This is the easiest do-it-yourself Elsa dress, ever! I’ll share how to create an Elsa costume that is great for Halloween or older girls that have a hard time finding princess costumes in their size. This dress can be modified using different colors. Create the look of any Disney princess dress using this same pattern.
Easy Elsa Costume
If you have a daughter any older than 8, finding a good-quality princess dress that costs less than $50 can be tricky. Seriously, if you’ve got tips, please share! Most princess dresses are marketed to younger girls, under the age of 10. It’s challenging to find a princess dress for less than $50, that will last through one night of trick-or-treating.
My friend Kristen came to me the other day and explained how hard it is to find a nice princess dress for her daughter who is 9. Most of the dresses out there are marketed at babies or toddlers and because she isn’t old enough to fit an adult size, she was running into trouble. Well, together we came up with a great solution that costs less than $20 and took only an hour to make.
You Can Do This
You have to believe me when I say, you can make this! This is definitely the easiest dress you will ever make. You will be so proud of your craftiness and you will save a ton of money.
Read: Make a No-Sew Star Wars BB-8 Tutu Costume for Girls!
What You Need
Kristen picked up a great thermal top and bottom set from Walmart. If you’re trick-or-treating anywhere in the Mid-West, you will definitely want this! Here is everything we used:
- One bolt of blue tulle – I bought the entire bolt thinking it would be enough for several dresses. We ended up using the entire thing on this dress.
- 1 yd. of stretchy sequin embellishment – I got mine at Hobby Lobby. Or use this from Amazon!
- 1 yd. of white, stretchy woven material – I got mine at Hobby Lobby. Or use this from Amazon!
- Thermal top and bottoms to go underneath
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For the Top
Here is how to create the top portion of this dress:
- First, measure how much stretchy woven fabric you need to gently stretch around the torso of your model. We stretched it just tight enough to sty up and fit comfortably and allowed some extra for seam allowance. Cut to size.
- If you buy the stretchy sequins like I did, you’ll want to sew them onto the top of your white material first. Gently stretch as you sew so both materials remain stretchable. For a new-sew option, you could weave this through the holes in the fabric or pin it.
- Now, turn right sides together and sew the two ends together to form a tube top. Use a machine or hand stitch. For a new-sew option you could also tie the pieces together using tulle.
Read: No-Sew How to Train Your Dragon Toothless Costume
For the Skirt
Here is how to create the bottom portion of the dress:
- Cut strips of tulle about 6″ wide and long enough so when folded in half, they make the full length of the skirt.
- Push the “loop” end of your tulle through the first hole in the bottom of your tube top, from the front to the inside. Now, pull the loop down and thread the ends of the tulle through the loop and pull tight.
- Do this all the way around, threading tulle through every hole all the way around the bottom of the tube top.
For the Straps
- Once the bottom is done, have your model try the dress on.
- Take a strip of tulle and thread it through a hole at the top and center of your tube top. Thread another end through and pull so you have equal lengths coming out the back.
- Bring a piece up over the shoulder and knot on the other side of the tube top. I knotted mine under the sequin boarder to hide the knot. Let the access tulle hang for the cape.
Brenda
None of the YouTube Videos Showed me What you have and I’ve looked High and I’ve looked Low for an Upclose Pictures to Exactly Where I Put the Tulle while making a Tutu Thank you for this Aweeesome!!! Tutorial
babita
Hi,
Thank you so much for the detailed instruction of making Elsa dress at home. My 8 yr. daughter is so much in love of this Elsa dress. I am planning to make one for her. could you please provide me the info about how many yard tulle have you used for your daughter dress. what are the width of tulle which you have used.
Thank you so much!!
Eileen
Great dress idea! I have been looking around for that “white stretchy material” for a while. All I could ever find were the bands and I didn’t know if they would be big enough for my daughter. I didn’t realize I could buy if from a fabric store–duh! I don’t know why I never thought of that.
All that being said, any suggestions for someone who doesn’t sew? Do you think fabric glue would hold up?
Sarah Lemp
Eileen,
I have used hot glue on fabric before and I’ve found that the “high heat” setting works best and holds up for the long hull. Another option, since this stretchy fabric has holes in it, would be to tie it together! Just use some of the same tulle from the dress and weave it through the holes?? I’d love to know what you come up with! Please share a picture when you finish it :)
Brittany
I love this! But I am having the hardest time finding the stretchy top…I have looked a few places but plan to look more. Where did you find it/where do you suggest I look? Thanks!
Sarah Lemp
Brittany,
I found mine at Hobby Lobby, but I am sure Jo-Ann sells it and sometimes Walmart has a decent selection of fabric. Hope you find it!!
Millie
Thank you for posting this adorable dress, I just finished making it for my 10yr old daughter. It was easy and inexpensive, thank you again.
Sarah Lemp
I’m so glad it worked out!! I hope she enjoys it :)
Donna Hunt
Thank you for providing viewers with a way to make a cute, simple Elsa dress! I have had various “Frozen” fabric pieces on my sewing table for two weeks and just couldn’t figure out what to do for my little grand daughter. You have solved my problem. Your daughter looks lovely and is a true princess!
Sarah Lemp
Thank you so much!! I’m glad you found this helpful and I hope your dress turns out well!
Susan Little
My daughter and I have been searching for an Elsa costume, (yes, we are running behind as usual.) My granddaughter is chunky and she is 91/2, so we have a hard time finding anything, much less costumes. We bought a pattern, but it looks very complicated. I sew, but even this is daunting for me. I love the look of this costume, and it looks perfect for her. We are going to Joanne’s (again) tomorrow for material. I’m thinking I’m going to return the pattern and try my hand at this. It will be MUCH cheaper and a whole lot less stressful. This is just really too cute. Thanks for posting this! Thanks Susan
Sarah Lemp
Yes, LESS STRESS is the key! I hope it works out for you! This is just so simple for how cute it turns out :)
keitha (The Bajan Texan)
OMG YES!!! I am so making this for my twincesses for Halloween! THANK YOU!!