As we have come to expect from our little ray of sunshine Birdie – her Book Week costume was decided upon a year ago. Anne of Green Gables is well loved in this house, and Birdie has been obsessed with Anne for quite some time. Very soon after book week was over last year she declared her intention of being Anne. Can you imagine my excitement? I am convinced my kids make excellent Book Week decisions, and I was very much immediately on board with the idea of Anne of Green Gables!
This costume was such a breeze because we already had most of the elements. As with all of my costumes, I tend to go more with the general feel of the character and what my kids want rather than being strictly historically accurate. Is this particularly Edwardian? I’m not sure, but I think the feel of the character is there.
We started with the cream frilly dress which is a Mini Darling Ranges pattern hack that I made Bunny five years ago when she was Mary Lennox from The Secret Garden for Book Week.
The straw hat has been a staple in both my girls wardrobes for many years and we thought it was perfect for this costume.
The shoes and socks were already a part of her wardrobe, and her hair bows are actually the leftover bias tape from the cream dress (lazy much? why yes).
We sadly did omit the carpet bag. I was unable to find a carpet bag of any kind, let alone a very old one that required a particular trick to keep it closed ;)
Which left the apron. Anyone recognise the fabric? Why yes my dear friends – it is my very favourite mushroom linen which I refuse to stop sewing with. I was able to make this whole apron out of scraps from previous projects and that made me so happy. Also, I think Marilla would definitely approve of a sensible brown apron made from leftover fabric. Especially since we kept our puff sleeves quite minimal ;)
Did I mention I think I have just enough left to make myself a matching apron – should I do it? I’m thinking yes. Don’t worry friends, I’ve probably got only enough mushroom linen for one more project (sad) so after that I guess I won’t torture you further with my obsession. Probably. I can’t promise!
I’m super happy with this apron pattern I made. It’s quite simple – the bib is shaped very similarly to my Flint bib add on (but Birdie sized). The waistband I made a few inches smaller than her waist and attached a gathered rectangle.
For the straps she couldn’t decide if she wanted them to cross over or be straight, so I came up with this adjustable solution of creating long straps that are also the waist ties. They thread through the waistband via two buttonholes, and all in all it was a very simple solution that I think looks really cute.
I’m so happy with how this costume turned out and how much Birdie loves it. The only downside here was that the Book Week parade happened the day after we arrived back from the USA for some family weddings, and Birdie was a jetlagged wreck of a tiny person. She was really crushed to miss out on a day she had been looking forward to for a year, so instead we had our own Book Week celebration and the blow was slightly softened.
I think there is a high probably that she might repeat Anne of Green Gables next year – but who knows, she always surprises me with her wonderful ideas.
Hope you enjoyed this latest Book Week instalment and if you’d like to check out Birdie’s past book week costumes theres a little list below!
Birdie's other Book Week costumes
Fern from Charlotte’s Web costume
As per usual, Birdie decided what she wanted to be for Book Week almost…
February 2, 2023
Paddington Bear Costume
As you may have noticed, I love Book Week. Making my kids Book Week…
October 22, 2021
The Paw Book Week costume
Birdie decided what she wanted to be for Book Week over a year ago,…
October 29, 2020
