After my lengthy waffle about making myself a new steampunk costume, I decided to bite the bullet and just dye my existing dungarees. They were black, and I ran them through a 95º wash (I hope they haven’t shrunk!) with a box of Dylon pre-dye. I had been intending to dye them Espresso Brown, but I’m glad now that I didn’t buy the dye in advance, as it turns out I didn’t need it! They came out this lovely rich brown colour all on their own.
The patches, quite coincidentally, popped through the letterbox just as I was getting ready to take this photo, which couldn’t have been better timing. They were a gift from Lisa at Off With her Head Millinery, and they’re by Doctor Geoff. While I was browsing his patches, I spotted this enamel badge for the RSPCAM – the Royal Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Abominable Monsters. If my character’s going to be an in-the-field catcher of magical and/or mythical beasts, I’m definitely going to need one of those!
My first order of business is going to be mending and reinforcing that tear at the edge of the bib (you can see it in the bottom left of the photo) which I hadn’t noticed was there. Then I can start covering the dungarees with patches and enamel pins, before I start thinking about my accessories.
Sometimes I worry about myself. For lots of different reasons, it has to be said, but most often for the fact that my brain absolutely cannot and will not stick to the most basic version of any given idea. It always wants to escalate things until a project is impossibly ambitious.
My current steampunk-ish outfit
This is a frankly terrible picture of what passes for my current steampunk-ish outfit. Knee length tweed breeches (held up by braces which are hidden by my scarf), tall leather Faerysteps boots, a collarless pintucked shirt, and a cap that’s covered with badges. This outfit came about for two reasons. One, I need to be comfortable. (See: comfy sofa, warm scarf, earplugs, walking stick, tired face. The concrete floor in that otherwise excellent venue did not go down well with the fibromyalgia. Not at all.) Two, it’s common for a lot of steampunk imagery to be very upper-class-colonial-Victorian-explorer. That makes me feel a bit uncomfortable, and when a friend pointed out that you never see a lower-class “steampunk urchin” costume, I knew what I had to do.
My intended costume (I was going to say “planned”, but that’s a bit of a strong word at this stage) is going to be for a character who’s an in-the-field catcher of magical and/or mythical beasts. Think of a kind of a steampunk / Hellboy / Harry Potter / Fantastic Beasts / Ghostbusters crossover.
Nerf Zombie Strike Doublestrike
The first order of business was to buy a second-hand Nerf pistol from a friend. Nerf guns of all kinds are a common steampunk accessory, and I wanted a small one that Paul could transform for me into something that looks like a tranquilliser dart gun.
I have a pair of oversized black dungarees that I usually wear to do the gardening. So far, so good. I was going to bleach them and dye them brown to match my cap. I figure that it doesn’t matter if they come out a bit patchy, as they’re supposed to be working overalls. But then I thought that perhaps I should wear something that gave a bit more of a nod to a recognisable movie costume.
Top: Kristen Wiig and Kate McKinnon in Ghostbusters Left: Sigourney Weaver in Alien Right: Jewel Staite in Firefly
A brief online search later, and that turns out to mean boiler suits or flight suits rather than dungarees.
Kate McKinnon in Ghostbusters
(Although, to be honest, this photo of Kate McKinnon in Ghostbusters isn’t so much a costume as a bunch of stuff that I could pull out of my wardrobe right now. I love it when that happens.)
Simplicity patterns for a Firefly / Serenity / Rogue One costume, and reproduction 1940s dungarees & hooded blouse
It turns out that boiler suits are EXPENSIVE. (Health & Safety, and all that.) So I thought that I should maybe just have a little look at some jumpsuit sewing patterns. I knew that Simplicity had a Firefly/Serenity pattern (now being sold as Rogue One), and some 1940s reproduction dungarees with a hooded blouse that I definitely don’t need but am simultaneously looking for an excuse to make.
I haven’t yet made any form of final decision, except for thinking that paying around £12 to chuck some Dylon pre-dye and Espresso Brown at my existing dungarees is going to be a lot cheaper, quicker and easier than buying a sewing pattern and fabric and starting from scratch. And it’s definitely cheaper than any genuinely utilitarian, as opposed to fashionable and therefore largely pocketless, jumpsuit that I can currently find online.
