Upcycled Halloween Costume: Elven Princess

The Silmarillion by J.R.R. Tolkien is one of my favorite books of all time. It is the collection of tales that range from the creation of Arda --the world in which Middle Earth resides-- all the way through the events of The Lord of the Rings. One of my favorite characters from this series is the elven princess Idril Celebrindal of Gondolin, grandmother of Elrond. This outfit is based on her.

This project took me roughly a month in total, but I did not work on it every day. I believe that it could take as little as a few days to finish if you really went for it.

Let's get crafting!

TIPS/NOTES:

If you see this, I have a good tip for you or a note that could help make the process easier. You do not have to do it, but it may be helpful to keep in mind.

I originally made this dress and wrote this Instructable in 2024 and have rewritten it for clarity.

1. Fabric
2. I used an old cream-colored bedsheet set. It was twin-sized, which left just enough fabric for this project. If you choose to use bedsheets, remove the elastic from the fitted sheet to make it nice and flat.
3. Note: Go ahead and remove all the stitches and straighten out the hem. It can give you several more inches to work with.
4. Pattern
5. I used Mood Sewicities's Lúthien Dress for the base pattern with a few alterations, including adding a hood. Ironically, another famous relative on the other side of Elrond's family tree.
6. Dress pattern: https://www.moodfabrics.com/blog/the-luthien-dress-free-cosplay-sewing-pattern/
7. 
   
8. Scissors/Rotary Cutter
9. You want some good, sharp scissors to cut fabric. Any scissors used on paper will most likely leave a jagged cut that you do not want. Fabric scissors should never be used on paper because of how much that stuff dulls them.
10. Needle and Thread
11. Some bits of this project need to be done by hand. However, if you do not have a sewing machine and instead have enough patience, you could do it by hand.
12. Pins/Clips
13. Iron
14. Ruler

Before you start, ask yourself:

1. What do I imagine this costume to look like?
2. Do I have all the tools I need? Where can I get them if I do not?
3. Have I given myself ample time to complete this?

You can always alter patterns as I did: lengthening the skirt, removing the sleeve ties, making the sleeves long and flowy, and adding a short train. A sketch or reference image can be really helpful to figure out what you want this to look like.

Note:

Please read all the instructions before beginning so you know what you are doing. It makes it easier to follow along and is a good idea anytime you do something.

Many patterns, including this one, have an outline that helps you optimize the amount of fabric you need.

The most important thing is to make sure that the pattern is right before you cut it. You can always re-measure, but you cannot always re-cut.

For the lacing, cut out several strips of fabric and sew them together to form a long strip, sew it in half, and turn it to form a long tube. The length will vary slightly depending on the size of the dress, but mine was approximately 7 feet after cutting off small sections for the loops.

Warning!

It will attract any cats in the area. Prepare a separate piece as a tribute to His/Her Majesty.

Note:

For the hood, I made the internal bit about 4 inches longer to make a larger, more flowy hood.

Tips:

1. The more accurate the cuts can be, the easier it will be to sew everything together.
2. Mark each part with a piece of paper with the piece's name or identifier on it.
3. If you have a carpet or a rug, you can pin the fabric directly to the carpet, which keeps it nice and still when you are cutting.

If your fabric is more sheer like mine, you may want to cut a lining. I cut another bodice out, but ran out of fabric.

If you have enough fabric, I would recommend lining the entire dress. That entails cutting out basically two dresses and making them. When you finish the neckline and hem, you will sew the two dresses together.

Note:

An underskirt or underdress may be optimal. I wore my homecoming dress underneath, which gave it a nice little poof.

Although the pattern I used recommended differently, I started by sewing the two side panels together on each side and then ironing the seams open. Remember, it is a 1/2 inch seam.

Next, I carefully sewed the front panels together. Start at the top and go slowly. Iron the seams open when you are done.

Note:

While it may not always seem useful, pin everything first.

Take the little bits of the lining and sew them together the same way you did the front.

Make sure that you try it on the seam side out so that the finished product will have both seam sides facing one another.

Finish the bottom with a 1/4 foldover or so.

Press the seams open.

If you only lined the bodice, you should attach it now

Sew the raw edges together around a fourth of an inch from the seam, right where the back panel will be. Do not worry about it being pretty; the back panel will cover it up.

If you did add little straps, sew them to the top of the outer straps.

Note:

The raw edges of both the lining and the dress should be inside. It makes the inside and outside cleaner and more professional-looking.

Tips:

You could use a "stitch-in-a-ditch" to attach the lining and the dress.

Congratulations! You have done a big chunk of this project already.

This costume is hard. So hard. It is okay to get frustrated and burnt out. Nothing goes perfectly, and something will always go wrong. But that is okay.

Take a break from this; do something you love. Take a nap. Spend some time with your pets.

The sleeves in this specific pattern have three parts so that there can be a laced-up bit. If you want the laces, follow the same procedure as you did on the back panel. If you do not, then just sew up the sleeves normally. I wanted flowy sleeves, so I chose not to put laces and expand the ends.

Do not worry about making sure it lines up perfectly. You have about 1/8 in of leeway because of the hemming.

If you want, you can go ahead and finish that outside edge.

Slide the sleeves over your arms to make sure they are not too tight around your biceps. When you are ready, pin them to the dress.

Return to your giant fabric fettuccini and slice out eight three-inch sections --four for each side. After you cut these loops, you can finish the ends on the lace by tucking in the raw edges and sewing them up.

