DIY Anna Costume from Disney’s Frozen

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Thrill the little girl in your life with a DIY Anna Costume. Life as MOM contributor Janel shows you how. Looking for Elsa? Here’s the Elsa Costume tutorial.

DIY Anna and Elsa Costumes from Frozen | LifeasMOM.com - Create this simple and inexpensive costume for your daughter to play "Anna" from the Disney film, Frozen.

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all photos: Janel

I’m not a professional seamstress, nor do I play one on tv. I’m just a mom with some very basic sewing skills and a desire to please my kids with homemade dress-up clothes. Over the past few years, I’ve tackled several homemade costumes for my girls. Mermaids, Hogswart students, Musketeers, and even Popstars – I’ve made them all. It’s almost an addiction to see what I can devise for them on the cheap.

I blame my mom. She was crafty rock star mom. When I was in elementary school, I came home and asked if she could make me a poodle skirt for 50’s day the next day. Not only did she whip one out that night, but it was AWESOME! That memory has stuck with me and has inspired me to do the same for my girls who LOVE dress-up and pretend play.

Their latest obsession is reenacting Disney’s movie Frozen. Their auntie (aka FishMama) gifted them with the Frozen soundtrack for Christmas, so it’s a very audible experience too. Since both of their birthdays fall in January, I decided to try my hand at making them some Anna and Elsa costumes, and thought I’d share the process with you.

Buying the store-bought costumes would run me at least $20 per costume (if not more), but that is just not in our family’s law school budget. Instead, I bought fabric at Joann’s (either on sale or with a 40% or 50% coupon) and spent about $20 total to make 4 costumes – one of each for both girls so they both get a chance to play each character. They are thrilled that they have these fun costumes, and I’m thrilled that it didn’t break the bank.

DIY Frozen Anna Costume | Life as MOM - Create this simple and inexpensive costume for your daughter to play "Anna" from the Disney film, Frozen.

How to Make an Anna Costume:

For Anna’s Skirt

Supplies:

  • scissors
  • royal blue costume satin
  • blue thread
  • sewing machine
  • 1-inch elastic

Instructions:

To measure:

  • Measure the child’s waist. You’ll need a length of elastic this long plus about 1-inch.
  • Measure the distance from the child’s waist to down to about her ankle. Take this measurement and add about 2.5 inches for the bottom hem and the waistband casing. You’ll need this much royal blue costume satin, so your fabric will be this measurement by how ever wide the fabric is. Costume satin is typically about 44 inches wide.

To assemble the skirt: Follow the step-by-step instructions in this DIY Dress-Up Skirt tutorial.

DIY Frozen Anna Costume | Life as MOM - Create this simple and inexpensive costume for your daughter to play "Anna" from the Disney film, Frozen.

For Anna’s Top

I decided to use felt for the top because it doesn’t fray so you don’t have to hem it and you can just glue on the embellishments. It also comes in a very wide width (mine was 72 inches), so you’ll have extra fabric to make multiple tops or use it for another craft.

Supplies:

  • black felt (from a bolt)
  • small sheets of colored felt – green, pink, purple, and yellow
  • fabric scissors
  • straightpins
  • fasteners of your choice, such as sew-on snaps, hooks, or Fabric Fusion Velcro
  • 1/2 inch extra wide double fold bias tape in metallic gold
  • thread – black and gold
  • sewing machine
  • fabric glue or hot melt glue & glue gun

Instructions:

  1. To Measure: Take three measurements:
    • Measurement A – Measure around child’s chest under armpits
    • Measurement B – Measure from the chest where you want top to start to below the waist where you want the top to come to a point (about 2 inches below the waist).
    • Measurement C – Measure how long you need the straps to be.
  2. Cut a rectangle of fabric that is Measurement A plus about 3 inches (for overlap) by Measurement B.
  3. Take this rectangle and fold it almost in half — have the bottom layer stick out by about 1 inch. Use straight pins to hold the felt in place. It will look something like this:Frozen Costume Pattern - Create this simple and inexpensive costume for your daughter to play "Anna" from the Disney film, Frozen.
  4. Use a straight edge and pen to mark where you’ll want to cut the V-shape of the neckline and the point at the bottom of the top. For the neckline, start at the fold about 0.75 inches down and cut at an angle over about 2-inches. For the bottom of the top, start at the bottom of the fold and draw a line at an angle over about 1/4 of Measurement A. Then continue the line straight over to the edge of the fabric. Secure along your marks with straight pins and then cut along the lines.Anna Frozen Costume Pattern - Create this simple and inexpensive costume for your daughter to play "Anna" from the Disney film, Frozen.
  5. Wrap the top around the child and pin the overlap in the back in place. Use straightpins to mark where the overlap in the back lies (pin them vertically to the side of the overlap). This will help guide you in placing your fasteners. Attach your fasteners, and double-check to make sure that it fits the child.
  6. Cut two straps from black felt that are about 2 inches wide by Measurement C plus an extra inch. While the top is on the child, pin the straps in place. Remove top from the child and use the sewing machine to stitch the straps permanently in place with black thread.
  7. Sandwich the edges of the top between the gold bias tape and pin in place. Fold over the edges of the tape and pin them down on the inside of the top. Use gold thread to sew it in place.
  8. Cut shapes out of colored felt to mimic the design on Anna’s top. Use glue of your choice to affix it to the felt top (I used hot melt glue).

