Walt's First Princess, Snow White

 Finally, the time had arrived. It was time to begin work on my Snow White costume in earnest. I think it took a work or two to finish all the underthings. I spent as little money as possible on those so I could spend a bit more on the clothes that will be seen. I used Simplicity 8489, an out of print Snow White pattern. Unfortunately, I had only bought the smaller size envelope. I needed size 16 which was in the larger size envelope. I had to resort to Amazon to buy it. At a premium price, I might add. So annoying.

I didn’t like the gathered skirt as shown on the pattern. So I instead made a full circle skirt, with a hem length of 35 inches. It was tedious, but straightforward. Because the fabric wasn’t wide enough,  I had to cut 1 half circle and two quarter circles. I cut those pieces of the satin and the lace. For each piece, I placed the lace on top of the satin, then serged them together all around. I could then treat them as one piece.  The finished skirt has side seams and a back seam to accommodate the back zipper. This is where the costume gets a bit pricey. I bought 2.5 yards of both the satin and the lace. It was on sale that day, thank goodness. But still about $50 for all, if I remember correctly. Princess skirts sure use a bunch of fabric. 

The cape is made from a thrift store curtain. I bought it originally to make a mockup for the bodice to test the fit. (This first bodice will be finished eventually for a Christmas Snow White).  The cape was simple, and I made it according to the pattern. No issues there.

The bodice is really pretty, if I may say so. One of my favorite parts of designing a 3D costume from a simple 2D animation is the freedom to stray a bit from the original. Take Cinderella vs. Rapunzel, for example. I mean that if the costume is very detailed like Rapunzel, it’s more obvious when the design strays from the original. But Cinderella’s original gown is simple, so I was able to add my own touch without taking anything away from the character. Anyway, I’ll get off my soapbox and back to the topic at hand.  The main fabric is an embossed upholstery fabric from my stash. This shade of blue is just so pretty. The fabric ironed ok, but I didn’t want to push it. To iron fabrics with a pile like velvet, simply place another piece of the fabric (right-sides facing each other) and iron only the wrong side. This prevents crushing of the pile. I didn’t have quite enough of the upholstery, so I had to use polyester velvet from Joann’s Fabric for the sleeves.  Thankfully, it was a pretty good color match. 

It all became real to me when I finished the poofy sleeves with the signature red teardrop. I had a huge “Oh, this is actually Snow White, and this is happening right now in front of me” moment. When I was making Belle, that moment happened when I layered the skirts. It’s just too fun. And I’m in love.

Yours in hard work, creativity, and a dash of Pixie Dust

Sarah