Victorian Santa–for me

Last Christmas I made four big Mr. and Mrs. Claus’s for a customer. When they came to pick them up, they asked what Santa’s I had in my own collection. I had to stand there and admit I didn’t have any of my own. I make them for others, but never seem to get any made for my own collection. But this year I was determined to change that trend, so I did.

This is MY Victorian Santa. ;o~  I used Sherry Goshon’s Santa Face press mold. The hood of the coat is from her design as I really love that look, but the rest of the costume is my own. I made the coat into a cape instead. The fabric for the cape and hood is called Melton cloth. A description of Melton cloth I found is:

“Melton fabric is a dense tightly woven fabric that is felted and heavily brushed for an ultra soft hand. This versatile fabric can be used for coats, jackets, vests, blankets and historical clothing replications.”

I have it in this creamy white and some cherry red. I’m keeping it for special projects. It is not cheap, but is just so perfect for those special projects. I see it’s available on HERE. in the US. And for my Canadian followers, I found this link in ALBERTA.

On the end of the hood, I’ve stitched on a fabric style button front and back, and of course added the tassel. The tassel is good for adding weight to the hood and holds it in a nice position. The fur is rabbit. I found some pieces in a shop that was clearing out a lot of miscellaneous things, so I grabbed all they had.

The shirt is meant to be a faux shirt, but instead I made it a full shirt with an added collar and cuffs. He has a leather belt and I used upholstery fabric for his trousers.

I gave him a crown of pearls and sparkle leaves, the hood wraps around his face making the pearls and leaves really enhance his face, and below his chin, the beard stands up nicely. The staff is a little twist from the norm. I wanted to make more of a vintage/shabby chic style Santa in white and gold. I took apart some sprays that I’ve collected from places like the dollar store and others.

I also found a lantern for him to hold, and it lights up.

The hands are made with white felt. Once the hands were attached to the arms and before I attached them to the body, I decided to hand stitch the hands to change to the look, to look more like gloves. The cape is lined with a gentle patterned Christmas cotton.

The embellishments at the base are a rocking horse, an old rusty key, a vintage car whose doors open (love Christmas, you can find the best trims and treats). I also found this little row of metal trees, the tallest is about 7” tall. The shoes are made with the Melton cloth, foam for the soles and a trim around the base, finished with fur around the tops.

And that’s it. I am hoping to get something else done in the next couple of days, totally 180 deg. from doll making. So stay tuned. Enjoy… ;o)