So the neighbours were sitting round at the BBQ, and Helen mentioned the problems Peter was having with his costume. Her husband is a semi professional Santa, and does dozens of gigs every Christmas - hospitals, hospices, care homes,charity functions... He is short and round,with thick snowy white hair, and a long, soft, flowing beard. But Helen said his costume was looking tatty and the fur was dingy and matted. She'd tried sponging it, but the red fabric was not colourfast. Some fur went pinkish...
Can I help? I said. Can you sew? she asked me. Much laughter as other neighbours said Yes, definitely Ang can sew!
We agreed I'd look at it when I got back from Cyprus [he has his first photo shoot in a week's time] I took the fur off, and made notes and took photos at every stage, so I'd be able to reassemble it properly with new fur.
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The new fur was quite a contrast to the old.
I did most of the work before we went to London, there were bits of trimmed fur floating about, drifting into every room. Yesterday morning I finished the work, including creating a new bobble for the hat.
- Make a list of the order of work
- Use plastic clips, or pins with glass heads. Regular pins will disappear into the fur, and that's not safe!
- Use a contrast colour thread for tacking, it is easier to find and remove at the end.
I have made the new cuffs separate, removable pieces - and hand stitched them in place. If they get grubby, it will be easy for Helen to unpick them for washing.
All that's left is a quick polish of the hat bells with Brasso. I shall protect the fur from polish by putting a piece of card round each bell as I clean it
Peter and Helen are currently on holiday. I hope to get a good photo of him in costume soon! 🎅 🎅 🎅
