It seems every little girl’s dream right now is to own a dress just like Queen Elsa. But with official Frozen merchandise so sparse (and expensive!) I just knew I’d have to get creative and make an Elsa dress of our own.
Actually, it’s not that difficult to make an Elsa dress – and it’s really quite quick and fun!
Even your little one could drive you nuts help you.
To make an Elsa dress you will need:
1 x stretchy crochet top
1 x roll of turquoise tulle
Tape measure
Scissors
First, you need to decide how long you want your dress skirt to be. Using the tape measure, measure from your child’s waist downwards.
Remember this measurement and DOUBLE it. This will be the length you need to cut your pieces of tulle.
How To Make An Elsa Dress
Take your spool of tulle and cut-off a number of pieces that are equal in length to your (doubled) measurement.
It’s easier to prepare them in advance so start with 20-30 lengths and work from there.
You may also find it easier to stretch your crochet band over a book to expose the holes and make it easier to thread your skirt.
Take one piece of your cut tulle length, fold it in half and poke it through a hole on the lower edge of your crochet band.
I like to start threading on the 2nd row, as the first edge always looks so delicate!
Holding the two loose ends of your folded length of tulle, poke them through the loop and gently pull to fasten.
Now the fun part… repeat all the way round 
Since Elsa’s dress is very fitting and elegant, I didn’t want the skirt of my Elsa dress to be overly ‘full’. I therefore chose to thread my tulle through every other hole in my crochet band.
And remember, this band is stretched open whilst I’m threading, so these will all condense down, too.
Once you’ve finished your first row, begin threading a second row for your Elsa dress.
This time, thread your tulle through alternate holes in the row above so you have no gaps in your skirt.
Decorate your Elsa Dress
I was hoping to find some gorgeous snow flakes that I could decorate our Elsa dress with, unfortunately, there was nothing to be found.
Instead, I found this gorgeous turquoise sequinned flower, which looks kinda like a snowflake, dontcha think?
In keeping with my no-sew project, I simply cut off a half-inch strip from my tulle roll and tied this on. Why make things more complicated than they need be!
The straps of our Elsa dress were super simple, too.
I took one of our left-over lengths of tulle from our skirt and made another slip knot at the front of the dress (at the top edge of the crochet band).
Taking one of the ends, I pulled it over the shoulder, pulling the fabric straight to form a small sleeve, then simply tied in a knot at the back to fasten.
You can trim any loose ends or just hide them inside.
And that’s it.
How to make an Elsa dress!
You like?
Do you wanna build a snowman?
Sorry, I couldn’t resist 😀
Your turn!
Why don’t you have a go and make an Elsa dress for your little Princess. It would make a perfect costume for Halloween!
If you do make one, I’d love to see it. Please pop back and share a photo or leave a post on my Facebook wall.
Got any questions? Leave me a message in the comments section below and I promise to respond to you.
xoxo Natalie
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Gorgeous dress….and little girl!
Thanks for a timely post…I was just wondering how I could make a princessy dress for toddler-daughter. Love your Halloween outfits, too, will have a read through your tutorials shortly.
These are so much fun to make, and so easy, too. What girl could resist an Elsa dress?!
Thank you for this pattern. School bookday has just been dropped in my lap and I have 3 days to make a costume. I don’t feel confident enough on my sewing machine yet to make one like you see in the shops so your pattern is perfect.
Hi Julie, so sorry for my delayed reply! Did you manage to make a costume? How did it turn out?!
Holy moly this is soooo easy! *slaps fod for not thinking of it myself* Great post thanks for waking us all up
Thank you, Joanna.
I’m all for keeping it simple
That looks absolutely amazing. And so simple to do
Thank you!
I usually love your posts but this is a carbon copy of Charlie Moos. Seems a bit cheeky to say the least
Hi Louise,
Thank you for stopping by and sharing your thoughts.
If you look back through my blog posts, you will see each year I have made numerous tutus for Halloween and Christmas. This Halloween being no exception. At the request of my 4 year old for an Elsa dress, I’ve simply modified the colour scheme to suit the craze of the year – Frozen.
I am sorry if you feel that this was a copy of Joanne’s, it certainly isn’t. In fact, Joanne utilised one of my original tutorials to create her lovely Elsa-inspired tutu in the first place.
Hi Natalie, thank you so much for the beautiful tutorial …I’m just sad that some people come to look, just to try to offend you, saying its a carbon copy….you are so nice !!! Too nice to even respond to her, with nice words, but to the point ..I’m so sorry for people like this, you took you precious time, took pictures step by step…and this!!??!! Thank you so much again, it’s a really wonderful tutorial …your daughter is beautiful !!! Hugs
I agree with the above statement, people should just bigger off if they don’t have any thing nice to say,
my god daughter is turning 4 in august and she loves frozen so I’m going to make her a dress using your pattern,
Thanks so much for the inspiration I love it, so excited to get stuck in xxx
OMG! LOVE LOVE LOVE this!
