It's Coronation Day!

Ever since we got back from Disneyland, Maia has been asking for Elsa's coronation dress. She's been relentless.
In fact, for several mornings in a row, she'd come in to our room just before 6, saying "And mommy? We need to be sure to put some blue stuff on the edges so it's just like her dress. Ok?"

And the next day "So, we need like dark blue fabric for the gloves since my gloves have holes in them."

And "Don't forget about the cape. It's pretty long so maybe we should go outside on a windy day so it doesn't get all dirty."

Apparently this dress was pretty important.
I finally caved and told her I'd work on making her one.

First I thought I'd look online to see if I could purchase the dresses. Apparently the Anna dress is being sold, but it wasn't long enough for Ruby. Elsa's dress is also being sold, but on Etsy for upwards of $120.

I also found 2 patterns on Etsy for $9.50 apiece. I swallowed my nerves and apprehension and hit the download button.

I used This Elsa pattern and this Anna pattern. Both were very clear and easy to follow.

With a list of yardage and fabrics in hand, Maia and I headed to the store.

The printing and cutting of the fabric went smoothly. Shoot, I now know what a grain line is!
Also, I should point out that La Croix fueled this project. (don't worry, they were recycled).

Then came the painting for Anna's dress. It was at this point that I felt I had perhaps gotten in too deep.

And while it seemed never ending, it was also a lot of fun.

Maia kept getting out of bed each night to "see how the dresses were coming."

And then, finally, after 3 days, they were done!

My least favorite part of this whole thing? Making the stencils.
If I ever do it again (which at this point, is doubtful), I'll buy proper stencil film and use it instead of a cereal box.

 There were so many times that I would finish a step and then laugh out loud in disbelief that it actually looked the way it was supposed to look.

There were so many things that I did for the first time.
Sleeves.
Lining.
A collar.
Fabric painting (which was a lot more fun than I anticipated).

My motto for the past three days was "it's only fabric."

They are certainly not perfect.

But the girls don't seem to notice.

They only care that it's long enough and not too itchy.

Hemming this dress was a huge job.
And probably my second least favorite part.

Lots of room for growth in this one.

The Elsa pattern had painting the fabric as the last step. If I did it again, I think I'd try to do it before sewing the dress together. That way I could paint everything at once, without having to wait for one side to dry before rotating it.

One of the hardest parts of the project was trying to complete the dresses at the same time.

I would also use gold fabric paint for the trim on Elsa's dress, instead of ribbon. It's way easier to paint on the outline than it is to sew the ribbon.

"Mommy! My gloves have shipped! They're going to be here today or tomorrow!"

Also "when are you going to make the cape?" and "we need to make a crown now."
The Elsa pattern did come with a cape and I'll probably try to have that done by Halloween.

Oh yeah, speaking of Halloween, there is no way I'm buying costumes this year. So hopefully these aren't destroyed or too small by then. If they are, too bad.

The entire project cost just about $120 for both dresses.

I have lots of material left over from the Elsa dress though, maybe enough for one more in the same (smallest) size.

It was a fun project. Exhausting, but also exciting. Especially since I don't really consider myself a sewer.
However, after this project, I think I do pretty well!