So, we were a little late to the Frozen game. But, it appears it mattered not one jot, as this Christmas seems even crazier than last. To be fair, I love the film - it's high up on my list of 'films that the little ones like, but I can actually sit through' right behind Wreck It Ralph and the Jungle Book.
Daughter 1 had been eyeing up the Elsa dresses for a while, and whilst I am a huge lover of fancy dress, I am definitely not a fan of some of the princess dresses that are commercially made. It's the combination of scratchy fabrics and the endless trail of glitter left in a toddler's wake. I also resent paying out a massive amount of cash for something that has been made so cheaply. So, as a compromise, I thought it might make a good project - it didn't have to be perfect, and if it's fancy dress, then part of that is imagining that it looks like an Elsa dress, right?
There are literally hundreds of ideas online, but I found a fantastic tutorial from Grace Hepburn Designs using Simplicity 2463 as a template and took it from there. I found a brilliant shiny-but-not-too stretchy turquoise fabric at Leon's (my favourite new place) as well as some sheer chiffon/taffeta (I am still hopeless with fabrics, sorry), that looked like it would fit the bill.
The pattern was pretty easy to follow, apart from when I managed to sew the skirt pieces together upside down. And I fudged the sleeves a bit, and added elasticated wrists, so that they would gather, but also not get in the way when playing.
I had a slight moment of inspiration with the cape, and decided to add velcro, so the dress can be taken off easily, and if a certain small sister decides to pull it, there are no disasters.
Of course, after weeks of getting giddy about getting an Elsa dress, when the day of reckoning came, it was declared 'itchy' (thanks), but it is now, thankfully, getting a bit more wear. Plus it's great for twirling...
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