Saturday, March 4, 2017

Princess Anna Travel Dress Cosplay (Second Attempt)

img_0719


So, now I will walk you through my second attempt at making my Princess Anna travel dress cosplay. One day I looked at what I had made and just decided that it wasn’t good enough and that I could do better (I feel strongly about Anna). I started my research all over, trying to find good reference photos, advice and notes from other cosplayers, and taking my time. I had no deadline to meet this time so I promised myself not to rush through it.
You can view my first attempt here.
Originally, I had bought the new pattern from Simplicity of the adult frozen costumes. At first glance I was really excited to have everything in one package, but taking a closer look, I realized that the costume was constructed as one piece. I had started making the dress using this pattern, but then my boyfriend convinced me that it would probably be too costumey. I really wanted an authentic and professional look, so I opted to find separate patterns that would work.
During my search, i found a fantastic blog of a woman who makes some amazing costumes! Tracy’s Costuming World her construction notes helped me so much, and I used a lot of the patterns that she suggested.

Bodice

I pretty much followed Tracy’s advice on the bodice. I used the Simplicity 2851 pattern, but altered it just as she did to create a sweet heart neckline and squaring the angels in the back. I used a velvet black fabric and black lining fabric, but no coutil. I sewed channels in the liner for the boning. I also used ready made gold bias binding for the gold trim. At the time, I absolutely loved having a zipper in the back instead of lacing it up. Although, the bodice has become looser from wear, or losing weight, so I took out the zipper and added eyelets with my sewing machine and used a shoe lace as the lace, for a tighter fit.

Blouse

I used a light blue cotton fabric and found a pattern with a mandarin collar, here. I did my best to follow Tracy’s velcro closure technique, but mine ended up not being very functional. It would pull strangely and pucker where you could see the velcro. Later on, I ended up adding buttons, which made the blouse a lot more functional. If I were to remake the shirt, I would use a stretchy cotton fabric. I also added the embroidered details this time around, just as Tracy did.

Skirt

For this part, I took on my own search to patterns to find one with the pleats that Anna’s skirt has. My boyfriend, Aaron, found this pattern. It is so close to what I needed! All I had to do was lengthen it a bit.
I needed a way to achieve the scalloped edge with the two different colors of blue. I used a cotton fabric (I learned my lesson last time), so I had to find a way to create the the scalloped edge and be able to finish it so that it wouldn’t fray. I went back to the frozen pattern from simplicity and used their pattern piece and technique for the scalloped edge.

Hat

This time, for the hat, I used the Frozen pattern from Simplicity. I don’t think that its really accurate, but it looks cute and functions way better than the last one. It has ribbon that ties around your chin so it stays on!

Mittens

I don’t remember the exact pattern I used, but I just google searched for a free mittens sewing pattern and used light blue fleece.

Cape

I kept my old cape that I made from the McCalls Frozen Pattern, but I took out the old pom poms I had in there and put dark purple ones in. I also added the decorative trim with felt, just like Tracy.

Embroidery

One of the biggest reasons I decided to re-make this cosplay was because I purchased a sewing machine that can embroider much bigger designs! I found and purchased almost all of the designs at this etsy store! I couldn’t find an embroidery design for the hat, so I just did that by hand.

Boots

I used the same boots, but painted over the yellow with black. I embroidered the boot design onto black fabric, cut the designs out and hot glued them to the boots.


To sum it all up, I am very happy with the outcome of my new and improved Princess Anna cosplay. The only thing I’m trying to decide now is if I should buy a wig for it!
12186802_10203526782410372_7216991685802739163_o
15731931_10211326539861636_8172112427796823913_o
11987155_10207526996915437_381167338721009211_n
11988755_10207526996715432_5990693865073363324_n
img_0720



PHOTO SHOOT COMING SOON!!

No comments:

Post a Comment