Tauriel wasn’t included in J.R.R. Tolkien’s Middle-earth, but she was created for The Hobbit films by Peter Jackson in order to add a female character to the story. Portrayed by Evangeline Lilly, Tauriel made her first appearance in The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug. Beth of Adventures of an Elven Princess made the costume to wear to opening night of The Desolation of Smaug last year, and besides detailing the work she did to make her own costume, she also put together a helpful guide for anyone who wants to dress as Tauriel.
The guide covers Tauriel’s different outfits, accessories, and weapons and will help you be thorough when making your own costume. Beth started her research in July 2013 and based her dress design on stills and promotional material. She didn’t use an existing pattern for the dress and instead made her own. After designing the dress, she made two mock-ups to ensure it looked right before committing the design to the final fabric. That’s dedication.
She did the same with the leather bodice and after testing the pattern with a mock-up, she made the bodice with upholstery grade leather. She used black shoe polish to darken up the color of the leather.
Beth crafted nearly every part of her costume from scratch, and it’s an eductional read. Check out the entire tutorial at The Adventures of an Elven Princess.