Shit Hitting The Fan

So things didn’t quite go to plan. I set up my sewing machine to sew my skirt for the Steampunk Symposium and Lunarmorph. I spent an hour unpicking the skirt I wanted to restructure, and things were going great. I started sewing the waistband of the skirt and about half way through the bloody thing died. I was having issues with the bobbin previously, as well as the foot peddle getting stuck, but it was still working. However it started tracking thread, it started eating the thread, and it started cutting thread. Bloody thing That is the 13th sewing machine I have killed! I need to stop buying second hand machines!!! Well, this one was given to me because my Nan bought a Janome and needed a new home for her Brother, but you get the drift. I am sending it off to the pastures. It failed me when I really needed it. Dad can fiddle with it and get it working again. And then he can use it to sew horse blankets (the filly always looses her headpiece or rips her blanket on the barbed wire fences). I have to admit, I am a bit of an oddity. My mum can’t sew to save her life. She really can’t! Dad however… maybe because his mum was a seamstress… well he can sew. He used to help me sew my barbie clothes I designed as a kid. (My barbies had green or pink hair, and wore punk or vintage LOL) He used to thread the bobbin for me. He showed me how to use the different settings on my first sewing machine! I really do love my Dad! He also taught me to crochet. My Nan (his mum) tried to teach me, but she is left handed (I’m right handed), and then my other Nanna tried to teach me, but couldn’t. So Dad sat me down and taught me the stitches. He is also house broken. Mum can’t cook. She burns things, over boils them etc. She still cooks, but only because she has to. Dad is the one with the gift. He taught me how to make pancakes and lamingtons (he is a master at those!). And his pumpkin pie is to die for! Mum makes great chips LOL In reading all this, you would think that maybe my Dad is an inside dad. But he is always out working in the shed with the cars and motorbikes, or off fixing fences or working with the animals. He is just really talented at everything, aside from people LOL Mum hates that. That she has to make a lot of effort, and he just does things naturally. She hates that he is naturally artistic. And that I got that skill from Dad. But I got hers too. I can’t sew with patterns without screwing them up, and while I can have a real flair for cooking, sometimes I screw it up magnificently. All in all, I am a combination of both. I am “daddy’s little girl” but I am my mum’s daughter too. So I killed another sewing machine.

I need to start saving up to buy a brand new one. Sarah said I should get an industrial one and snickered. I just want one with instructions and a warranty so I can fix the basics (i.e. I have no idea what cut the thread on Saturday!) and get them to fix it if it is complicated!!! I’ve decided to visit my Nan and see if I can finish the skirt on her sewing machine. And I forgot she was a seamstress, so I may ask her for lessons.

Back to the Steampunk Symposium. I couldn’t make my skirt. The material was too heavy to hand sew. It was green and black velvet underskirt I had to make, and then the top part of it was the black wide skirt (lots of ruffles), and covered in lots of black rivets and eyelets. I could have hand sewn it, but it would have taken AGES! It was easier to go back to my wardrobe and find something else to wear. I ended up wearing my long black hippie skirt, and wearing my maroon skirt over the top and hoisted up under my breasts. It is lace, velvet and satin, and having it so high contrasted with the black material underneath. I wore my magenta/purple ¾ blouse – it has a wide scoop neckline. And over the top of that I wore my black brocade corset – it is an overbust “Femme Fatale” from Gallery Serpentine. I was going to make my own goggles (I made the frame at least) until I realised they wouldn’t work with the new colour scheme. Green and magenta? Nah-huh! I also had a bronze-brown purse I had bought which didn’t work, and the boots I had bought were dark brown. Luckily the boots were dark enough that they weren’t too obvious. And I took my every day bag – it is black hemp with big brass buckles and buttons, so it worked. I had my hair out and wavy (my curls backfired, but it was still wavy, just not as curly as I wanted), and my nails a long wicked maroon to match the skirt. I wore my silver hoops (vintage from the 70s – I stole those from mum when I was about 13 *giggles*) and my necklace from Diva’s that I bought for Sarah’s 30th. It is tiers of black beads, and sort of has a tribal/Victorian feel to it. I also wore my bronze fobwatch on a chain around my neck, dangling between my breasts. I wore rings, silver bracelets, and some purple beaded bracelets lent to me by Anna. I did my make up dramatic with lots of black and purple/maroon. In the end I looked kind of like a steampunk gothic gypsy, and was befriended by the gentry, that being Sarah and her beau.

