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.

Kirsten's Photoshoot Update

Kirsten and I started out for the beach, but realized we would have to walk a long ways from our hotel, so we decided to stop by the pool instead.  Here are some pictures of her visit to the pool at the Beau Rivage in Biloxi, MS

Finally at the Beach

We finally made it to the beach to take some more pictures of Kirsten's new hand crocheted swimsuit; but after getting all set up, I realized that I had left my camera card in my laptop.  My husband was sweet enough to take me to the store to buy one, and after eating some lunch we came back to the beach to take some pictures--right before a storm came through.  I did not take the time I should have to get my focus and other camera settings right, so hence the not too good pictures.  But it was fun to get some shots using real life props.  I only wish I had not forgotten Kirsten's beach chair that I worked so hard making.

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.

On a Different Subject

Today as I was reading my Bible, I had just finished watching the news and specifically the hearing on the IRS conservative targeting scandal. Just listening to that man who is the new head of the IRS made my sweet potato pancakes flip over in my stomach. It is so amazing how our country is becoming more and more corrupt with this and other horrible things that are going on in our country. But, apparently, from my reading in Habakkuh the problem with corruption is certainly not new.

Habakkuh was so frustrated with the Lord about why he was allowing all of the similar corruption in Judah to continue unabated. He said in Hab. 1:4 "The law is not enforced and there is no justice given in the courts, for the wicked far outnumber the righteous, and bribes and trickery prevail." (NLB)

But the Lord in all of his wisdom, righteousness, and perfect timeliness responded in Verses 5-11 (NLB): "Look, and be amazed! You will be astounded at what I am about to do! For I am going to do something in your own lifetime that you will have to see to believe. I am raising a new force on the world scene, the Chaldeans, a cruel and violent nation who will march across the world and conquer it. They are notorious for their cruelty...for they clain their power is from their gods."
When I look at the Middle East and what is happening in Iraq (Babylon), Iran (Chaldea), etc. it seems as though history is repeating itself. I sure hope they are not coming for us--as a rod of God's punishment. Something to think about.

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.

People May Think I'm Crazy

I am on the Mississippi Gulf Coast getting ready to journey down to the beach to have a photo shoot of my American Girl doll, Kirsten. You see; I sell American Girl doll clothes, and I find it much more fun and realistic to take pictures of their new outfits in appropriate settings. I forgot Kirsten's new beach chair that I made out of screen moulding and wooden dowels; so I guess we will have to rig up a way for her to sun. I am going to use my new Canon Rebel T3i that my husband bought me for Mother's Day, and hopefully I will be able to figure out how to take pictures in the bright sunlight. Stay tuned for the results.