The Singing Costumer

The design for my gown was inspired by both the 1950 original animated film and to a lesser degree the 2015 live action film. Plus a little dash of my own style, especially in the sleeves. ( I rarely like how her sleeves are done in the Disney Parks. Especially before her most recent gown restyle. Please see an example of the older parks version below. I'm sorry, but no thanks.) I have always loved Cinderella's strawberry blonde hair in the original movie. But in the Parks and on all the merchandise, she has very light yellow-blonde hair. Not the same at all. Now, for this shoot, I didn't have time or the money to buy a brand new wig. I just quickly styled a light blonde wig I already owned. In the future, I will absolutely commission a custom wig from a stylist. Similarly, her gown definitely is silver-blue or straight silver, depending on the scene and whether she is outside underneath the moon, or inside with bright lights everywhere. But again, in the Parks and on the ...

Me, make another set of underthings from bedsheets? More likely than you might think. If you want cheap fabric, buy a sheet from a thrift store. My princess costume collection grows day by day. My latest addition is this set for my Cinderella cosplay. I started with a pair of bloomers. My mom gave me a bag of trim and I found this pretty baby blue lace. I found a baby blue king-size sheet at the thrift store. It has a very slight sheen on the wrong side, which I used as the right side. That added nicely to the overall magical effect. The bloomers were made with Simplicity 3677, which I’ve used several times before. This is a very cute pirate costume pattern for ladies. The lace trim at the pants hem is just adorable. It’s so delicate and dainty, and perfect for Cinderella. As is my habit, I serged around each pattern piece to finish the edges before sewing it all together. There’s not much more to say about the bloomers. It was an easy project. If not for the lace, I would’ve been done...

Repost with new photos 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...

Repost with new photos Princess Gowns are my jam. Disney cosplays are my favorite. So I thought it was high time I created a gown for Walt Disney’s original Princess, Snow White. But of course, me being me, I decided that I need a whole new set of underthings. In many clips of Disney park princesses, they seem to be wearing bloomers and petticoats with layers of ruffles. So, I decided to begin there. My usual sewing method recently has been to serge around all the edges of all pattern pieces, and then assemble them. It makes for a tidy interior, which I adore. A sewing teacher of mine once said that a nice, neat interior is a sign of a good sewist. And I have taken that to heart. I spent $16 on serger and heavy duty threads. (Plus trim for the skirt, which will be discussed in a future blog.) I’m sure I didn’t even use 2 dollars’ worth of the thread. I And I was able to cut out this whole set from a yellow sheet I found for $4 at a thrift store. So let’s say this whole set only cost me...

In mid 2025, I was thinking about all my Disney cosplays. I just started listing them. The list just kept going and going. I’ve been cosplaying for over 10, and I’ve amassed quite a collection. Including full cosplays as well as vintage-inspired Disneybounds, I’ve got at least 30 projects to show. Welcome to the year of Disney! I’ll be posting blogs and on my Instagram most every week with a Disney project. I have quite the collection of ballgowns already. I’ve done multiple looks for Belle and Ariel (and I have plans for more Ariel looks this year). There’s a few that I plan to remake or refurbish. My Elsa corset needs some TLC for sure. And my Minnie Mouse dress needs a collar to really finish it properly. I still have so many cosplays on my to-do list. There’s so many princesses I’ve yet to do. And Queens! I fell in love with the design of Queen Elinor from Brave at first sight. Some heroines are on my list too. Jane is my big build for the summer con season. I really want to combin...

The Disney Princesses that I identify with the most are Belle, Ariel, and Jasmine. I have made 3 of Belle's movie costumes by now, plus another 3 or 4 AU (Alternate Universe) costumes. So I think it's time to move on to another Princess for now. And having seen a fellow white woman cosplay Jasmine, I have decided it is not for me. It just looked so odd. So, it's time for some Ariel cosplays! I made my first version of Ariel’s pink dinner gown this past summer and debuted it at the costume contest at GalaxyCon 2025. No prize, but I had fun anyway. And now I know what to change the next time I use that pattern. That's another blog for another day. This skirt was a fun little weekend project. My roommate and I went to a theatre garage sale in the summer of 2023. They were selling tons of props, tech equipment, and costumes galore. We bought tons of pieces for our theatrical group. Hidden Gem Entertainment (our group) was doing Dracula that fall, and we found some good item...

  For the blouse, I used a lightweight polkadot satin from my stash. I don’t remember where I got it, but probably Joann Fabrics. I used Truly Victorian 1903 Plain Blousewaist. I made size E. But it might have been better to make the back size F and the front size E. I have to corset down pretty tightly for it to fit. (I am still learning how to size Truly Victorian correctly.) There was a step in the instructions that I didn’t understand until I actually did it. But the pattern was clear. This polkadot satin was too light and flimsy, I thought.I used one layer of fashion fabric and one layer of white cotton for the front, back, and the sleeves. Each piece was serged around each edge except the neckline.  I really wanted some pleats down the center front, since I saw that feature so often in antique fashion plates. I should have sewed the pleats first and then cut out the front piece. Instead, I added some width in the center and just hoped for the best. The neckline unfortuna...

  Today, it is my distinct pleasure to debut not one but two Belle costumes. Her blue so-called Village Dress is a project I’ve been wanting to do forever. And her casual outfit from Wreck-it Ralph 2 is pretty cute. I decided pretty early in the Halloween season that I would do both. These two projects bring my Belle costume count to 5 (3 canonical outfits from the movies and 2 alternate universe concepts.) I can’t decide whether I want to continue with Belle looks or if I should move on to Ariel costumes. For Belle outfits, I still need to do her pink dress with the long cape and the green library dress. I do want to do Ariel’s pInk dinner dress at some point. All of these projects were made from fabrics from my stash. First, I’ll talk about the casual outfit. It’s a pretty simple look, with a sports bra, a shirt, and a pair of leggings. I bought the BFF (Beast Friends Forever) shirt on shopDisney a couple of years ago. It comes down super low in the arms. So I decided to make a s...

  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...