The Night

The Steampunk Symposium was snazzy! I really loved everyone’s outfits! They were pretty amazing. I can’t believe the time some people must have put into creating their accessories! It made me decide that because I really love my steampunk persona, that I really must put some serious effort into outfitting her! I mean, my crystal ball is amazing, but she needs some bling, baby! There were some stalls, and while Sarah was interested in the jewellery, it was mostly too formal for me. I was drawn to the weapons stall of course. They had an elephant gun!! O_O It was bigger than I am! I want it so bad! But I want the pistols more! They were beauties! They also had some guns made out of lamp stands, and some sort of pump-action pack. Can you comment if you know the designer? I’ll update this when I find out. I am interested in finding out the pricing, because I would love a dainty little pistol to tuck down my corset LOL There was also a steampunk R2-D2! And steampunk dancing girls – it was kind of belly dancing, kind of not. I have no idea how to describe it LOL I think we missed out on other entertainment, but there was nothing to indicate what acts there were and when they started. We also turned up an hour late, so if there was anything before 5pm we missed it! The steampunk was so amazing though, that I was happy to just wander around and decide who to mug for their clothes. Sarah is a ninja and a master at knotwork, so she could contain them while I strip them of their booty. We went next door for a drink and to check out the people walking to the Symposium and then up the road to dinner at Kafenes Greek Restaurant – which was BRILLIANT! Try their Bouyourti – it is absolutely divine!

We went back down to the Enmore Theatre after dinner for the Lunarmorph Fashion Parade – Sarah’s friend saved us a spot in the line (he designs the men’s range for Gallery Serpentine apparently) and we sat with him and his friend. We were going to sit in the front side rows, but later decided to sit in the general audience. It was a good idea, because we wouldn’t have been able to see as much if we had have been at the model’s feet. I was really impressed with the show! Fancy Piece was the MC, and they were terrific! Music was provided by Studio Serpentine, with their vintage synths – it isn’t my usual type of music (I like it heavy!), but they launched into the Doctor Who theme song and I was sold! I was impressed that there were one or two “plus size” models on stage – I get so frustrated that people design for skinny people but most of the Goths I know are at least in the 12-18 size range! Real women need real clothes! It has been a week, so I can’t focus on the clothes with any real detail, but I was in lust with most of the ranges! The entertainment each line put into their segment was amazing! Circus performers, burlesque, pole dancing, and damn, but Matt Bylett’s was entertainment all in itself! I was reminded of Luis Royo for a lot of his designs, and I love Luis Royo so I was bound to like them! We didn’t go to the after party, I was broke so I decided to head home instead. It turns out one of the Clockwork Butterfly models lives in the same suburb as me, and we had a quick chat at the station. I am very jealous! Apparently she gets a custom outfit for modelling for Clockwork Butterfly at Lunarmorph! Lucky girl!

Anyway, we had a lot of fun at Lunarmorph this year, and I am really looking forward to the Under the Blue Moon Festival next month.

Anyway, it was an adventure and a half! And while I had some small successes, I am still worried about my outfit.

My persona is Zja Zja, the (steampunk) gypsy of the sky. I tell fortunes, and I have a air-wagon tethered outside. I named it a zepvardo – a compound word for Zepplin Vardo (a gypsy wagon). I travel across the skies taking passengers, telling fortunes and having adventures. I do take long-term passengers if they can provide skills to help on the journey. My friend Ari and her baby Vin sometimes accompany me. He is a ragamuffin pickpocket, and Ari will cook any birds I run into (suffice to say I deliberately aim for flocks of geese!). She also sells her clothes when we land at markets and souks so I can tell fortunes and earn my living.

My envisioned costume was quite elaborate. I had wide skirts in marvellous colours, my black corset and a white peasant shirt. I was covered in gold jewellery (storage of wealth) including a belly dancing waist chain of coins. I had sturdy buckled boots and home-made goggles. I have a crystal ball, and a steampunk gun, made by my brother Matthias who is a metal smith and quasi inventor.

But I ran out of money.

