Steamtopia Preparations: Post the Fifth (and probably the Final)

It's almost time! Just three more days! Actually, I'll be most of the way to Detroit by this time in three days, if not already there. :)

And here's where I stand:

• Wash overskirt is DONE. Except for the closure but I'm just going to do that at the stitch and bitch Thursday night.
• Gold polonaise is DONE (or at least done enough! lol) I finished the edges at my friends last Saturday (the 31st) and got most of the construction done pretty easily. I hand sewed on a TON of braid, and ended up using hooks and eyes instead of buttons because (1) I couldn't find my buttonhole foot and (2) it was a little tiny bit snug if overlapped for buttons. So it just meets in the front with hooks and eyes. I finished the armholes with some twill tape, sewed to the outside, turned to the inside and stitched again. 

Polonaise back with all the braid!

As finished as it's going to get!

•  The only thing left is finishing the gold and black hat band to wear on my new top hat with the polonaise. I'm just trying to get that to a point that it can go with me and get finished there. 

Top hat!

Panel-wise, I think I'm okay preparedness-wise. They probably need at least one more go through, but I feel okay about them. :)

My schedule:

Friday at 2:30 pm - Why Won't This Work! in Fairlane
Saturday at 10 am (already dreading the earliness! lol) - Mentioning Unmentionables: Ladies Undergarments in the 19th Century in Fairlane
Saturday at 5:30 pm - Prominent Posteriors: The Art of the Bustle in Fairlane

My close, dear friend and almost sister Sarah Hans will be there as part of the writing track! Her schedule can be found here.

I've heard some complaints about the schedule, but I think there's enough costuming and history programming to keep me entertained. Not to mention all the hanging out with friends, Ohio and otherwise!

Other than that, I just need to finish packing, and run to the store, and get my car worked on, and meet with my friend about my new living situation, and...

Oh my! Still so much to do!

A bientot, mes amis!

Steamtopia Preparations: Post the Third

1. Edwardian chemise - DONE!

Edwardian corset and chemise. I was checking the length to see if I was happy with it.

2. Airship uniform - I actually *just* sewed the closures on. I can't really figure out a good place for the wrist loops, I kind of tried the side and the middle of the train and I feel like it just ends up looking awkward.

3. New airship uniform corset - DONE! I plowed through and finished it this past weekend, just in time to wear out to Privateer's Promenade 2.0. The corset actually took a lot of work: I screwed up the lining so I ended up putting it in a piece at a time by hand. Which makes for a prettier lining, but it definitely takes longer.  I used gold eyelets from my stash, a black busk, and spiral steel (two on each seam). Flat steel would've been sturdier but it does cinch rather nicely. I did pop an eyelet lacing it so that needs replaced before Steamtopia.

Almost finished corset, trying to decide if I wanted to use gold or black for the binding.

Finished airship uniform corset!

And my outfit for the Promenade! Everyone said I looked amazing, so I think this is going with me to Steamtopia.

4. Wash overskirt - Coming along. I added the red ruffle, which was a labor of love: 45 minutes just to pin the hem, then once it was gathered I had to hand stitch it all on. But that's all taken care of now and I've got the waist / side seam pinned for the next step. So it's getting there!

Pinning the hem on around 11 yards of ruffles takes a while...

All pinned on and ready to sew!

5. Gold brocade polonaise - I cut out and fitted the mockup, it was just a smidge tight so I'll probably do a 3/8 or 1/2 inch seam instead of 5/8 like my usual. Next up is buying lining, washing the lining and brocade (after I zigzag the brocade's raw edges) and then cutting out the fabric, lining and interlining. I should probably also iron the interlining before I cut it out... I think that's going home with me to my parents' this weekend. I need to have it done by next Tuesday, I have a date with a friend to use her serger to finish the edges of all the brocade pieces so they don't ravel.

6. New white petticoat - DONE! It's really basic and simple but it's a new petticoat!

Basic, white batiste with white denim at for the hem facing and waistband.

7. Swimsuit - I ended up buying one from JCPenney's. It's a bikini and has this black lace / cut out that looks vaguely like ironwork and I think gives it a steamy feel.

8. Garrison hat - Haven't started or even really found a pattern yet, but I think I'll have time for it before the convention.

9. Grey bodice (the Governess bodice) - I took out some stitching on the ribbons along the front edges and restitched them down after tucking the ends under a little more. The ends were starting to come out so it went on the repair to do list. But now it's DONE! 

Also, Sock Dreams had a sale so I picked up a few things for Steamtopia:

L to R: Black Paris knee highs, black sheer to waist pantyhose, black striped lace topped thigh highs and white ruffled shorts to wear with the Edwardian underwear

T minus three weeks and two days! Cuz all the prep needs done by the 11th.

A bientot, mes amis!

