Anne as Frozen's Anna

Last month when Anne was going back to school (with the subscription box), some little books were being sold as add-ons.  I'd purchased little books like this before, and while I bought those offered on the VDC, I also looked for a few more from my source.  I found one titled Frozen.  It looked cute.  Like the story a little girl would enjoy, so I bought it.  I flipped through the pages and became more curious, so I looked up the movie on the Internet.  It seemed like a very dark story, but then many fairytales are.  So, what did I do?  I rented it for $3.99 on Amazon Prime and watched it.

I'd been scrolling Pinterest images of Elsa and Anna and thought that making Anne an Elsa costume might be fun.  For Halloween, of course, or just because.  I'd purchase some sparkle tulle and had fully prepared for this.  Then I watched the movie and fell in love with the Anna (pronounced ah-nah), character, the moose, Sven, and Olaf the snowman with the big carrot nose.  Gotta love Disney!  No matter the frightening times our heroes and heroines 

face in a Disney movie, there is always the sweet comic relief, and the animals win out every time.  I still think about Mulan's red dragon played by Eddie Murphy.  Brilliant!

And so, I decided to create the Anna costume instead.  Naturally it would have to be more difficult and involved, but I'd made up my mind.  Just call me Crazy, because most of the time when I'm sewing for dolls, I choose the most difficult thing to do.

Frozen, the movie, came out in 2013.  Where was I at the time?  Who knows?  Of on some other adventure and wondering what the all the fuss was about.  I need to be reeled in at times and stay contemporary.  I'm working on it.  And yet, Frozen is still making money hand over fist.  American Girl just came out with their versions of Elsa and Anna, and they are gorgeous dolls.  You can't have one without the other, but at $310 a piece, it's an expensive commitment.

The Broadway musical would be underway in 2014, as well as a production of Frozen by Disney on Ice.  What a perfect venue for an ice themed story!  I'm told the Broadway musical was quite a feast for the eyes, especially when Elsa becomes the Snow Queen.  And here I sit in this little podunk town of Auburn, California, far away from the glittering lights of big city entertainment.  All the things I miss!  And perhaps this is just another reason why I sew and create my own entertainment.  

I don't think I'd enjoy city life as much as I once would have anyway.  Those days were spent in my 30's.  I used to have season tickets to the San Francisco Ballet and never missed a good musical or performance of The Nutcracker.  My ex and I even traded tickets once to see an opera.  But this is all history.  And I've become shier and more introverted as time has gone by.  I didn't mean to become this way, but age and experience can sometimes do that to a person.

And so, I ventured into Frozen land with an Anna outfit for Anne.

As usual, now, I hunted through my stash of fabrics to find the correct colors and weights of fabrics for this costume.  It took me a week to do this.  The only fabric I had that would do nicely for the skirt was this piece of thin cotton velveteen I'd used on one of Louise Godey's outfits eons ago.  The color was so gorgeous, and there was very little left of it.  I knew I'd be saving it for just the right project.  But was this the project?  I deliberated.  Then finally made a decision to use it.  As the story was given a Nordic setting, snow and ice the conditions, I couldn't see creating the costume entirely of silk.  Anna would freeze to death!  She was going to anyway after Elsa blasted her, but that silly thing about me, needing to be accurate, gave into using the velveteen.  The wools I had were simply too thick and there were the scallops to contend with.

The dress is one piece.  It is a costume.  An aqua silk, high collared blouse was sewn to the scalloped velveteen skirt with a lighter blue silk layer beneath.  The vest is fine black wool edged in this beautiful metallic gold braid I'd been saving for another costume.  I only have 

seven inches left of it and may not be able to find more.  

I'd been studying all the images of Anna's costume that I could find.  Even those created for 18" dolls by seamstresses on Etsy.  Each one is as unique as the person who designed it.  Even Disney changes up the costume up from time to time in the movie.  So, I selected two images to work from then did my own version.  This one was for Anne.

