Skip to main content

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




Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Bow-Tie Necklet

Are you, dear reader, in the mood for some winter accessories? Or, like me, are you already anxious for spring to arrive? The only good thing about winter is the cute accessories, I always say. I have a big canvas basket full of scarves, gloves, mittens, and hats. I have a black and also a purple peacoat. Plus my dramatic leopard print fleece cape, which I have previously discussed. Simply put, I don't like to be boring with my accessorizing. It is my only source of cheer and happiness when preparing for a cold winter's day. Ok, enough with the dramatics. On with the subject of today's blog. I knit this up several years ago. This is what the pattern calls a “Bow-Tie Necklet”. It is a scarf, but not in a traditional long rectangle shape. One end is pulled through a loop on the opposite side, forming a sort of bow tie. I have seen several examples in mid century photos of similar knit scarves that seem to have been made the same way. Of course, I forgot to save them/

Disney's The Little Mermaid - Ariel's Blue Dress

    Anyone who has spent more than 3 minutes with me knows I'm obsessed with Disney. My three favorite movies are Beauty and the Beast, The Little Mermaid, and Aladdin. So for Halloween 2011, I made a version of Ariel's blue dress. She wears during "Kiss the Girl" scene and when they are riding in the carriage around Eric's kingdom. . It was fairly easy to make. I used McCall's 4090 (View A), a simple skirt with a waistband. For the bodice/over corset, I used another McCall's, 4861 (view A). I didn't want side lacing, so I just traced each of the four pieces separately, then taped them together at the sides, overlapping the seam allowance. This left me with the back lacing only. When it was assembled, I roughly "eye-balled" the sweetheart-shaped neckline and cut it out. The shirt was made with Simplicity 3677. I just added cuffs to the sleeves instead of elastic. A couple things I lea

Reconstructing History RH017

This is review of RH017, 14th Century Kirtle or  Cotehardie. (Link to buy this patten at the end) I ordered it to make a new dress for the 2015 Medieval Fair of Norman. I had been playing a princess for many years, but decided on changing it up this year. I wanted to be a Bard, a poet/singer/general performer. Naturally, I could not wear the Princess gowns of years past.  It came in a timely fashion. I knew it had a booklet of historical notes, I didn't know it was going to come with a textbook! Seriously, this booklet is 15 pages long (including historical notes, bibliography, actual construction, and a section on period stiches) and is in an easy to digest format. The pattern is on regular paper, not the usual tissue paper, which I appreciated. I had trouble with setting the sleeves, but it was my own fault. I made it oversized purposefully to adjust down to my exact size, and didn't quite adjust the sleeves to match correctly the first time. My own fault. I will post