Steamtopia Preparations: Post the Second

First of all, here's where I'm going: Steamtopia and here's the Archon and regular Facebook events for it. I should be working the Costuming track and presenting a couple panels on historical undergarments, but I don't have 100% confirmation of that yet so...*fingers crossed*  But they have a lot of awesome stuff planned, so even if I don't end up working the convention, I'm bound to have a great time! As of now, the Archon departs Columbus at noon on June 12th. :)

Secondly, I did find some time to sew over the weekend!

• Edwardian corset -- DONE! Sewed the hooks and eyes to the bottom of the corset while at Family Camp with my church. Totally sat outside on the deck overlooking the stream with a friend and sewed. :)
• Edwardian chemise -- Mostly done, including handsewing lace onto the front yoke. It ended up a little short and a little more high necked that I would have liked, so I pinned in a piece on the shoulders in between the shoulder seam to lengthen and lower the neckline. Haven't stitched it into place yet though. Once that's sewn, I'll try it on with the corset to check the length and decide if it also needs a ruffle at the bottom. I also plan to add more lace to the side and back neckline, but not the back yoke because I want to be able to tell the front and back apart!

• 

  Hand sewing lace onto the chemise yoke.

   
• Airship uniform -- Still haven't touched it.
• New airship uniform corset -- Basted the interlining together and fitted it, decided it was okay so I took it apart and cut out the gold satin and black pleather lace (for two panels only), basted all the layers, then sewed it all together.  Then I measured everything and ordered the busk and boning yesterday. Going for all steel this time! Trying to figure out the eyelets though, cuz I think the gold ones I have are too brassy. I can order black ones online though so that might just be the way to go... Once I have the busk, I'm going to put it in and do a fitting because I need to see how it fits through the hips.  I may have to make some lacing strips for that as well. Then comes the bone casings, the boning, the eyelets and the binding. I haven't decided 100% if I'm lining it or not.



Corset in progress.

• Lobster tail bustle -- Finished replacing all the ties while at Family Camp, sitting on the aforementioned deck!
• Wash overskirt --The apron has been trimmed in black and silver plaid bias strips, I cut the placket into the sides / back and finished it with bias as well. The placket isn't the prettiest thing ever, but it'll be covered by the bodice's tails so ... I also made more bias strips and pinned it to the hem of the sides / back.  Currently trying to decide if I want to add a red ruffle as well or not, out of the same fabric that the bodice is lined in. The hat has a tiny bit of red, so I kinda want to bring that on down.
• Gold brocade polonaise -- I've been measured by a friend, and just figured out what size to make. So the next step is tracing the pattern and cutting out the mockup. Probably out of the interlining fabric so that I can then just use it as the pattern and as part of the finished garment. Once I get the brocade cut out, I'm going over to a friend's to use her serger to finish the edges. And I've been shopping for trim, cuz I'm gonna need a LOT of it.
• New white petticoat -- Nothing, but I think I'm just going with a quick and easy pattern not the TV one I have. It'll be a lot simpler plus I don't think I have enough for an 1870s or 1880s TV petticoat.
• Swimsuit -- Nothing. In fact, this is getting marked off. I really want to make it, but I've never made a swimsuit before and if I rush to get it done before Steamtopia, I'll just foul it up. So I'm better off to just say no to the project. And go buy a new one instead! Cuz I seriously haven't bought a swimsuit in like...7 years.
• Also I'm thinking I need a garrison hat to go with my airship uniform. And I think I'm going to ask if I can borrow my dad's top hat as well, it'd look good with the polonaise...

HSF-wise: The chemise needs done by June 1st so I can take my pictures for the Art challenge. And I'm thinking I may just pound out that petticoat for the Black and White challenge, but the deadline is soooooon (May 15th) so I'm not sure if that's gonna happen or not.

But convention prep-wise? I feel like I'm pretty on top of this!! T minus FIVE WEEKS and I'll be on the road headed to the wild northern lands!

A bientot, mes amis!

Steamtopia Preparations: Post the First

I haven't gotten too much done yet, but here's my project updates:

• Edwardian corset -- In a bag with hooks and eyes and blue thread
• Making the Edwardian chemise -- Cut out and the first seam pinned
• Airship uniform -- Nothing. Still in my garment bag.
• New airship uniform corset -- Cut out the interlining, lengthening the pattern a little for a different look. It's pinned together for basting so I can try it on.
• Lobster tail bustle -- Cut out all the old ties and started replacing them. I ran out of ribbon, so I think I have like four or five more to do. There's a lot of ties.
• Wash overskirt -- Plan one: back and sides in silvery grey, front in black. But didn't have enough for that. So...after thinking about it, and asking friends, and thinking about it, and asking the HSF group and the Truly Victorian boards, and thinking about it some more, I decided to cut everything out of the grey satin, and just shorten / narrow as needed. So the apron is about 4 or 5 inches shorter than the pattern, the back / sides are a couple inches shorter and maybe a foot narrower than the pattern. I also pinned the darts and cut out the waistband.
• Gold brocade polonaise -- Nothing so far, except reading the directions.
• New white petticoat -- Nothing.
• Swimsuit -- Nothing.

