Elena of Avalor Princess Costume
/It is no surprise that Elena, the newest Disney princess, is all the rage this Halloween. We willl have one in our Halloween entourage as well. Raedene has sewn up an adorable version, complete with a removable outer skirt. I might just use these same patterns and method for my daughters. Hope you love it!
Hey sewing sisters it’s Raedene of Chasing Mermaids. It is that time of year when our kids make their costume requests. My youngest is obsessed with the newest Disney Princess Elena of Avalor. She begged me to make something she could wear as a costume as well as everyday dress-up.
I used two patterns to create the look of Elena’s dress. The first pattern I used is Belle from Made for Mermaids Everyday Princess line of patterns as an entire dress. I followed the pattern exactly as written with one exception. Since Belle has a ruffle and a hem-band under the ruffle I decided to just use the skirt plus the hem-band measurement. I didn’t want it to the floor so the shorter length would be easier for play. I chose Kona solids for the fabrics instead of costume material so that they would hold up to play throughout the year.
For the skirt overlay I used the Festival Skirt by Striped Swallow Designs. I have loved this look since it was released and thought it would be perfect to create the ruffle front of Elena’s dress. This pattern includes an option for an underskirt in two lengths so that could be an option if you wanted a less full underskirt. However, I chose to make my dress and overskirt two pieces so they could be worn individually. I followed the directions per the pattern for the overlay with one exception. The pattern says to fold the ruffle strip wrong sides together so that you have a finished side on the front and back. I wanted the ruffle to be the focal point so I left it as one larger piece and hemmed it ¼” then another ¼” for a finished edge. I love how the ruffle strip is tapered beginning less wide at the top and increasing width all the way down. The waistband has an elastic casing so it is a good place to get a custom fit per child. A good tip is to mark the front vs. back after cutting the pattern pieces out with an erasable pen when using Kona cottons as it is easy to flip the pieces and get all mixed up! I used a gold fabric on the waistband to create the belt look on Elena’s dress and using a longer stitch length I created a box at the front of the “belt” for effect.
Needless to say, I had one happy little princess. I put the dress on and then the overskirt on next and VOILA we have the perfect Elena costume! Luckily we had the wig and shoes from last Halloween and it was perfect again! And guess what there is a surprise the overskirt can be used as a dance/gymnastics/beach cover-up! Another look would be to throw on some tights and a top and create a cape look! We are so excited for Halloween!
