Frozen for Barbie ... EEEK!

Now I love to sew Barbie sized clothes ... really. BUT, when I got the call from Simplicity to make the costumes from Disney's Frozen I knew it was going to be a challenge.

And a different challenge than if I were making this size clothes to be mass produced in a factory to sell in a store.  I had to figure out how to make them look correct but not be impossible for the home sewer to make!

I have been in Frozen land for months now. Disney princess outfits used to be so straight forward to make, puffy shapes in bright clean colors. But, these! Why SO many do-dads!

So ... how to make all the designs? I don't own an embroidery machine, but I gave embroidery a stab ... too Hard and looks bad.

As I was trying out embroidery, I also was experimenting with different fabrics. In the end, I used fabric shape cut outs with fusible webbing for the motifs on Elsa's coronation dress and Anna's winter dress.

For Anna's Ball gown (which I think is the hardest), I ended up using beads and embroidery thread sewn onto ribbons, when I realized how hard any other method would be.

I tried glitter glue for the snowflakes but it's just impossible to get a decent looking snowflake that small. And these sequins are a possibility, but Laura, who works as Simplicity, ended up putting the snowflakes on after I sent the project in. 

At least Barbie didn't give me any trouble.  She puts up with a lot! pins, scissors, markers and never complains.

In a week or so I will post some photos I took while sewing the final samples and, I hope, some helpful tips.

In the meantime, read the doll clothes sewing tutorial I wrote that's on Simplicity's website.