All in all, not too shabby for a few days work! I'm supposed to go to church camp tomorrow with my church family and maybe stay overnight (don't work til 2 pm on Sunday) and I have a Cinco de Mayo party to go to after work on Sunday, so I don't know how much I'll get done this weekend. But I figured a couple little hand sewing bits could go with me (like the Edwardian corset and the lobster tail bustle) and if I get the chance, I could sew.

Miss Wilde at Wizard World Ohio Comic Con

FRIDAY - dark jeans (which you can't see), black tank and turquoise corset vest that is my new obsession. Also pictured: Prof. Torrey Tesla looking dapper as always and TerAnn. Picture by Brian Kollig.

SATURDAY MORNING: black lace blouse, black skirt with a petticoat, black hat trimmed in pink, pink corset (I was laced in by a Mando!), pink tights and ballet flats. Picture by Sally Van Eycke.

SATURDAY AFTERNOON: I broke out the steampunk Harley Quinn (aka Diamonds are Forever) with the new wig. Isn't it amazing?! TerAnn wore her steampunk Ivy costume. Here we're with another Ivy and her Spiderman slave. I loved their costumes, thought it was a super cute idea. Picture by Sally Van Eycke.

Ivy and Harley (TerAnn and myself) meeting Jim Henson and playing with his Kermit puppet. I really love Kermit, btw. Best. Muppet. Ever. Picture by Corielle.

And then...I met Sheamus from the WWE. *swoons* Picture by his security guard.

Besides the costume fun, I also got to hang out with friends, make new friends, randomly run into someone I knew years ago back home and so forth. Our table was REALLY popular, we had a lot of interest and hopefully recruited a lot of new people for the Airship.

And that was MY weekend!

June Steampunk Blog Link Party! at Steam Ingenious

I was just asked by Violet over at Steam Ingenious to join her monthly blog link party. So you should all go check out the great blogs involved!

Now to choose what to link to for this blog...

When Last We Saw Our Sewing Heroine...

...she needed to spend her weekend sewing (1) a corset (2) a bustle (3) a shrug and also (4) test run new costumes.

(1) The corset is coming along nicely. It's boned (I used cable ties and lighter plastic both), has a zipper, and the lining is put together. I need to stitch the lining in, finish the edges with the bias tape I bought, put on the trimmings, put in the eyelets, make a little watch pocket and sew it on and sew on a D ring or two. I'm even putting in bra cups because otherwise I would have had to take in the bust.

Wow that sounds like a lot...

(2) The bustle is DONE. Just need to play with the ties a little bit.

(3) The shrug is also DONE and fits fine

(4) I haven't tried on the pink and white underwear yet, and I'm also gonna need to try out  the new steam stripper.

And I need to PACK! The convention is a week from tomorrow. A WEEK!!!! (Yes, I am in pre-con panic mode, thank you for asking lol)

And now...for some costume porn!

This is my first overbust corset.

One half of the corset done, including boning

Eyelets, d rings, bra cups, boning and bias tape? Must be corset making time!

And the finished Lobster Tail bustle!

In other news, I went fabric shopping the other day. I picked up some quick dry performance knit (running clothes), a yard of white Swiss dot to go with the blue I have in my stash for a new dress, and some teal taffeta for an underskirt to go with my Pink Paris jacket and overskirt. I went shopping with a new client, so I have the stuff for her commission as well.

Steampunk Empire Symposium Preparations!

To do list progress!

• Need to find white or pink laces for my new corset - DONE! I still need to do a trial run of the outfit though...
• Finish the lobster tail bustle - I worked on this, but ran out of boning. I'm going to hit up the hardware store tomorrow (payday) on lunch
• New 'steam stripper' outfit - Is coming along nicely! The bustle is DONE, except for any sort of closure but I think I might just safety pin it this time and worry about a more permanent closure later. I decided to go with a corset, which has been cut out and the basting has begun. I might not line it though...haven't fully decided on that yet.
• And I want to make a little shrug to go over the pink and white underwear, I cut out a piece of white fishnet, just need to sew it up!
• I finished the little vest for my stuffed penguin to wear. I was going to trim the black side in the some trim I used on his hat, but didn't have enough.
• Comic pants - DONE
• Striped corduroy skirt - DONE

Everything for my friend is pretty much on hold, because she decided to skip the convention. :(

Almost complete steam stripper bustle apron

And I stitched up this hole in my BRAND NEW lace fishnet tights

So I've got this weekend (most of which I'll be either working or at an Archon event) and next to: (1) make a corset (2) finish a bustle (3) make a shrug and (4) test run my pink and white underwear. That's actually not too bad...