So…

I bought:

• A  small crystal ball
• A wide skirt that is sizes too small for me – it is black with bronze rivets
• 1.5 m of forest green velvet to make the skirt wider (vertical darts I am thinking?)
• Dark brown boots with buckles
• Yoghurt (to use the containers to make goggles)
• Cheap sunglasses (to make goggles)
• Buttons for a shirt
• Fabric glue for the goggles

To buy:

• I need to find a large man’s shirt to turn into a peasant top after a Threadbanger tute I found. However, I am broke, and can’t afford a trip to an op-shop. I think I will have to see what I can salvage from my wardrobe. Everything I own is black….
• Gold jewellery (I am broke, so I think I will have to go without *sob*)
• A belt (not happening *sigh*)

The plan:

• Modify the black rivet skirt with the green velvet. I may add some underskirts to make things interesting
• Make the goggles. That requires me to eat one more tub of yoghurt, figure out a frame, cut up the sunglasses, cut and glue green velvet and find my black velvet ribbon
• Find a shirt and alter it to make an off the shoulder floozy peasant shirt. Sew on the buttons. Maybe add some subtle lace(?)
• Find some socks or stockings long enough for my new boots. Or both! I don’t want blisters
• Find enough bling to make me look like a gypsy! The problem is I am broke, so I will have to go for the ragtag waif look… Luckily I still have silver hoop earrings. Not sure what I will do about necklaces/bangles and bells.
• Collect the mail! My folks sent down the steampunk gun my brother created for me. I hope it looks good!
• Find an old tea cup and glue in some tea leaves. I may make them look like a black dog LOL Find a way to attach it to my ensemble
• Make a velvet pouch for my crystal ball

I am freaking out. I don’t have time or money…. Wish me luck! I will need it! To confound the issue, my housemate has his fiancé visiting from the Philippines, and I am not sure if I can use the dining room to sew. There isn’t enough room in my bedroom!! I think I need to start tinkering with the goggles first.

Edit: God I love my mum! I called her having a breakdown about money, and she dumped $50 in my account when I told her not to. I could have lived on rice for a week… Now I can get a man’s shirt and a belt! And food and my meds… LOL

Related Articles

• 13 Coolest Steampunk Gadgets (uphaa.com)
• 6 Amazing Steampunk Helmets (techeblog.com)

From their website, Love Vintage:

“The Sydney Vintage Clothing, Jewellery and Textiles Show is a showcase of Antique and Vintage  Clothing, fine Antique and Costume Jewellery and Antique and Vintage Linen, Lace and Textiles and Small Collectables.
There will be many exhibitors selling clothing, jewellery, accessories, linen, lace and collectables.  The show will also feature a presentation of vintage fashions, lectures by Guest Speakers, Swing Dancers, Demonstration of Vintage Makeup and Hairstyle Techniques and other fabulous entertainment – see program page for more details.”

I entered a competition through the Historic Houses Trust mailing list for a double pass to the Sydney Vintage Clothing, Jewellery & Textiles Show in October. The Historic Houses Trust owns and manages a lot of historical properties in New South Wales, as well as some of Sydney’s more impressive museums. I never expect to win competitions, but I enter them anyway. I tend to win a lot of random prizes with this method (mostly books and tickets to events or movies). Today I received an email from the HHT saying I had won the tickets to the Sydney Vintage Clothing, Jewellery & Textiles Show. I am extremely excited – it sounds like a lot of fun!!! The only problem is, I now need to decide which of my friends will be more interested in attending. I have a few in Sydney who are interested in Vintage and Rockabilly, so I will have someone to go with. I can’t wait to see the fifties outfits and flapper dresses!!!

There is one using drink can tabs which I found particularly interesting. Whenever I drink a Red Bull I wonder what I can do with the tabs, because they have the tab cut out. It is an interesting design, and mostly I have used it as a stencil or for interesting photo lenses. Anyway, I think it would be interesting to make one of these with Red Bull tabs. Although I am not sure if it would sit as well. And I would probably use a thinner black elastic rather than the wider white elastic on the example she shared. I guess I could always punch a hole on either side of the bull? I don’t know. I will have to collect some and have a play to see what would work best

Here is the example she shared, and below that is a Red Bull tab.

I also found an entry about Broomstick Lace a few weeks ago that I want to follow up. You can find out more about it at twoandsix.

