ANOTHER ELSA DRESS

I decided to try a different pattern and type of fabric for this Elsa dress.  It happens to be the same pattern that was used in the aqua skating dress that I finished making yesterday.  Not only the same pattern by Lee and Pearl was used, but also the same fabric.  The dress turned out great and I love it just as much as the one by Doll House Designs.  The two dresses are entirely different in style and fabric, but both depict the real Elsa dress really well.

This dress is made of four-way stretch fabric and most of the stitches were serged in order to maintain the elasticity of the fabric.  Sewing this extremely stretchy fabric was a great challenge, but it was well worth the extra time and careful attention that I had to put into this project.  Here are some pictures of the finished dress and two more that I am adding of the skating dress.

YES!! I Finished the Elsa Dress

With excitement and relief I am pleased to present to you the finished Elsa dress inspired by the Disney movie, Frozen.  Most of today was spent taking pictures of my doll, Kirsten, in the dress that I have been planning and sewing on for what seems like two months.

I have to admit, though, it has been a lot of fun working on this project.  It has required, as I said, lots of time as well as a fair amount of expense.  This dress will be unique in that it will not be exactly duplicated again, so whoever purchases it will have a one-of-a-kind little dress for her special doll.  If you are interested in purchasing this dress, you can do so at Etsy.com/shop/missycrissy2.


Last week, I finally got to watch the movie with my little granddaughters, Katie and Jane.  It was a fantastic movie with such a great life lesson, wonderful music, and beautiful animation.  I hope that you have enjoyed following my progress with this Elsa dress project, and it would be so great if you could post a little comment on my blog; otherwise, I will

have no idea that you read it.  Thanks for following.

It's Been A While!

It's been a while since I worked on the Snow Queen Elsa dress.  Hopefully, today, I will be able to complete it.  I am learning to navigate through some software, Corel PaintShop Pro, in order to remove the background from the pictures that I take of my dolls' outfits.  This will allow me to photoshop the doll pose onto a background that I would otherwise be unable to obtain here in Mississippi.  Specifically, a background of snow, that was the setting for most of the Frozen movie.

Last week was really a wild one for my husband and me.  We are striving hard to do our part in redeeming our beloved state of Mississippi back from what seems to be a very low place politically speaking.  It is our desire that the U. S. Senatorial election be conducted and concluded in such a way that each voter in Mississippi can be satisfied that the outcome was arrived at legally and ethically.  Sometimes we often wonder why things have to be so "upside down" in our lives and in the world at large; and we may, like Job, wonder where God is in all of the commotion.

Today, while reading God's Word, I think I might have found the answer in Psalms 33: 8-11..."Let all the earth fear the Lord; let all people of the world revere him.  For he spoke, and it came to be; He commanded, and it stood firm.  The Lord foils the plans of the nations; he thwarts the purposes of the peoples, But the plans of the Lord stand firm forever, the purposes of his heart through all generations.

(Paraphrasing Matthew Henry) God over-rules all the counsels of men, and makes them, contrary to their intention, serviceable to his counsels. Come and see with an eye of faith God is on the throne, 1. Frustrating the devices of his enemies: He bringeth the counsel (Ps. 2:1 ); the counsel of Ahithophel is turned into foolishness; Haman’s plot is baffled. Though the design be laid ever so deep, and the hopes raised upon it ever so high, yet, if God says it shall not stand, neither shall it come to pass; it is all to no purpose. 2. Fulfilling his own decrees: The counsel of the Lord standeth for ever. It is immutable in itself, for he is in one mind, and who can turn him? The execution of it may be opposed, but cannot in the least be obstructed by any created power. Through all the revolutions of time God never changed his measures, but in every event, even that which to us is most surprising, the eternal counsel of God is fulfilled, nor can anything prevent its being accomplished in its time. With what pleasure to ourselves may we in singing this give praise to God! How easy may this thought make us at all times, that God governs the world, that he did it in infinite wisdom before we were born, and will do it when we are silent in the dust! of the heathen to nought, so that what they imagine against him and his kingdom proves a vain thing.  

There are two things that I would like to emphasize here:  God is still on his throne, and He will accomplish his purposes in his time.

Sewing Again on the Elsa Dress

Today, after spending all of last week working on the floors in "our old house," I am finally sewing again on the Snow Queen Elsa dress.  I love to sew and when I don't get to sew almost every day, I get frustrated.

Here are pictures of the almost completed train and corset (bodice), which was the part of the dress that I was most eager to sew.  It is always a curiosity to see if the pattern will fit, if the pieces will fit together properly, if the fabric selections work together, and on this particular design if I would do an acceptable job on the bodice embellishments.  The fabrics that I chose seem to be working pretty well.  At first I did not know if turning the embellished side of the train fabric to the inside and using it as a show-through lining would work, but it turned out pretty well, as did the bodice embellishments.  What do you think?