To Do List - Mostly Steampunk Empire Symposium Preparations

For me:

• Need to find white or pink laces for my new corset - Have a couple ideas for this, just need to go hunting
• Finish the lobster tail bustle - I misplaced this, but found it yesterday. It's pinned and ready for the boning channels to be sewn. Should be able to finish it over the weekend (I hope!)
• Maybe make a new underskirt for my Pink Paris ensemble, in a vibrant color like yellow or teal, if I can find some fabric that I like enough. - With everything else going on, and with needing to narrow down my packing list, I decided to not take this outfit to SES, so I don't need a new underskirt.
• Although I decide that I needed a new 'steam stripper' outfit (short bustle with matching top) and bought this:

For my friend (she will be helping me with a lot of this):

• Jacket and skirt to go with her new corset. I'll be making the jacket, and maybe assisting with the skirt if necessary. - The jacket is well underway. I cut and basted the lining and used that for fitting. I added a few inches to accomadate her (she's a little larger than the measurements given on the pattern) but ended up basically taking almost all of those added inches out. The fashion fabric is almost all cut out, and ready for construction! The skirt is also underway, its just a simple underskirt - one seam, elastic waist, hem. All I'll probably need to help with is the hemming.
• Chemise and bloomers, also to go with her new corset. I think she'll be doing most of the work, but I'll likely be assisting her. - She bought a pattern and when last seen, was planning to get it cut out yesterday.

Also for the Symposium, I decided this was necessary:

New work clothes:

• The comic pants, which just need the zipper put in, the waistband finished and hemmed. - Just needs a tiny bit of handwork on the waistband.

Comic pants, when almost completed. Still needed the hem and waistband finished at this point. I did end up taking them in a little tiny bit.

• The black and floral corduroy skirt.
• The striped corduroy skirt, which just needs the zipper, the waistband and the hem done. - Also just needs a bit of handwork on the waistband.
• And the purple skirt that was once a dress that just needs the waist finished somehow. - DONE (as long as its actually wearable...)
  
  

From Ohayocon - A Picture by the Ever Lovely Sarah Hans

The Governess (Grey suit), me with Gloria from the Airship Archon

Corset, petticoat and current sewing projects - Pictures!

Basting the layers together before binding

Binding a corset really kills your fingers

Corset with the binding finished!

Finished ruffle panel!

Hem ruffle on the petticoat

Pants the I'd like to finish - comic print fabric

Skirt I'd like to finish - black corduroy and floral corduroy. Adding the floral print because the UFO skirt as originally cut would be too short for me now - It would show the tattoos

A Little Update...

First of all, check out  my Instagram for lots of inprogress photos of current projects! My username is midnyghtsnow

Now, despite being sick last week (I caught some 24 hour stomach flu that I'm STILL recovering from), I managed to get quite a bit done.

1. The ruffled panel and the petticoat for my pink and white steampunk underwear are DONE. All that's left now is the corset...

2. Which I have worked on, a lot. It's put together, boned, and I finished the binding yesterday. Next up is the eyelets (once I fix a little problem - I didn't really leave room for said eyelets where they should go...) and then the flossing and probably the trimming. Contemplating trimming it out in pink lace that I have that is pretty much the exact some shade of pink to match the chemise and petticoat.

3. I also pulled out a few UFOs and some stash fabric to work on making some new clothes for work. In the picture above, you can see a pencil skirt pattern (I'm working on a black corduroy trimmed in floral corduroy version, and I may be making one out of the narrow stripe in the picture as well), another skirt pattern that is cut out of a taupe suiting, a dress that I made years ago that never fit (I cut the top and skirt apart, gonna add a waistband to the skirt and maybe repurpose the bodice as well), another dress pattern that was cut out of purple cotton, and a pair of pants out of the coolest fabric -- comic print. I also have some turquoise corduroy that I want to make a skirt out of and a white and black silky material that I think wants to be a blouse...

Pictures aka Costume Porn! - Tour Wear and Pink and White Steampunk Underwear

Tour Wear!

 

Close up of the Tour Wear!

 Two pics of some lace that's going on the pink and white steampunk underwear

Binding for my new corset

Base of the ruffle panel for my pink and white petticoat

Close up of the petticoat ruffle panel. The half circle at the top is where it'll sit on my bustle pillow / cage petticoat

Ruffles for the ruffled panel

Close up of the lace on my ruffles

New white underbust corset, outside

New white underbust corset, inside

Close up of the corset lining

Ruffle panel with ruffles all pinned for the sewing

Ruffled panel with the ruffles all sewn on