And then, of course, there’s the issue of accessories and props. What does an in-the-field catcher of magical and/or mythical beasts need to carry with them? I’ll have the Nerf gun, I already have a sonic screwdriver (obviously), and I’ve seen a miniature fire extinguisher (water pistol) that I’m definitely going to have to hang from a belt loop. (Mythical creatures might breathe flames at you, so a miniature fire extinguisher seems like a sensible thing to have.) I’ve been looking at small vintage suitcases, thinking I could maybe put together something Newt Scamander would be proud of… but I suspect a backpack of some sort would be a bit more practical. And of course it will need to double as an actual handbag, given the ridiculous amount of Stuff that I carry around with me at all times.
While I was wittering on about all of this over on Facebook, a friend spotted these enamel pin badges which are frankly PERFECT. They’re by aimeekitty on Etsy, and although I’ve never (yet) had to resort to “finished with hot glue”, I have definitely made costumes that have required blood sacrifice – or that I’ve been sewing right up until the moment we got into the car to travel to the event! I don’t currently have a particular event in mind for this costume, but I’m pretty sure that one or two of these pins are going to apply.
I can’t believe it’s taken me since May to get around to showing you this, but please say hello to Mrs Magpie!
As you know, she’s one half of Mr & Mrs Magpie’s Inexplicable Emporium – a Victorian-inspired but thoroughly anachronistic curiosity shop. She only makes a public appearance roughly once a year, so she likes to dress up for the occasion.
I made the costume, with the exception of the sonic screwdriver (made by Paul), and the birdcage necklace, which I bought from Atelier Fabry-Pérot. It’s part of a set of laser-cut decorations, but Mrs Magpie, being a lover of enormous shiny things, thought it would make a fantastically extravagant pendant.
I’m sure I’ve been going on a bit about all the changes that have been happening this year. My health’s gone out the window, my hours and role at work have changed, and now we’re in the middle of moving house. I’m also changing the things I make, and am trying to focus at the moment on the materials and the creation and the process, rather than the selling of an end product. I find it helps me to imagine who might buy or wear or use the things I make, and Mrs Magpie is most definitely in charge of all things bright and flambpyant and shiny! I think she might need a friend, who’s more interested in the soft and natural and comfy.
If you follow me on Facebook (hint, hint!), you’ll have already seen that I spent Sunday making a prototype hat. I used Simplicity 1736 as a starting point, because I thought the cloche-like style and piped details made it an interesting Steampunk-Casual (if such a thing exists) type of hat.
I learned a few things while I was making it, not least how to make my own piping and then insert it into the seams – two things that I’d somehow managed to avoid in all my years of sewing. Turns out it’s much easier if you coincidentally manage to make the flange on the piping 15mm wide, then you can use it as a guide for sewing the seams.
I also learned that you need to trim the piping cord out of the way of the seam allowances, that three piped seams coming together in one place is extremely awkward, and that my machine won’t sew through three layers of fleece without skipping stitches.
Next time round I’ll be altering the pattern so that the crown pieces don’t come together into one point at the sides. You can’t see that detail anyway, it’s hidden under the brim, so why not make the whole thing easier to sew? I also want to alter the brim itself, as I’m not very fond of the way it stops half way round. I’d also like it to be more curved, and much larger at the front. Taking the brim all the way around the hat will also mean that I can attach it in a different way, eliminating the need to sew through so many layers of fleece in one go. In fact I might face the brim with something lighter, and get rid of one layer of fleece altogether.
Having said all of that, I am actually very pleased with this hat! It’s going to be my daywear hat for the Steampunk Extravaganza, hence the red and black colour scheme, and the combination of spots and stripes. It’s extremely comfortable and warm, and fits beautifully over my very short hair. I might try out the next iteration in black and pink, so that it goes with my spotty coat. Or maybe a brown and blue version to go with my long winter coat… yes, I can see myself making quite a few of these!
Remember the picture that was propped up against the wall in my Shed? Here it is outside, in the last of the snow, looking rather smart on its nice new easel.