Follow me to see the dress continue to come together.  I am anxious to see the finished results, and I hope you are too!

I'm Not Sure of What I Did

My posts are all out of sequence according to date; so for those of you who have been following my posts on the making of the Queen Elsa dress, you will have to select from the categories to the left to find those posts.
Because of other obligations, I have not had time to sew this week, but I hope to get back to the Elsa dress next week.  Thanks for keeping up with me.

Ice Queen Elsa Dress On the Table

Today I officially started on my rendition of the dress worn my Elsa, the Ice Queen, in the movie, Frozen.  Many seamstresses have made their version of this little dress for their dolls, their daughters' dolls, or to sell in their online stores or at craft shows.  This dress is very popular with doll owners because the movie itself is so extremely popular.  Of course, what Disney princess movie has not been a huge hit immediately after its release and for decades after.  Just think about Cinderella, Snow White, etc.; thousands and thousands of costumes for dolls, little girls, and also big girls have been purchased or custom-made over the years.  So here we have another one.

The dress that I am making will be for sale in my online Etsy store at Etsy.com/shop/missycrissy2.  I will also offer it for sale locally at craft shows around Christmas time.  I am using a pattern designed by Renee Adams of Dollhouse Designs.  The dress is so magical and gorgeous; and Renee did an awesome job with her pattern, designing it to so closely to resemble the dress worn by Elsa in the movie.

It has taken me many trips to the fabric stores to find the perfect fabrics to use in this creation.  It had to have a nearly invisible long sleeve, close-fitting under blouse that would show the doll's arms and lower neck.  The neckline of the dress and the very long detachable train would have an illusion of sprinkles of sparkly ice crystals.  Probably the most difficult search was for the right color of icey blue fabric.  For the train the fabric had to be sheer, flowing, and wispy blue-white to resemble a light snow trail, and the fabric perfect for the skirt of the dress needed to be satin-smooth, and have enough weight to hang correctly.  Lastly, the corset-type bodice would need to be adorned with sequins, crystals, and beads to give it a dimension of richness.

Planning this dress has been a lot of fun, but I have to confess that the expense of the pattern, specialty fabric, embellishments, and notions have caused me a little angst; for I know to recapture my expense and to make a buck, I will have to charge more than most people want to give for a doll dress.  So the dress that I am making will most probably be purchased by a doll collector or by an older girl who is appreciative of the value and delicate nature of the dress's construction and fabric.

Tomorrow's post will update you on my

progress with the blouse of this dress.  Please visit again.

Elsa Dress--Day 4--Fitting the Corset

Finishing the task of hot fixing the crystals on the corset of the Elsa dress was accomplished today with only a small blunder.  One crystal landed in the wrong place leaving a little glue trail which I had to clean up. Thankfully, it is almost undetectable.  I was glad, also, that the fitting of the corset was successful.  I was a little afraid it might be too small, since that tends to be the trend of today's AG clothes patterns.  Most of the patterns are designed to fit the newer, smaller framed dolls rather than the older, original American Girl dolls. Below is a picture of the corset fitting and the finished crystal and rhinestone application.

Elsa Dress - Day Three

Today, I did not get to work for long on the Elsa dress, because of some remodeling that I had to monitor in "our old house."  I did, however, take time to hotfix the rhinestones and crystals on the dress train, and to plan where I wanted to place them on the corset part of the dress.

Hot fixing crystals can be a challenging endeavor because once they have been put in place, they are permanent.  Fortunately, there were no great mistakes on the train.  The bodice may present more of a problem, since there are so many to fix.  Here are some pictures of the progress I made today.

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Elsa Dress - Day Two

Today I have been checking the fit of the Elsa dress bodice and skirt to the train, and also getting a visual of the color matches of the dress to the train.  The fabric that I chose for the train is a beautiful chiffon-type fabric embellished with scrolly sparkles, but unfortunately the color of the fabric was too intense for the soft "snowy" look that the train is supposed to have.  So what did I do?  I used the beautiful ornate fabric as the lining of the train, and turned the side with the sparkles to the top so that the sparkles would shine through the white chiffon.  My intention was for the intense color and sparkles underneath the white sheer chiffon to show through just enough to create a "snowy" illusion.  I am adding Swarovski crystals and rhinestones on top of the chiffon to mimic snowflakes.  Here are pictures of my sewing progress, and I am adding a picture of the beautiful train fabric that will not be seen in all its "glory."  The second and third pieces of fabric are some that I purchased but decided did not work with this dress.