed in gold braid. The Nutcracker's sword sheath is, once again, the covered suede, and his costume is completed by leather gauntlets with gold trim. The sword sheath hangs from a larger size of the twisted braid tied loosely at the waist to hang lightly on his hips. Can't thank this U.K. seller enough for working with me to get the correct mm sizes. (I'm definitely feeling long-winded at this point, but we've just begun. Go grab that cup of tea. Its too cold outside to go out anyway. Read on!)
Louise's dress to play Clara in, is a lovely pink silk. The Don Daily dress was cranberry, and I had my own vision - actually based on an Old World Christmas ornament of Clara. Yes, I have their Nutcracker ornament set! What I envisioned was a dress that suggested the sweetness of marzipan fruits and the colors of sugared spice drops.
Clara's bodice has a lace covered inset of white silk. A high collar is edged in tiny lace, and three little pearl buttons decorate the front. Her sleeves are huge puffs of silk, with slender arms ending in a wee ruffle of lace. I fashioned this party gown with two ruffles at the hem. Yards and yards of 2 1/2" folded over silk had to be gathered. Good grief. I tried something new. I made gather stitches every 12"- 15". Why? Because silk often hangs up when you're gathering it. Some little fiber in there can break the gather thread, or really be a nuisance to gather past. This way, if the thread breaks, you don't have to redo the entire gathering stitches.
Clara's slipper are velveteen. I had a pair when I was seven. What can I say? I went for the fanciest of everything for these costumes. She wears a new pair of bloomers that peep out beneath her hem, and I'll talk about them shortly. Her sash and hair bow are "spice drop" tangerine. I bought her a brass candle holder to sneak down the stairs with. And what would Clara be without her Nutcracker doll?
So instead of going out and buying a small, pre-made nutcracker that wouldn't match Daily's, I found a set of blank wooden ones that you could paint yourself. The one with the sword had a strange hat, so I trimmed and sanded it down to represent the visored hat.
Nutcrackers originated in the 1700's and were German symbols of good luck and protection. The early ones did not crack nuts, and were more or less, carved wooden dolls for symbolic decoration. Later designs made them functional. Their popularity grew in the 1870's and were sold among other wooden toys in Christmas markets. I'm calling Clara's doll, her Prince Albert Nutcracker. I didn't intend for him to look like Victoria's husband, but he really kind of does. And, appropriately since both Albert and the toy were of German descent. Including his platform, he is 5" tall.
He was pretty fun to do, and it was a nice break from designing and sewing. And, I really thought I was d-o-n-e at that point, but then noticed Laura Peterson on the shelf in her old peach gown and felt guilty. Heavens! Laura wanted to represent one of the children at the party. So I took another couple of days and fashioned her a party gown. She is Louise's best friend, after all.
I had no idea what I was going to do for her, but I had this gorgeous yellow silk that I wanted to use. I guess that last time I used a yellow silk, was in creating a costume for Alice Liddell - but that was a darker yellow. It is so hard to find yellow or orange silk, and this one is a beautiful color. Part of my quandary was with regards to what would compliment the other two costumes in my display. I almost used this vintage French, aqua blue silk trim that I have in my stash, then discovered the plum colored picot trim - also vintage French in origin. I spent a couple of days designing a fancy bodice, and decided that simplicity was best.
Her dress uses the same sleeve pattern as Clara's, but that's where the sameness ends. I wanted her gown different enough to stand out on its own. When I look at what I've made for Laura in the past, I have to admit that her gowns are often fancier and more detailed in design.
The image I studied for both party gowns is the one in Don Daily's book. The entire room is lit in gold lighting. You can actually hear the music and feel the merriment of the dancing in this enchanting illustration. And, one of the children wears a yellow party gown. I'd already used tangerine silk for the sash and ribbon for Clara, so the plum color was chosen.
Laura's dress has one large ruffle at the hem rather than the two of Clara's. Her rounded neckline is trimmed with the picot. The picot was also sewn to the cuff ends of the sleeves, and a band below the puff. One long strand was sewn to the skirt edge above the ruffle. I had the perfect color of silk to match the picot, and made her sash and bow from it.
She wears white stockings and has her own special pair of lace edged pantaloons to peep out from beneath her skirt. Clara's pantaloons "blouson" with the aid of edge lace to run a ribbon through and pulled tight, tied into bows. Laura's are straight, with one pintuck, then edged in Swiss lace. Not to be outdone by Clara, with her velveteen slippers, Laura wears a pair of plum silk slippers to match her sash and bow.
I was so excited and relieved, yes, relieved, when Laura's gown was completed. I dressed her up and looked at her posing. Something was missing. Something to hold. The Nutcracker had his sword, Clara had her Prince Albert Nutcracker, and it seemed unfair for Laura not to have something in her hands. A new doll for Christmas, one received at the party, would have been just about right, but I really was d-o-n-e by this point. I made this entire outfit for Laura in two days. So I dug into the trunk I have their costumes in and found a little fan. I happened to have a piece of silk ribbon that matched the plum - a strand that an Ebay seller tied to some purchase, and added that to her fan.
This production was quite a lot of work. But, the entire time I worked on it, I imagined what it would be like to be a designer and seamstress for one of the ballet companies that put on The Nutcracker. I could imagine hearing the snipping of scissors, the humming of sewing machines, and the rustling of so many silks and laces! This was how I "played Christmas" this year. It is time now to rest. Time to turn off my creative side and simply enjoy the holiday season. I have Hallmark movies to watch, and favorite Christmas DVD's - including one of The Nutcracker with Baryshikov and Kirkland. Christmas cards to finish! And, I've already decided what I'll do for next year's holiday project. Sort of. I have the theme at least. Creating The Nutcracker has made this one of the best Christmas holiday seasons I've had yet.
Wishing you all the merriest of holidays this year, and a little Nutcracker magic of your own.
Love,
Melissa
I have had an oversize plastic zip bag sitting on my work table, filled with some gorgeous silks intended for dresses, for quite some time now. Last summer I added some very pretty ones that I picked up during the UFDC convention. One of them was this fetching pink and green plaid silk, that I was told was a "reproduction". It wasn't cheap either. So like some of the others, I simply saved it for the right occasion. And there was Hetty, sitting patiently among the other dolls, and I knew she needed a treat.
I had to make her a new "waist", or blouse, as well. I never intended to redress her, so had attached the other blouse directly to the skirt of her green and blue striped gown. 