Next, press them into a generally "loop" shape that fits your vision.

Pin or clip the little ties into position on your back. I eyeballed how far down they needed to be --the first under the curve of my chest and the bottom above my hip-- and spaced the remainders accordingly. However, it is wise to actually plan them out a little better.

Tips:

Depending on the desired loop size, you could cut them longer to make larger loops or shorter for smaller ones. Just make sure they are big enough to lace.

The pins can be helpful to get them in the shape you want before ironing them. After you iron them, they can also help the ties maintain a consistent shape that you determine.

Baste the loops on with one long stitch for each side. Once you do this, pin the back panel to the dress.

Do not sew the panel on the dress yet. We need to check it

Tips:

I found it a little easier to put the dress on a hanger like a coat and work my way down the dress.

It is really important that you try on the dress at this time to make sure that it fits around the torso. It will save you a lot of stress later on, especially if you are a novice dressmaker.

When it fits right, do what the step says. Just sew in the back panels. There is not much to say about it, but here are some tips:

1. Start from the top
2. For a straighter back, make a straighter stitch, ignoring some of the curves along the back
3. Check everything as you go so that it is the way you want
4. Take your time
5. Try the dress on after you sew it together to see if you need to change anything.

You must try on the dress with sleeves pinned before sewing them on. I discovered that I did not leave enough room for my shoulders, and it saved me many headaches later.

Line up the seams and attach the sleeves in whatever way you see fit. Since I did not allow enough room for my shoulders, I created semi-open sleeves so they would not be so tight.

Pin one side of the hood to the center bit and sew. Then, sew the other side to the middle panel. Like the front and side connections, you will need to go slow and make sure that it does not scoot. Remember, it is okay to make mistakes; this seam is a little bit difficult.

Finish the edges as per the directions stated in step 17.

I wanted my hood to be removable, so I hand-sewed snaps on the hood and shoulders. If you do not want the hood to have snaps on it, then you can attach it to the top of the sleeve seam. Basically, you stick the edge of the hood in between the two pieces of fabric and stitch it up like normal.

To add snaps, stitch the female side of the snaps (the side without the little protrusions) on the underside of the shoulders, right on top of the seamline behind the finished edge if you have an open shoulder like I did, or no sleeves at all. If you have closed sleeves, it will just have to be on top, which means you can see it.

Stitch the male side on the inside of the hood about the same spot. I did not measure this.

Tip:

Make sure you know where you want your hood to sit before you sew the snaps on.

For the raw edges, I folded over the raw edge a quarter of an inch two times for the finished edges, with the exception of the neckline, which I did less.

As you go, straighten the fabric according to whatever point the needle is at. This will prevent any puckers and general craziness.

Tip:

For corners, try not to "pass" it so you can make a clean edge.

Make sure everything is exactly the way you want it before you move on. Now is the time to fix some little cosmetic mistakes. Some that I did were:

1. Going over a missed bit on a sleeve
2. Fixing a little sharp edge on the chest (front and front-side connection seam)
3. Going over a hole in the armpit
4. Going over the hole on the hood
5. Decreasing the sleeve hole by a half inch or so in order for the sides to be more even

The dress is just about done!

Remove any long threads, remnant stitches, and extra pieces of fabric sticking out from seams.

Iron the dress to get those crisp seams and wrinkle-free fabrics.

I imagine elves to be rather "natural" in how they wear makeup, using light concealer and brown/black mascara, and eye shadow. Some silver or gold glitter on the cheeks or eyes would look beautiful as well.

For the elf ears, I created a pair using tan masking tape and some makeup. There are myriad ways to do elf ears. You can buy some, you can make some. Here was my process:

Materials

1. Tape
2. Tan masking is preferable, but you can also use blue tape. The texture is the important part.
3. Foundation
4. Blush
5. Make-up brushes
6. Something to hold back your hair

Procedure

1. Cut a small piece of tape (1 - 2 inches)
2. Put the center at the tip of your ear where you want the point
3. Tightly wrap tape around the ear to form a point
4. Keep adding little pieces to build up the point until you are happy.
5. Trim extra tape (if necessary)
6. Add concealer until it matches your skin tone
7. Apply a bit of blush to the tips and match the rest of your ear

1. Jewelry
2. I would keep the jewelry quite simple, but you could glam it up as much as you want.
3. Since Idril is married, I put a silver wedding ring on her right index finger --as per elven tradition.
4. Props
5. Idril is a warrior queen, and I wanted to represent that. You could do some armor, but I ran out of time. I simply used a cardboard sword I made in middle school.
6. Shoes
7. If you want to be accurate to the character, go barefoot. However, sandals would work better if you would like some covering.
8. Crown
9. I used a wire crown that I made for a Legolas costume two or three years ago. It is just made of wire and a few green beads.

Congratulations! The fruit of your wonderful nerd brain is complete. Relish in the beauty of your new costume.

Please do not be disappointed if your costume is not perfect. It is homemade, which means there are plenty of happy little "accidents." If you make a mistake, do not worry. Most of the time, you can fix it without even redoing all the stitches. Even if you cannot, who is going to notice that one bit of the hem of your skirt is thicker or that there are a few small puckers on the bodice? No one is going to notice; they will just think it is cool. Very few people will look at every tiny detail. You will look awesome regardless.

Happy crafting!