I borrowed a wig from another doll I own, to give her the red braids.  The wig could have been longer, but finding a red wig in size 4-5 is daunting to say the least.  We make do.  Braiding it took a lot of patience.  If Rachel ever offers us a long red wig for Anne, my other doll will get her hair back.  In the meantime, the wig will belong to Anne for her costume.  

When contemplating the embroidery and decoration for the skirt and black vest, I deliberated some more.  Just how much time and effort

did I want to put into this?  Also, you can't draw on velveteen easily, not with chalk, not with white charcoal pencils.  It doesn't mark or makes a mess and embroidery is delicate.  Most of this work by other people is done with machine embroidery.  I gave the tulip design a gentle free hand look and embellished with jewels.

Then there was the cape to create.  I used a similar velveteen from my stash in a raspberry color.  I've seen the pom pom trim done in both black and pink, and I chose black to pick up the color of the vest.  The outer shoulder cape could have been a bit smaller, but I didn't notice until the collar was sewn on, so this is how it shall be. The cape is lined in a deep brown silk with hints of raspberry red.

The silver clasp was of my own making using silver leather and gemstones.  Do they actually make them this small?  I doubt it.  And if they did, they'd come from China.  You could spend a year trying to make a costume like this, and Anne was already delighted with her costume as I created it for her.

She does have a pair of black boots.  They are made of wool and have true, flat soles, but I did not embellish the boots with gold embroidery.  They cannot be seen under the skirt, so Anne didn't mind.  To do that kind of work would be another free hand nightmare anyway.  Maybe someday when the crazies come back!

Next was her Trick-or-Treat bag.  I intended to make a bag of white wool felt in the shape of the snowman, Olaf.  I had it all planned out.  Actually, I'd thought of needle felting an Olaf, but just how much work did I want to put into this project?  It's a Halloween costume!  Not an art doll for the ages.  American Girl did that.  I'm still thinking about them.  $620!!!

As some of you might know, I've been posting my daily "national days" on my Facebook home page and gave each a Halloween theme this month. Too much fun finding Halloween themed images for them all!  I wondered if Frozen could possibly have Halloween themed images...

If one person thinks it, you can be sure others have!  And so, I found Olaf holding a Halloween pumpkin and a few more Frozen Halloween images.  I used the Olaf image for Anne's Trick-or-Treat bag.  

Earlier I'd made sure to look for any tiny Zuru Frozen dolls for Anne and found two.  One was a chubby child doll of Anna and the other, one of Elsa.

So, between the Trick-or-Treat bag, the book and the dolls, Anne was set to play Anna for the remainder of the month.  Or at least until her Wednesday Addams dress arrives in the VDC subscription box.  

I cannot tell you how much fun this month has been with the Halloween offerings from the VDC!  Rachel's hit her stride with these boxes and extra outfits for our dolls.  I'm so pleased with all of it.

And this weekend is the Tonner Fest Halloween party.  Just how many times I've contemplated going and didn't pursue it.  I have my reasons and none of them are good and all of them revolve around my husband.  What I can tell you, is that if Rachel feels it was a success and she enjoyed doing it, maybe she'll do it again next year.  Then I'll go since I won't be attending convention next year.  I won't hesitate. This year's event will be spectacular.  And because its being put on by the VDC, those tucked in at home will be able to enjoy it in some small part.

Anne with her Elsa doll.  

Beautiful little Anne as Anna.

This project was fun.  It was intense at times and always and ever challenging, but the final joy is in the completion, the accomplishment.

Olaf wishes you a Happy Halloween!

Below are a few of my favorite images from Frozen, and a few Halloween themed ones to enjoy.

Will I make Anne the Elsa costume?  Yes.  I'm sure I will, but not this month.  It might be fun for the winter months.  Anna had some beautiful costuming in the movie, and I'd love to make one of the green gowns some time, too.  There's always a new project on the horizon, and my next one starts today.  

We are midway through Halloween month, and it just keeps getting better!  Enjoy!

Melissa