I wasn’t going to make Elsa’s Snow Queen dress.

When I found the pattern, I going to make Anna’s Mountain Dress, with the cute little muff and cloak combination. I hadn’t been able to make a solid costume for myself in two years - the previous two Halloweens had found me in the midst of graduate program things with neither the time nor the energy for making anything that wasn’t going to be submitted for marks. Cloaks and muffs sounded like just the things I needed, but after researching the character design for Anna more thoroughly, I came to the conclusion that given the time, budget, and the sheer number of pieces required to properly create the Mountain look, that Anna’s dress would be a Bad Idea.

That’s when I looked at the Elsa research and, while outrageously sparkly, the Snow Queen look didn’t actually seem so bad. Bodice, skirt, train, shoes, and a truckload of glitter that I knew I would regret, but perfectly achievable.

Patterning

McCall's M7000; My pattern was on sale due to the outdated item number.

The McCall M7000 pattern turned out to be considerably less useful than I’d hoped. I tend to prefer historical-inspired and drafted patterns rather than character-specific patterns - I find that I can get more accurate silhouettes if I Frankenstein the historical shapes with my own draped and drafted patterns. Character patterns, particularly if they’re unlicensed, tend to simplify silhouettes to decrease the difficulty and avoid lawsuits with the companies that own the characters’ likeness, but I’d gotten this one on sale at Jo-Anns for two dollars, so I figured I give it a shot.

The McCall pattern is designed to make the whole garment as a single piece and cuts the train length to the hem of the skirt. I had all ready decided it would be best to keep the top and the bottom separate, since I wanted my bodice to be textured and that I wanted the train to actually hit the floor, so I did what I always do and Frankensteined, using the skirt and the princess seamed bodice from the McCall pattern, the sleeves off of a generic “medieval fantasy dress” from the Butterick pattern B4377, and draping.

In general, I rarely cut out store bought patterns - the theatre hoarder in me that just knows I’ll need a different size for something, someday demands I keep them completely intact just in case. Instead, I trace the appropriate size of the pattern onto newsprint (ideally I would use pattern paper, but I have large pads of newsprint left from undergrad drawing classes that need to be used up). The Elsa pattern was no exception - I traced and cut out what I needed off both the McCall and the Butterick patterns and held off on patterns for the chiffon top and the train until I had the fabric in hand.

Fabric and Other Materials

Left to right: Chiffon, remnant (possibly a rayon sateen? I lost the tag, so I'm not one hundred percent on it's exact content), and glittery nylon organza

Before shopping, I hit up my old friend Google. Google revealed quite a collection of other creators’ Snow Queen dresses. Skirts appeared to universally be purchased sequined fabric. Trains were either generally sparkly or were hand rhinestoned in the icicle pattern from the film. The bodice options included hand beading, purchasing sequined fabric, using foamy cutouts, and layering fabric rectangles using calk adhesive.

I knew I wanted my Snow Queen dress to be as light and as accurate as possible. I also knew I wanted my bodice to be at least a little bit flexible and I knew I wanted it to be if only a little practical for moving through crowds, so I ended up modifying ideas from the research. The bodice would be foamies, the train would have the icicle pattern, but I'd use glitter rather than rhinestones, and the skirt purchased fabric.

Adhesives and texture options. From left to right: Original E6000, Spray-On Liquid E6000, glitter glue, teal Tulip fabric paint, and Golden Acrylic Gel Medium (High Solid Gel; Gloss Finish)

For the skirt, I couldn’t find quite the color and sparkle I was looking for, so I ended up combining a glittery nylon organza (two yards) from Jo-Ann’s with a remnant I picked up from Britex (roughly a yard and a half).

The train and blouse fabric I picked up at Jo-Ann Fabrics - a poly chiffon. I decided to shorten the train by several feet, just so I could move around a room without being stepped on or catching on furniture, so I ultimately purchased four yards. I knew I wanted to glitter (rather than rhinestone) the pattern onto it, but I wasn’t sure what would work best, so I picked up some options - glitter glue and regular, fine glitter in white with liquid E6000.

The bodice I decided to base in muslin - no one was going to see it anyway and I could put the money into other things. For the bodice’s texture, I picked up five sheets of foam, three in teal and two in white, a tube of regular E6000, and Golden Acrylic Gel Medium.

Bodice Materials. Craft foam, glitter, and gel medium

For the shoes, I knew I wasn’t up to tackling shoes from scratch, particularly heels. Instead, I found a blue pair of discounted pair of Christian Sirano pumps from Payless ($10, on sale) with the pointed toe box of Elsa’s ice shoes. I had some vague notions of experimenting with the Gel Medium, though nothing concrete.

It was, all said and done, enough to get started.

Next Time: The Skirt and the Bodice

The Elsa Dress - Part One

The Elsa Dress - Part Two

Happy New Year!