Gandalf Costume
I cheated for Bookweek this year. Last year I made this amazing Gandalf costume for my son and he wore it for the Bookweek celebrations at school. I made it extra long in the sleeve and the hem, so when dress-up day rolled around again this year, he was able to wear the same costume again! I consider that getting some good longevity out of a costume! So... how was it made? I started with a thorough inspection of the costume worn by Ian McKellen when he played Gandalf in the Lord of the Rings trilogy. The main items of his costume include the signature wizard's hat, his cloak, the robe and his staff. I then started to look for appropriate fabrics to make these items. I used an unlined brown curtain fabric for the cloak to try and match the coarsely woven, heavy look of the original costume fabric. I didn't want to spend a fortune on the costume so I just used a plain grey polycotton for the robe and some grey felt for the wizard's hat. I have a cloak pattern from my earlier