Putting the Anna Costume Together

Once you’ve got the skirt and the top sewn, give the costume a few finishing touches. Either have your child wear a turtleneck or a long-sleeved leotard underneath the top. In these pictures, Anna is wearing a white turtleneck — it was 26 degrees outside after all. But if Anna had her choice, she’d be wearing a light blue leotard.

I’ve found children’s long-sleeve leotards on sale online for about $12 plus free shipping. They’re a great layer to use for dress-up costumes (especially on Halloween) and can be used over and over. Also, add in a pair of mittens and some black boots if you want.

If you want to get really fancy, buy some pink felt and make a cape too. And of course, don’t forget the double braids!

More Frozen fun that your princess will love:

Looking for a DIY Elsa Costume tutorial too? Go here

A girl in a pink shirt looking at the camera.– Janel is a stay-at-home mom of two daughters and a “law school wife” in Virginia. Raised in a budget-conscious and DIY-minded family, she blogs about motherhood, crafts, and living on a law school budget at Life with Lucie and Ella.

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22 Comments

  1. I know all little girls are different sizes, but I am not entirely sure where to measure for measurements B. Would you share the approximate length of yours? My daughter is size 4T. Im thinking 11″? I dunno. I am not a seemstress. Just winging it here!

    1. Measurement B should go from the chest at approximately about armpit level to a bit below the belly button. You’ll want it to be long enough to cover the waistband of the skirt. You can always go longer than you need and trim it if it looks too big. Hope this helps!

  2. Hi there

    I was looking at your diy Anna costumes and I’m hoping u can help

    My daughter is going as Elsa and she has asked me to go as Anna and Elsa mom
    Anna’s mom dress pretty much looks like Annas dress
    I looked online and I surely don’t have $200 to spend on a dress

    I just need something cheap and fast I can wear

    Do you possibly make or sell your items ?

    Thanks so very much
    Stefanie
    Texas

  3. Thank you so much for this article. I have made the outfit for my daughters school concert. I used fabric paint on the skirt for the flowers as well. Ill send you a photo if you like. 🙂

  4. thanks for this – great ideas, lovely result and looks do-able even for me. My daughter is going to a Frozen party in a few weeks and there are no costumes to be had anywhere (at least not at a reasonable price) so I have taken a deep breath and ordered some royal blue satin, and black felt. The most I’ve sewed in the 20-odd years since school is a cushion cover, so this could get interesting…!

  5. Thank you so much for this tutorial! I am almost finished making this costume for my niece and wanted to know if fabric glue, hot glue, or heat n bond is best for the decorations if this costume is going to be washed? I have a feeling that my 4 yr old niece will want to wear this out of the house, more than once and it will need washing! Thanks!

    1. Hmmmm…not sure about that one. I used hot glue for my daughter’s, and I probably won’t be throwing it in the washing machine. I’d probably try to spot clean it if necessary. Check the washing instructions for whatever “glue” you plan on using as well for the felt.

  6. Excellent post. You are so talented! I am working on an Anna costume now for my little girl and your dress was what inspired me to get it together. Thanks for making this and sharing it with the world!

  7. This is very nice. Can you please give intructions for Elsa’s dress for a teenage girl? Thank you

    1. You’d follow the same basic idea, but just adjust your sizes for the teenage girl. So, for the skirt, if you need more width, just sew two pieces of fabric together to make a larger loop of fabric before hemming at the bottom and then adding the casing for the waistband.

  8. Wow!!!! Handmade Frozen costumes?!?! What a mommy! Kudos to you. We have 1 needle and spool of thread in the house! We can barely repair a small rip/tear much less create a whole costume! Lol. Can’t wait to see your Elsa costume! Our daughters are estatic about all things Frozen!

  9. Thanks so much for your tips on constructing a costume for Frozen’s Anna. Very creative, cute and do-able. =) Going to be some happy little girls!