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Sunday, April 6, 2014

Costumes, Conventions and Steampunky hijinks

Sorry if the timing is off. I got to sleep in one hour this morning. Daylight savings finished last night.

6This month I have been making a new Victorian Corset. My original one was made many years ago. It was an experiment. I had no one to help me with the fitting. Its time has passed.



Over four weeks, Lynne – from the Australian Costumers’ Guild – ran corset making workshops. At last I had help with fitting!  A godsend!

I planned to use some pinstripe suiting (snaffooed at a Spotlight sale). This can be used for both steampunk and dieselpunk outfits. I have 8m (one of those ‘half price if you buy to the end of the roll’ deals).

For the costumers out there, I have photos of the ‘corset on the go’ on my FB page – The Florence Files/The Purple Files – Steampunk Creations photo album. For those without FB, here is a quick rundown.

7 sewing hips  9adding busk 8 waisttape above waist line14 front busk in a  16 sewing in busk  18b putting boning in22 pinning edging bias 24 pinning edging
COrset FRONT ON Corset BACK ON
IMG_5574

I highly recommend having your corset custom fitted – making them much more comfortable than an off the rack corset. Make your own or buy one. It is up to you.

Saturday was Day 1 of the local Oz ComicCon. I had planned to wear my steampunk Scout Mistress. This was quickly sidelined when the weather unexpectedly heated up earlier in the week. I spent yesterday sewing (rather than writing) and managed to finish! This meant I could wear my new airship crew costume (which is much cooler with a linen blouse and cotton skirt). 

The accessories were sourced from opshops, garage sales and ‘cheap’ shops. At 11 o’clock on Friday night, I decided that I needed an airship badge. A quick delve into my ‘findings box’ and I whipped one up.  Here is the final outfit. Very comfortable and hands free!


Manuscript Word Progress:
Total Words:  
Revised Words: 
At 1st draft only:

Camp NaNoWriMo: 400 words and almost 1500 in research notes. (now the sewing has finished, the writing will renew in earnest).

Costumes, Conventions and Steampunky hijinks

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