More Frozen: Costumes for Elsas

2 Elsa dolls

The Elsa costume actually came first.  Many years ago, my sister had sheer fabric with flocked snowflakes draped around her bedroom windows.  When she got tired of the snowflake motif, she passed it on to me.  I made these curtains with it. 

Snowflake curtains. Fun for cats to pretend to be brides with

I had been charmed by the idea that these curtains would make it look like it was snowing since we usually get very little snow around here (compared to Western PA, for instance)  And then we had the winter of 2013-2014. We were socked with unrelenting snowiness from November to the end of March.  (Most of the time I count on the first real snow to come around my birthday in the third week of January and it's always gone by St. Patrick's Day.)

After a winter like that, I didn’t hesitate to channel my inner Maria von Trapp and make clothes out of  snowflake curtains.  (I suspect the charm of snowflakes as a motif will probably be lost on me for years to come.)

So my design ideas started with the curtains.  I thought if I made Elsa’s cape removable, the girls could just wear the blue dress as a generic princess costume rather than being limited to performing Frozen. 

I found these old buttons in my grandmother’s collection.  They were kind of snowflakey (and by now are probably antiquey too)  The cape can be buttoned on or off.  I used a tiny iridescent rick rack to trim the gown and the cape to give it a little shine.  

Snowflakey button and iridescent rick rack trim

 I left a couple of one-inch sections of rick rack unstitched on either side of the cape as to serve as buttonholes so the cape can doubled up and shortened if the long train is getting in Elsa’s way. 

Doubled up snowflake cape

The gown is McCall’s M5498   without the peplum or scarf.  I like the nice A-line it provides. 

Lily lets it go.

As you can see, Lily can completely channel the Elsa attitude. I would not mess with her. I made both costumes approximately the same size so they can take turns being each princess.  Their mother assures me Maggie will never get to be Elsa until Lily outgrows that costume.

Let it go! (Eat your heart out Adele Dazim!)

Here is the doll’s matching gown, complete with tiny buttons at the shoulders.  I used Butterick 5661 for it. 

Elsa for 18" doll

Here again are the 2 Elsa dolls:

Lily and an 18" doll whose name I don't know.

Maggie just needs a white streak in her hair and the two of them are dead ringers for the sisters in Frozen.

Annas and Elsa. Do you want to build a snowman?