“Mom, what should I be for Halloween this year?” asked Eva.
“I’ve always thought the Patchwork Girl of Oz would be a fun costume to make,” I said.
We love all the books about Oz, more than a dozen in all, written by L. Frank Baum. One of the many interesting characters in the Land of Oz is the Patchwork Girl. Her name is Scraps, and she was made and brought to life by a woman in some remote corner of Oz, who didn’t know that Ozma, the rightful ruler of Oz, had banned the practice of magic for everyone except herself and Glinda the Good Sorceress.
Eva quickly agreed with me, remembering her success with patchwork last summer. We couldn’t find our copy of The Patchwork Girl of Oz, but we did find several pictures of her online and in a wonderful book we have called All Things Oz.
Eva made a great big piece of patchwork and I turned it into a skirt. We had fun shopping for crazy socks and button-boots. We used the leftover patchwork to decorate a thrift-store shirt.
Most people didn’t instantly recognize the Patchwork Girl, so Eva spent a lot of time explaining. She didn’t mind. Here she is with Ella, the Queen Bee. I made Ella’s costume for Eva when she was six or seven years old.
Unfortunately, their little sister wasn’t able to come. It’s difficult to go trick-or-treating when your body is a clothes hamper. She’s a bit air-headed, as you can see from the photo. Little Sister is Ella’s creation. Charles and I don’t mind having another daughter in the house, especially one that is so quiet.