How I Made My Rapunzel Costume

So as you may or may not have figured out by now, I have been working on a Rapunzel (as featured in the movie Tangled) cosplay costume for New York Comic Con. The dress was rather fun to make. As my Mom likes to call it, it's a bit of a "Frankenstein" dress. I don't design my own patterns, generally. Instead, I take elements from existing patterns and make them suit my needs.

So my dress is made from the patterns featured below:

The bodice follows one of the variations of the center pattern pretty closely. Rapunzel is wearing a Renaissance style dress in the movie. The pattern on the left is where I got the design for the puffy sleeves. I did alter them so there would be a bit less "poof." I made an Elizabeth Bennet costume last year for Halloween, so I just happened to have the pattern. Finally the pattern on the right was obviously used for the skirt, however, it makes a skirt far more full then what I was looking for, so I altered it as well. I reduced the size of the panels so they came together without needing to be gathered, thereby removing the fullness.

So the finished dress looks like this: (drum roll please.......)

(Yay custom duck tape dress form! Look at that hem. Beautiful!)

Tadah! I am pretty pleased with it if I do say so myself. :) The "embroidery" is actually painted on the fabric using a stencil I designed and cut from poster board.


I used Jacquard Textile Color fabric paint and I think it turned out pretty well. The center panel of the dress is topped by a layer of chiffon to get the nice deep purple. This was my first time working with chiffon, so that was a bit of a learning experience.

Anyway, I would be happy to answer any questions about the dress. I hope to have a picture of me wearing the entire costume soon.

Next time: Step by step instructions to making your own Rapunzel crown!