We’re getting ready for a stall at an event in May, which I’ll tell you a bit more about once we’ve received confirmation that we can go ahead! Hopefully we’ll be launching the INEXPLICABLE EMPORIUM there, and this is the sign that we’ll be taking with us!
I’ve been ordering lots of materials and packaging, and doing a bit of product design while I wait for them to arrive.
Hopefully some of the things that I’ve been showing you recently are starting to make a bit more sense now!
I also have all of the ingredients necessary to make some scented candles, to which we’ll be giving thoroughly silly names and descriptions.
The idea is to give the impression of a Victorian-style shop, with a wide range of different products. Obviously the things I’m making are thoroughly anachronistic, but that’s all part of the fun! I’ve been really enjoying writing the copy and designing the labels. I knew my degree in Typography & Graphic Communication would come in useful one day…
Here’s what I’ve been up to this week – making a spotty bolero from Simplicity 1819. I was intending to make a stripy one, to match the red and black outfit I wore to the Wild Boy’s Ball at Kensington Palace a couple of years ago. Unfortunately the fabric shop was out of stripes and, being too impatient to wait for an order to arrive, I decided to go with spots instead. As you do. This had a knock-on effect as the matching black trim (also unavailable) would have been invisible on the spotty fabric, so I had to go with red. I think it stands out rather nicely! It’s the first time I’ve done this sort of decoration, and although it was a bit fiddly in places, I’m pleased with the way it looks.
(I have to confess that I also love the way it looks with this yellow skirt. The temptation to wear these together is now almost irresistible.)
And here’s what it’s supposed to look like, complete with matching spotty apron. That’s only pinned into place because I still haven’t decided whether it’s actually going to be an apron or a bustle. I think an apron though, as I rather fancy tying it with a ridiculously oversized bow at the back. As you do. The apron is also made from Simplicity 1819, a rather loose interpretation of the overskirt.
I think during the day I’ll probably wear this with a plain black shirt, and I have just enough spotty fabric left over to make a matching tie or bow tie. Then for the evening I’ll switch to the dress shown above, and swap the bolero for the black taffeta coat. If I’m feeling fancy, I might put the feather collar back on.
Then, of course, all I’ll need to make is a MASSIVE HAT. I have Lynn McMasters‘ top hat/riding hat pattern, some spare black taffeta, and a magpie skull on order. Watch this space…
On Sunday it was very cold, and I was very tired. I honestly thought I was smiling in this photo. Apparently the smile didn’t make it as far as my face! In case you’re wondering, the stones in the wall are level, but the bench is on a slope.
(All benches in Chepstow are on a slope. In fact all of Chepstow seemed to be up a hill. In every direction. It certainly felt like it by Sunday, anyway.)
This was my least successful outfit of the weekend, or at any rate the one I was least happy with. I couldn’t face wearing my bowler hat (too tight) or my top hat (too big) again, so I borrowed Paul’s cap. The jacket (McCalls 5759) looked fine on the dressform, but turned out not to fit me terribly well. In fact I disliked it so much that it went to Oxfam along with the previous night’s dress.
We spent the morning looking at the contraptions exhibition, which was incredibly inspiring. The competition part of the proceedings was won by Richard’s beautiful pocketwatch. Chatting with Richard and Donna later that day left us full of ideas that we really must try out…
I successfully nagged Paul into making a little contraption for me, and I’m hoping that next year I can encourage him to enter something into the exhibition himself. This started life as a Sonic Screwdriver projector toy. After some mysterious shenanigans with Milliput, wargaming model parts, and a detailed paint job, it turned into this lovely little thing!
This was our one concession to sticking a watch part onto something. I take full responsibility.
We spent Sunday afternoon in the Drill Hall, looking around the market and listening to some of the talks. We started off with The Atomic Chemist’s slideshow about firearms. It was enjoyable, but became much more interesting to me when we came home via the Pitt Rivers Museum, and I could see exactly what he’d been talking about as we looked at their gun collection. We then stayed for Crinoline Robot‘s talk about Victorian and steampunk knitting, which was by turns informative and hilarious! I can’t wait to knit her scandalous Victorian ankle-less socks, designed especially for the event.
