i am considering being elphaba for halloween this year, and i am trying to figure out the most cost effective way to do it. i also have extremely little sewing expirience, so any way this could be made easier would be helpful. i want to make elphaba's act 2 dress. would it work to buy a black shirt for the top and sew more fabric on over the top of it, to avoid having to sew my own bodice for the dress (and buy a pattern), or would this just make it harder? how much fabric would i need for the ruffles on the skirt? and what would be a good pattern to use? i would like to spend as little $$ as possible, any and all help is greatly apprecitated!! thanks!!

Although I am a Glinda, I can say from experience that there is no "cheap" or "inexpensive" way to make this costume and make it look decent.

My suggestion is to maybe make it out of an inexpensive fabric(Joann's clearance tables often have satins and taffeta for $3 a yard)

I think you can make the bodice and the corsetthing over it in a cheap way if you just sew cheap fabrics or rests of fabric on it. It should look good enough for halloween. The skirt with the ruffles on it can become very expensive and takes you a lot of time if you make the ruffles small.

what patterns should i use for the corset part, bodice, and the skirt? also, should i try to make my own hat or buy one that looks close? (and which of these would probably cost less?) and about how much does it cost to make elphie's act II dress?

if you're going the cheap route,

http://www.simplicity.com/p-2375-misses-jackets.aspx

that pattern might work for the bodice. just sew up the front. straigten out the bottom so that it's not curved and take the sleeves in. i would cut the bottom of this jacket to be the corset, do the patchwork right on here, and not worry about it being two separate pieces. that's not exactly how it's done but it'll do.

http://mccallpattern.mccall.com/m4714-prod...php?page_id=110

this pattern will work for the skirt, just need some adjustments since it's actually an empire waist. Elphaboi and I just used this pattern and it's phenomenal.

it'll definitely cost less to buy a witch hat, however you're REALLY gonna have to search for a hat, cause really the only witch hats you're gonna find are the wide brimmed Margaret Hamilton types.

how much does it cost?

the real one costs $20,000.00, keep in mind that's not just tangible materials, that's also paying all the people it takes to make the dress.

Wintersknight made her's for around $500.00

and i made mine for around $150.00

it all depends on the kinds of fabrics you get, the amount of fabrics you get, and if you use coupons or buy everything at face value. the real skirt uses 40 yards of fabric for the ruffles. i used about 25 - 30 on mine, that's a 10 - 15 yard difference and it still looks good.

it can be made for really cheap, or be really expensive, you've really gotta do your homework before jumping in.

thanks SOO much for the help!!! (i really need it :P ) you guys are all great!!

ok, one more question for right now (about the patterns) since i dont normally sew, i have no idea how to alter patterns or make adjustments to combine different pieces from different patterns. would it work if i made one of the dresses from the mccalls pattern and made a jacket to wear over the dress? (i would still sew ruffles and other stuff onto it) if i did it this way, i dont think there would be any adjustments, which is a LOT less trouble for me if i dont need to change anything on the patterns.

Pattern wise here r the patterns I like and always go back to for this dress. lol

Start with this one:
http://www.simplicity.com/p-1948-missmiss-...te-jackets.aspx
Then sew some boning to the underside of this pattern and attach it to the pattern above. (Pattern D/E)
http://www.simplicity.com/p-2095-misses-lined-vests.aspx
And here's just a simple bottom. I added a little more flare at the bottom as well. I based it more off the drawing then the actual picture of the dress.
(Pattern F)
http://www.simplicity.com/p-2157-missplus-...on-dresses.aspx

Personally I think that might be a BIT too tight in the hip area. The skirt elphaba's costumer posted would work fabulously with minimum modification, which sound like the best thing for her

which pattern for the top would work best, or doesnt it matter? (the one elphaba's costumer posted or the one iloveshoshbean posted?) and do i really need to do a vest thing with boning on it, or can i skip that part? (easier and less expensive??) like, could i do just the jacket/top part without it, or do i need to have a vest/corset part to go over the top?

i would just do the one jacket with the things on it, if you were making it for reals, i'd say make it a separate piece, but cost and material wise, i'd say do just the jacket. that's actually the jacket i was trying to find, then i found that one in my search.

so final conclusion, ILoveShoshBean's jacket, with my skirt.

just make sure when you're doing your texturing:

cut out your pattern pieces a little bigger than you need

do all of your texture work

then sew and adjust fit

how many yards of fabric should i need for ruffles on the skirt?

i would get an even 30, cause what you're gonna do, is cut it all up on the bias about 4 inch strips, then fold those in half down to 2 and serge both ends.

I got about 10 yards or less, of fabric and have a lot of left overs! Like enough of an extra dress almost! lol No joke! What I do with my strips is I serge about 2 inch strips width with of the fabric. Then layer them one on top of the other leaving about and inch or less of the strip underneath showing. That makes it very full and I really like the it makes the dress look! Here's a link to my dress. I feel like I've been posting it every where. lol
http://z8.invisionfree.com/Galindas_Wardro...p?showtopic=806

iloveshoshbean, your elphaba dress is gorgeous!! i really love the galinda dress too! this probably sounds like a silly question to you guys, but what is serging? i am completely new to the whole sewing thing, so i have no clue... :P also, where would i be able to find a good elphaba hat? not sure if i'm going to buy one or i might attempt to sew one. thanks for all the help so far! :)

you're probably not gonna find a hat with a short brim like Elphaba. i would make it.

this is my dress along with my hat.

actually, it turns out i wont have to sew my dress after all. (yay!) i went to goodwill today and found a beautiful black dress that fits very well, and it is the perfect length and flares out at the bottom quite a bit. (i can hold up one side to almost shoulder height and the other side is still touching the floor.) the only problem is that it has no sleeves, so i am planning to just wear a black turtleneck shirt underneath. i really dont want to mess up the dress, so could i get away with not doing ruffles on the skirt, and doing just a few on the top? (the ruffles that go across the shoulders) and maybe adding a cape onto the back. i would still have to make a hat too though, does anyone have any tips/ideas on how to make an elphie hat? (the only witch hats i can find are the kind with the really wide brim on them, which doesnt really look like elphaba's) thanks!!

hey,
this ep of thread banger is great!!!
watch it !
they make it look so simple!
hat
and othere parts of elphabas coatume
they got inspiration from wicked for this!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wJPpyL2o_nU

wow, thanks!!! maybe i will attempt all the ruffles then, if i have the extra time and money to do so