Queen Elsa of Arendelle Ice Dress Construction Notes

*click on the pictures to make them larger

☆Wig

The wig was bought years ago so I have no idea what seller it came from at eBay, but I think it might be this base wig or this. It started as a curly wig and I straighten it with minimal heat setting. After straightening it became poofy, somewhat enough to style Elsa’s massive hair. I used tacky glue and got2be hairspray to style the wig. I added extra hair strands in front of the wig with tacky glue. I recommend looking at malindachan’s tutorial for the hairline. I added a bit of glitter with modpodge on the wig and sewed on snowflakes made out of super sculpey. Snowflakes were painted with a mixture of teal, white, blue, and pink paint. Then glitter and small square rhinestones were added. When I wear my wig I add spirit gum to the hairline so it won’t move back.

☆Dress

For the dress I modified a simiplicity 2400 pattern B. I cut up seven pieces for the dress pattern (ended up needing 8 though, I messed up oops). I made it a full dress and attached a spandex top to help hold the velcro for the cape. The overdress fabric is a Blue Radiance Casa Satin with a Crinkle Chiffon Metallic Stripe Turquoise overlay and lined with royal posh lining. The chiffon was a little annoying to work with. There’s a zipper on the back of the dress.

☆Off shoulder long sleeve blouse v2

I drafted my own pattern for this blouse. I bought aqua stretch mesh fabric at eBay . I can easily put on the blouse with no zipper and best of all – it’s comfortable! I drew the designs on a cut out plastic bag and then flipped it over. I placed my cut out fabrics on top and traced the designs with Mod Podge. I sprinkled on Fairy Sparkles fine glitter on top of the Mod Podge designs. Once it dried I shake off the excess glitter. I then sewed the blouse together and added a clear stretchy thread finger loop at the end of the sleeves. For the gradient effect I brushed on a mixture of water, textile medium and blue acrylic paint.

☆Off shoulder long sleeve blouse v1

For the sleeves I drafted my own pattern. I used matte tulle clearwater and lined it with the same fabric. For the gradient effect I brushed on a mixture of water, textile medium and blue acrylic paint. For the snowflake design I drew the designs on cardboard added plastic on top and then painted on the designs with a mixture of glitter and mod podge to the tulle. I added a clear stretchy thread finger loop at the end of the sleeves. There’s a zipper on the back of the off shoulder long sleeve blouse. *New* I added a few Darice premium acrylic rhinestones and glued them on with Aleene’s Jewel-It. I also added more Fairy Sparkles fine glitter on top of the designs.

☆Bodice

I had many ideas for the bodice, but I went with a super tedious way. For the bodice I drafted my own pattern and used a sheer light blue organza as a base. I covered the dress form with plastic wrap, pinned the bodice to the dress form, and glued on craft foam pieces of varying sizes with rounded corners to the organza. It took forever to cut the foam pieces, I got plenty of help from my boyfriend and kid sis. The foam pieces were painted with mod podge, different blue hues of acrylic paint, and varnish plus glitter. Using a tweezer I set the individual round rhinestones down on the organza and strips of rhinestones to the foam pieces and added Aleene’s Jewel-It on the backing. I added 7×21 rectangle faceted crystal glass rhinestones (bought at eBay) with Aleene’s Jewel-It as well. The bodice is connected to one side of the dress with a top stitch and the other side with snap-ons. During the convention the heaviness of the cape pulled my bodice down, so I added a small piece of Velcro connected to the bodice and blouse. *New* I painted a new layer of paint and gave the bodice a gradient look. It goes from heavy to very light coats of paint. I used FolkArt metallic Ice Blue acrylic paint.

☆Cape v2

Cape is made of six pieces of casa mirror organza blue. I love this fabric, it drapes nicely. When the cape is sewn I trimmed the cape to the shape I want. I drew the snowflake designs on plastic and flipped the plastic over (I traced over printed snowflakes to help me out). I placed the sewn cape over the plastic and traced the designs with Mod Podge. I then sprinkled glitter on top of the Mod Podge. I used many different glitters and glitter flakes bought from Jo-Ann and Michaels. Colors I used were silver, white, and a hint of blue. When it dried I shake off the excess glitter. Lastly, I sprayed Mod Podge over the glitter so it helps it somewhat stay in place.  I sewed a bias tape on the top edge of the cape and sewed on Velcro. The inside of the bodice has a Velcro piece as well to connect with the cape. This is the reference that helped me: cape ref

☆Cape v1

I’m not completely satisfied with my cape, but I’m glad with the effort I put into it. Cape is made of six pieces of blue tulle. I used a mixture of acrylic light blue paint, textile medium, mod podge, and glitter to paint on the snowflake. When I painted the snowflake I used cut out trash bag that I put under the fabric and traced over a printed out snowflake under the trash bag. I printed out these snowflakes and used this to help figure out where to place the snowflakes. When the paint dried I peeled off the trash bag. I added more glitter by using Elmer’s glue and set down glitter flakes individually. Note, a lot of glitter will get on the floor and will start appearing all over the house. I used three different glitters: crystal glitter, crystal glitter flakes, and tulip fashion glitter crystal from Jo-Ann. I added a few round rhinestones for extra embellishment. After I was done with the cape I lined it with shiny blue tulle. The cape is attached via velcro to the top portion of the dress. Some references I used: cape1, cape2

☆High heels

The clear high heels (brand Funtasma) were bought off of eBay. I wish the heels were an inch higher, but better that my feet won’t hurt. I made a paper pattern first and traced it onto the clear Lucite with sharpie (I took off the butterfly that was on the high heels). I cut out the snowflake pattern with small and big sharp scissors. With a mixture of teal acrylic paint and textile medium I drew the designs and painted the sides of the cut out high heels and added a little pearl nail polish to the edges. After that I added a thin layer of textile medium on top of the high heels and sprinkled glitter (tulip fashion glitter crystal). I sewed on clear elastic to go around my ankle so my shoes won’t slip off when I walk. Some references I used: shoes1, shoes2

☆Eye contacts and makeup

I got QT Super Angel Blue eye contacts from kiwiberry1-collection. It’s not the brightest (only in good lighting) and I would go for better contacts. A lot of people ask me about my makeup and I honestly won’t do a good job in making a makeup tutorial. Though, my favorite brands are Ben Nye and e.l.f.

-K