Sadly we missed Mark Cordory‘s Q&A session, mostly because we didn’t recognise his name until after we’d seen his contraptions, by which time it was too late. He used to be Head of Props Fabrication for Dr Who, during the Ecclestone and early Tennant eras, and the quality of his work was just lovely. We did manage to catch Will Segerman though, and his talk about quick-and-dirty ways of making great looking props was good fun. (And packed!) We came away from that one with lots of notes and ideas, well worth sitting in a horribly warm room for an hour!
Waltz on the Wye was our first steampunk event, and we went into it not really knowing quite what to expect. I was only really interested in the dressing up (anachronistic Victorian-ish clothing? yes please!), and I’d hoped that Paul might be interested in the contraptions. As it turned out, Paul was more interested in dressing up than I’d expected, and we’ve both come away inspired and enthusiastic. Everyone we met was friendly, helpful and open, which is a lot more than I can say for certain other events that we used to go to. The willingness of people to share their knowledge was just lovely, whether it was the best place to buy a pith helmet or an interesting way to make a contraption.
I really hope there’s another one next year, I can’t wait to go back!
This is our official Waltz on the Wye ball photo, taken by the official photographer Pete Gettins. Isn’t it lovely? The photo booth was set up in the Drill Hall, and there were lots of brilliant props to choose from. We had our photo taken very early on in the evening, which was just as well, as I suffered a slight dress disaster later on!
Do have a look at Pete’s official photos – they give a really good sense of what the atmosphere of the weekend was like, as well as showing how fabulous everybody looked!
And here’s the dress in glorious technicolour, taken on Paul’s iPhone. He didn’t bring the Canon to the ball, as it had steamed up the night before, so it seemed more sensible to leave it behind. The gold trim on the hem does go all the way around (five whole metres!), but I didn’t wear the original shoes that went with the outfit, despite having given them three coats of gold paint and glitter. I wore my gold Fairysteps boots instead and, being completely flat, they made the dress a bit long.
And here I am, trailing my dress in the gutter. How glamorous. But given that I’d already trailed it the entire length of Chepstow high street, I didn’t think it mattered too much! Unfortunately the length of the train was the cause of a slight wardrobe malfunction. I walked away without realising that Paul was standing on the back of the dress… and the stitching broke, leaving several inches of suddenly unpleated fabric flapping around at the waist. Oops!
Whilst I did enjoy the cabaret acts, there were a few technical difficulties, which was a shame. All of the acts were very entertaining to watch though, and the compere kept us all amused during the moments of technical wonkiness, so full marks for professionalism to Lily Belle. I think my favourite performers of the evening were Hazey Hoop, and The All Electric Music Hall.
After the cabaret Paul dashed back to the hotel to fetch safety pins, arriving back at the Drill Hall just in time to see Professor Elemental. Who was brilliant. Absolutely hilarious. Best act of the night, by an extremely long way! Anybody clever enough to invent an impromptu rap containing the word antidisestablishmentarianism on the spot, gets a huge round of applause from me!
After Professor Elemental had left everyone in the mood for dancing, Gwilm obliged with a typically eclectic DJ set. Putting the punk back into steampunk, I think Pete caught me dancing to the Sex Pistols. In a giant ball dress. As you do. (If you look closely, you can see the safety pins holding the waist of my dress together!)
Sadly all that dancing was the cause of another dress malfunction, as one of the steel hoops escaped from its casing. Fifteen years in the loft had caused the lining to become brittle, which I hadn’t realised until I stepped on the hoop and the internal workings of the dress came to bits! Rescued again by more safety pins, the dress just about held out until the end of the evening. It also caused a comedy moment when we got back to the hotel. We had to go through the bar to get to our room, and just as we were walking past the gents, a very drunken man emerged, looked at me, and simply exclaimed “bloody hell!!”! I guess he’s not used to going to the pub and encountering a woman wearing a ball dress that’s wider than the corridor…
The following morning I surveyed the damage to the dress and decided that it was just too much for me to fix. I snipped the remaining stitching holding on the satin overskirt, and bundled the five metres of horribly filthy fabric into the bin. I then carefully replaced all the flowers over the freshly revealed ivory dupion skirt, and packed it up in its original bag, complete with the matching shoes. It’s now been donated to Oxfam in Chepstow, looking like a wedding dress again. Hopefully it’ll go to a good home – or perhaps I’ll see somebody wearing it to Waltz on the Wye next year!
