Yes, it’s been a while. I’ve been dreaming up creative, clever, and witty text for this post, but never wrote anything that sounded, well, right. So here: a not-so-witty post about how I took a “One Size Fits All” pattern, which was really a “One Size Fits Any Adult” pattern, and sized it down for a tween girl.
I took meticulous notes on how I sized the pattern down, and present the information here, in case any other parent needs to do similar for their child.
The notes do not include the hood, although we did make adjustments to it – only to make it less pointy, though, not to size it down.
With less than two months til Steampunk World’s Fair, I’ve decided to get serious about making something for my “Mini-mes”. Both of whom have declared they want a plague doctor outfit. The robe, at least, should be fairly simple – a Star Wars Jedi-like costume pattern should do the trick. Off to the fabric store went I, and returned home again with pattern, fabric, and thread.
Fabric, pattern, and design sketch for Plague Doctor outfits.
Am I cheating using a cheesy Halloween costume pattern? I prefer to think of it as being “efficient”. I’ll save the feats of engineering ingenuity for grown up fashions and accessories, and work smarter-not-harder for the clothes the children will grow out of in a year!
Only… it appears I have to engineer the pattern after all! The “XS to XL” pattern – where the XS fits chest sizes 30″ – 32″ and I even measured my kids at the store to make sure XS would be close enough – apparently went with one size fits all for the robe.
No XS option. No XL option. Not even an “adjust length here” mark! Finished measurement around at chest? Sixty-four inches!!! Twice as large around as the older child.
That sound you just heard? My head hitting the sewing desk.
I’ve begun comparing “Steampunk” to a language. It’s a lovely, intricate language with its own grammar and cadence. I still don’t understand it fully, and I am VERY far from speaking it fluently. But my ability to distinguish the “well spoken” from the, ahem, slightly less formal idiom is improving with every hour I spend on Pinterest. (Only because I can’t (yet) jet off to an event every wekeend!)
I generally try to avoid the “Slap corset lacing on it and call it Steampunk” vernacular, but sometimes corset lacing is exactly what a project needs!
The Finished Fingerless Arm-Length Gloves
Yay, the fingerless-glove -forearm-cuff-gauntlet thingies are finally done!
Fingerless Arm-Length Gloves
My smartphone’s camera does not do them justice! I’m very pleased with the stacked layers of embellishment – even though I had to sew them on by hand since the “gloves” themselves were already put together. Which is ironic. One of the great appeals to Steampunk (besides looking awesome!) was that I could buy all the clothes I needed, instead of having to sew everything like my historical re-enactment hobby. But here I am, desperately eking out every spare second of time to work on the next fashion project!
Maybe learning the new idiom makes is what makes it all fun again!
I really didn’t mean to acquire more Steampunk projects on my last expedition to the local thrift store. But I have learned, if opportunity knocks, throw that door wide open!
This time “opportunity” was a black satin prom dress with lovely, asymmetrical draping action in the skirt. Hellooooooo future Victorian underskirt!
Future Victorian Underskirt
Mind you, I’m not totally confident in my upcycling / repurposing skills. In fact, 99.9% of my sewing experience has been from scratch, with or without commercial patterns – either way, without having to modify or otherwise undo existing work and then redo it to fit my own vision.
But dude. Asymmetrically draped black satin Victorian underskirt. Challenge accepted!
After a brutal week in the shop, a weekend in the…uhhhhhh….other shop was exactly what was called for. Spent too much time lasering mugs and glasses but, did finally get around to playing with gadgets and gizmos. My first ever, I made these, steampunk goggles are finished!
Fun project. The idea and design came from Thomas Willeford and his book Steampunk Gears, Gadgets and Gismos. If you don’t have a copy, get on Amazon and order one immediately…..I’ll wait. These are the goggles post strapping/pre lenses. One of the cool things about owning a laser….engraved/etched lenses for goggles….in any color, are the play of a child. Okay….a child that can use Corel draw and a laser engraver.
Red lenses with …..highly advanced HUD targeting lenses. All I need now is a pith helmet and an adventure…..and a rifle that shoots lightning bolts!
Far too much work, not nearly enough “fun” this weekend. Funny how that happens.
So, this is the progress on the brass goggles so far. Work came to a screeching halt when I realized, 1. I have a woefully pathetic selection of brass rivets and, 2. I have absolutely nothing to brace the back of the rivet while setting it….well, if I had one to set. Let me sing to you the song of my people….”Amazon Prime!” One nine pound anvil and several hundred….or thousand, rivets of all sizes and finishes are speeding toward me as I type…..okay maybe not yet, I just clicked order. All my goodies will be here Tuesday and work will restart shortly there after. Free shipping and two-day delivery on a nine pound chunk of iron…..doesn’t suck!
This is a project I started a while back. When it is finished it will be a briefcase bar, complete with led lighting and possibly music. This is the laser engraved, leather covered front of the case.
After all the time and all the challenges making the corset, I thought I deserved a “quick win”, as they call it. Something easy and fun to pick up my spirits and get my creative momentum going again. You know – an objet d’steampunk that can be thrown together with materials on hand in an afternoon. Or one afternoon, a snow day, a scheduled day off and a whole weekend.
Oh, how I failed…
It started innocently enough. I found this amazing black short-sleeved corset shirt at our local thrift store – still had the tags on it! All it needed for a Steampunk-airship-pirate look was black leather pants (found those at the thrift store too!) and a fabulous hat. (I bought that new at Steampunk Unlimited last fall.) But wait, this is Steampunk. It needs more. Like: coordinating full forearm cuff thingies. (Yes, “thingies” is a technical term!)
Easy, right? I was able to draft a pattern with just two mock ups – here’s what I came up with, alongside a ruler for comparison. Feel free to borrow and scale up or down as needed if you’ve been looking for a starting point to your own pattern!
Forearm Cuff Pattern
I was happy with the cuffs… at least, I thought I was. They stay up nicely on their own, thanks to cotton broadcloth lining. Most importantly they are just loose enough that I can slide them on and off without needing any fancy fastening. I even rigged a pocket right at the wrist of one for my FitBit Flex!
One Forearm Cuff
The Two Forearm Cuffs
Even a pocket for the FitBit!
Done, right? …RIGHT?? A week later, I’m still fiddling with ribbons and trim and pleating and chains and other embellishments to take them from “hey cool” to “OMG AMAZING”.
Will our heroine succeed? Stay tuned for a future episode of “What happens when TJ thinks she can create fashion accessories quickly and easily!”
Creatively Compulsive 