Briar Rose

On my last Thrifty Thursday someone from the Facebook Disney Cosplayers asked if I would do a tutorial of how I made the costume. Having already made it I said I couldn’t, but I promised to make one for the next Thrifty Thursday. So here it is!

Bear with me, there are a lot of pictures and instructions. But hopefully this will be helpful. If you have any questions about what I did or how I did it, just leave a comment!!

To re-iterate- Thrifty Thursdays are where I go to Goodwill and get $20 worth of fabric to make an outfit (not including notions). This month I decided to do Briar Rose from Sleeping Beauty.

And a clip of me singing and dancing...

Total money spent: $14

Hours spent: 25ish? (I forgot to keep a record)

Items purchased: 1 gray twin sheet, 1 lighter gray twin sheet, 1 burgundy pillowcase, 2 black window hangings

Notions: 1 yard canvas, 9 inch gray invisible zipper, gray, black, white, burgundy thread, 15 grommets, heavy duty zip ties, bit of left over white cotton fabric

I began by draping the darker gray fabric on my dress form, Melian. I pleated it to create the fullness.

Alternate option: If you do not have a dress form, you can take a bit of string and measure your waist, then make a mark where the strings come together. Add an extra 1.5 inches- you will need that for a seam allowance. Then lay that string on the ground against the wall (so it is straight). Lay your fabric on the floor and pleat it along that string line.

I took the pleated fabric off my dress form and basted the pleats in place. I put the dress around my waist, measured where I wanted the hem to be, and cut the excess fabric off. Using some of this excess fabric, I created a waist band and sewed it on.

Turning the skirt right sides together, I sewed up the back seam. You say- “Wait Kelsie!! How will I get into it?!” Well this is my super sneaky method for zippers:

Iron open the seam.

Look at this super duper old zipper! 1966! I find that exciting…don’t mind me.

Pin the zipper along the seam you just ironed, making sure you only pin through the seam allowance, not the outside of the skirt. Using a zipper foot, carefully sew as close as you can to the teeth of the zipper.

Turn to the outside of the skirt and use a seam ripper to rip out the stitches so you can pull down the zipper. Viola! Zipper done.

Iron roll the hem, stitch.

Cut out a shirt pattern on the lighter gray fabric. You will want this to be a pattern that is slightly big so you can pull it over your head. Sew all seams together.

Try on the shirt so you can mark where your elbows are. Then mark 5/8 inches down from that. Cut that second line.

Using some left over cotton, I made a collar. I sewed the top part of the collar together with right sides together. Then snipped along the curved edges, opened it, and ironed it.

Then I turned it right side out.

Alternate option: If you don’t have swaddles of left over fabric as I do- just purchase a white pillow case to use for this step!

Pin and sew the collar.

Add a few small darts around the elbow to create fullness. Baste in place. Add bias tape made from scraps of the lighter gray sheet.

Pause for a progress picture!

Cut out 3 layers of corset pattern- one from the black window drapes, one from the gray sheet leftovers, and one from canvas or coutil.

Alternate Option: You do not have to add the canvas layer, but I do in all my corsets. This layer is what gives the corset rigidity, and best “sucks you in”. If you just want a bodice, and not a corset, you can skip this layer and the boning. I just prefer corsets :D

Stitch the seams together. *NOTE* This corset needs to have a center seam. Do not sew all the way up it- I left a 4 inch gap at the top. Snip around curves to help the seam lay flat.

Iron the seams open.

Repeat for the other two layers- you will have three separate layers like this!

On the canvas layer, sew strips of fabric over the seams (on the back) to create boning channels. Make the space between your stitches 5/8 inches.

It should look like this from the front!

Pin the three layers together- start with the canvas layer face up, place the black layer on top of that- face up, last place the gray layer on top of the other two- face down. Pin together on all edges, trim the excess.

Sew a 5/8 seam on the sides.

Iron open.

Flip so the gray around so both the black and the gray sides are “finished” (you can no longer see any seam allowances).

Add boning, add bias tape along the top and bottom of the corset. Add ribbon in an ‘x’ in the “cleavage space”. Add grommets.

I also like to add floating modesty panels to my corsets. So here is a picture of the one I made- but it isn’t necessary to add to the costume.

Lace it up and you are done!

I forgot to take progress pictures of her wrap :/ But that is because it is SO easy. I cut the pillow case open along the sides, ironed all unfinished edges, and sewed those edges down. Done.

Hope you enjoyed the tutorial! Let me know if this was helpful, and I will do one every time I do a Thrifty Thursday!