Saturday was mostly spent at Chepstow Castle, exploring the site and looking at the extremely inspirational contraptions exhibition. We also ate some very good pies at the Chepstow Castle Inn. (Mmmm, pie…) Paul went to Professor Elemental‘s chap-hop workshop while I mooched slowly back to the hotel, stopping at all the antique and charity shops on the way.
The two skirts are from my own patterns. The waistcoat’s Style 1815, in a lovely shot silk, and the jacket is Vogue 8299. Even for a cropped style, it came out a little shorter than I’d expected! At least it shows off the waistcoat nicely though, unlike the shirt (TM Lewin) and bow tie (Kwik Sew 3183) which remained sadly unseen. The brooches were a gift from Miss Alice, and I knitted the mittens in a tearing hurry, casting them off on Friday morning before we left. They’re made from Rowan Felted Tweed. Boots (Moonshine) and handbag (Elder) from Fairysteps, of course!
Lesson of the day? Just because your skirt pockets are big enough to hold an A5 book, a folded pillowcase, a small bottle of hazelnut liqueur, a pair of mittens, several oddments of haberdashery and a little pile of business cards, it doesn’t mean that you should shove all those things in at once. Especially not if the waistband’s elastic. Yes, once again, I embarrass myself so you don’t have to!
We arrived in Chepstow at lunchtime on Friday. After we’d settled into the hotel and had something to eat, we got changed and went off to explore. I checked out Chepstow Castle with my sonic screwdriver. As you do.
I only saw five of these coats over the weekend, including my own! This was a bit of a surprise, because I’d expected to see lots of people wearing outfits made from Simplicity’s steampunk patterns. Too obvious, perhaps? The coat is Simplicity 2172, and the skirt is Simplicity 2207. I learned the hard way that it’s not a good idea to walk around on wet grass, in the rain, in a floor length velvet skirt. By the end of the night it had soaked up what felt like all the water in Chepstow, and my shoes and socks were soaked through as well. The skirt still wasn’t properly dry when I brought it home three days later, but thankfully it seems to have survived a trip through the washing machine and tumble dryer relatively unscathed!
I also learned the hard way that when you accidentally drop your beautiful new sonic screwdriver onto the pavement, bits can break off. Oops…
My absolute highlight of Friday evening (and indeed of the entire weekend) was Morgan & West’s magic show. A pair of Time Travelling Magicians who’ve fooled Penn & Teller, they were extremely clever and absolutely hilarious! At the beginning of they show they explained that there would be a lot of audience participation (argh!), but promised that they wouldn’t embarrass or humiliate anyone. They were true to their word, and the show was funny, exciting, and extremely clever without ever resorting to being shocking, sweary or gory. (The only thing I didn’t like was the needle-and-thread-swallowing, but that’s just my own personal squeamishness.) I loved the part with the apple and the shoe, and the trick which looked as though we were being shown how it was done but we actually weren’t. I’m not sure how descriptive I can be about a magic show without venturing into the territory of terrible spoilers, so you’ll just have to believe me when I tell you that they were absolutely brilliant!
After the magic show we headed out into the rain to grab something to eat from the Strumpets with Crumpets (goat’s cheese and blackcurrant jam, yum!) and to watch the end of Boxcar Aldous Huxley‘s set in the bandstand. Any band with a french horn player usually gets my vote, but add a harmonium, saw, banjo and euphonium, and you’ve got a very interesting sound indeed!
We went back to the Drill Hall for the headlining band, Rogora Khart. A sort of bonkers Welsh Russian circus punk folk band, with clown make-up and a bellydancer. It took me a little while to get the hang of them, I must admit, but by the end of the evening I was really enjoying the music. Although Paul says I’m not allowed to learn to play the Bombarde. Meany.