In fact, my 6yr old has a FROZEN party for a friend coming up. AND we need an Elsa dress!
Great dress – great post – well done my dear.
C x
Ah, a Frozen party – the PERFECT occasion. She will love it!
Love this no sew idea Nat. I have a 3 year old and your idea has inspired me to make a ‘pink princess version.
Oh I would LOVE to see your pink princess version. Please do share it with me when you make it!
That’s gorgeous. Your little lady looks so happy. You are one clever Mumma. I will be storing this one away for when my little miss 16 months asks for one. Jx
Jess, you could get a smaller size tutu body and make her a tiny one. They make such cute photos!
I love this! But where do you find these little tops that you start with? Thank you!
Hello Deb,
I get my tops for tutus from good old eBay 😀
Here’s a link to the seller I use: http://stores.ebay.co.uk/raindropsboutique/
I notice now she also sells the rolls of tulle for tutu skirts in her shop now too (she didn’t have these before). Hope this helps!
Just what I need for my 6 year old who wants to be Elsa this year. Where can I find that tube top? I’ve never seen one before, I don’t think…?
Hi Nancy,
Thank you for stopping by!
I got the crochet band for the tutu body from Raindrops Boutique on eBay (UK). Here’s a link to her store: http://stores.ebay.co.uk/raindropsboutique/
If you are outside of the UK, try searching your country’s eBay for terms like tutu body / tutu top etc and you will find them.
I’d love to see your creation! Pop back and leave a photo on my Facebook wall: http://facebook.com/OneBusyWAHM I can’t wait to see what you make!
were can I get one of those crop tops to make the dress?
Hi Lindsey,
I get my tops for tutus from eBay, although, I’m sure there will be other retailers that supply these also.
Here’s a link to the seller I use: http://stores.ebay.co.uk/raindropsboutique/
Just a quick question – how wide should the strips be for the elsa dress please??? Xx
Hello Gill,
My tulle roll was 6″ wide, so I just cut my lengths of tulle from that.
Thank you! Just finished it!!! Looks lovely xx
Hi! How much tulle did you use?
Hi Jade!
The turquoise tulle roll I purchased was 100 yards, but I had loads left over AND, my skirt length was long. (I intentionally left the skirt less-full since Elsa wears a more fitted style dress).
I just looked back on my Christmas tutu and that did use 2 x rolls and they were 25 yd ones.
Thank you!
Hi Natalie,
Thanks for the lovely dress tutorial. I was thinking of one for my 6 and half year old daughter but not very sure what size crochet tube top to buy as there are different sizes. Can you please explain how to find the correct size for her. Thanks
Hi Natalie, I made this lovely dress for my daughter and she loved it. Following is the link to the photo. Thank you so much.
https://goo.gl/photos/adf6wwNUz335R35X6
Oh Navi, that is absolutely AMAZING!
You made an awesome Elsa dress – I bet your daughter loves it!!!!!
So precious! Love the no sew! Making a Minnie version with your awesome instructions! Thank you for sharing!
Joleen, you are most welcome
Do come back and share a pic of your finished tutu. Either on here, or hop on over to my FB Page – http://fb.com/OneBusyWAHM
Would love to see it!
I’ve made a few tulle dresses here lately, but haven’t found a way to keep the tulle from bunching up while being worn. I’ve tried spraying the tulle with hairspray, liquid fabric softener, & Downy wrinkle releaser. Do yiu have any tricks/suggestions?
Thanks for these fantastic instructions.
Question: how long was your tube top?
Thanks.
I have pinned this and been following you. I have just realised you are the same person.. Doh!
Where did you get the stretchy top part from?
Hi :-))
I’m Chrissy from Germany and I saw your great pattern on the internet. Thank you so much for that great pattern
it’s awesome.
I also like to ask you a question. How many yards or meters are on that roll of tull you used? I don’t know how many meters I need. My daughter is almost 6 years old and on the German eBay I found tull on a roll that is 91.4 meters x 15 centimeters. Do you think that is enough for one dress?
Thank you so much.
Regards and a happy new year.
Chrissy
Hi Chrissy!
The turquoise tulle roll I purchased was 100 yards, but I had loads left over AND, my skirt length was long. (I intentionally left the skirt less-full since Elsa wears a more fitted style dress).
I just looked back on my Christmas tutu and that did use 2 x rolls and they were 25 yd ones.
Happy New Year to you too!
Thank you so much for your quick answer!
Do you have an picture from the christmas tutu?
Hey Chrissy, I do!
Here’s my no-sew Christmas tutu which I absolutely adored: http://onebusywahm.com/how-to-make-a-christmas-tutu/
I also did a Halloween one. Not sure if you saw that also? http://onebusywahm.com/how-to-make-halloween-tutu/
Let me know if you have any questions!