We are incapable of doing any kind of study without at least attempting to create some dress up. I did keep it simple though and ordered five cheap t-shirts for just over £1 each. I chose brown and a large size for all. The older children could wear them as tops whilst the younger girls could wear them as dresses. Ultimately I wanted to recreate the following Ojibwe dress I found on the Minnesota Historical Foundation:
We had t-shirts, large sharp scissors and beads:
We cut the hems off each of the t-shirts:
And cut thin strips upwards from the bottom:
We then threaded the beads onto each strip. One bead per strip and then tied a knot to keep it from falling off. This was a great activity because even my younger two could join in:
Here is a close up of the beaded hem:
And B3 modelling her half-finished one:
Next we cut off the sleeve hems, cut strips into the remaining hems and threaded beads, knotting each one to secure:
I used a scarf as a make-shift belt until we make one. Here is the basic costume finished:
Over the next few weeks we will be adding bits and pieces to the costume to give it a more authentically Ojibwe look. But even without these accessories this dress up has been a hit!