In lest than two weeks is Lunarmorph! It is a fashion show for dark alternate culture, and it part of the Under The Blue Moon festival. In the hours before Lunarmorph, UTBM is also hosting a Steampunk Symposium. I am getting very excited! I may have mentioned that I am obsessed with steampunk, but I haven’t had a chance to go to any events as yet. Mostly it is me mooning around about blogs online, or sharing things I stumble across at Dystopian Treasures. This time I am going! And my brother is making me a steampunk gun! I am so excited! I am going scrounging at the markets, op shops and in the dark alternate stores of Enmore and Newtown on Saturday with a friend, looking for accessories etc. And on Sunday a friend is dying my hair purple for me. I am really getting hyped!! I will share my finds as I make them

In other news, I started an etsy and twitter account – mostly to save the name “Black Threads” for later LOL I haven’t updated either yet, and won’t until I start selling. At the moment I am just creating accessories to sell. I talked to some of my crafty friends who are also interested in selling some things when I start my market stall

Image via Wikipedia

I read this wonderful article about friendship bracelets, and as it is something I plan to start making again, I thought I would share with you. The article is called “Before there were silly bands…” and is well worth reading. At the end, the blogger asked a few questions, and I thought I would share my responses here.

I found this display at Spotlight in Toowoomba. I love this dress! It is so cute. I love tartan, black and red, so there was never any doubt I woud love this to pieces!

I spent $75 at Lincraft on Monday (ed: last week). I had planned to go to Spotlight on the weekend (they are cheaper, have a bigger store, and had a 30% sale) but they closed just as I arrived there on Saturday. My friend Sarah is having a masked ball for her 30^th, and I after buying a corset and mask ($250 and $165 respectively) I realised I would have to make the rest of my outfit myself. I should state here that I have a loathing for patterns. I always end up messing them up. Maybe that is just a left over loathing of my Home Ec teacher at school LOL However, it is also because I am plus-sized and I need to expand the patterns from the skinny size up to something that would fit a real woman. Those patterns get distorted when you add a 5cm panel, etc. and they no longer sit well. So I gave up on patterns. I have always been fairly instinctual with designing and creative things anyway. I eventually want to take some short courses in dressmaking so I can overcome this issue, but until then, I go freehand. I have made skirts before, and I don’t use patterns. I love designing clothes in my head and on paper, and I have an instinctual approach to sewing. I love alternate cultures like steampunk, goth, rockabilly and psychobilly, and all the outfits are expensive unless you are a dab hand at a sewing machine. So one day I plan to take a more serious approach to sewing. For the now, I just dabble.

So, next Friday night is Sarah’s mask ball. My corset is a black brocade overbust, and my mask is a purple asymmetrical moulded leather mask. They are both gorgeous! So I need to organise something for the blouse and the skirt. I think I will just find a blouse either in my closet, or at Westfield, but the skirt I plan to make. I am not sure what look I am going for yet. Maybe Victorian, maybe a can can skirt, maybe a gothic tutu. I have no idea. I spent too much on fabric the other day, so I need to dig around in my rag bag and see what other fabric I have that will work. Wish me luck!

Here are some of the inspirations items I came across! They are either skirt patterns or skirts that I like.

• clairesanders.com
• gaiaonline.com
• wingsofsteam.net
• dracinabox.com
• madamemodiste.livejournal.com
• notacosplayer.wordpress.com
• livejournal.com/steamfashion
• katafalk.wordpress.com
• phoquess.livejournal.com
• cutoutandkeep.net
• books.google.com.au
• noblegarb.com
• livejournal.com/victoriansewing
• asiajam.com
• craftstew.com

I really love Yvaine’s gown from Stardust (yes, that is Claire Danes!) and plan to watch it again to pick up some ideas. Like I said, I am not planning a specific skirt, but brainstorming ideas.

Click on the thumbnails for larger images:

This blog is to be dedicated to some of my sewing, craft and other creative projects, as well as compiling fashion related items I come across on the web or in stores. I am moving out with friends at the end of the year, and as well are all crafty people we agreed that we can get a 5 bedroom place instead of a 4 bedroom house. That fifth bedroom will be our dedicated art/craft/sewing room (how would you describe it?) as well as a spare room (I don’t know if we will have a blow up mattress or a futon yet). I am really excited about this, as whenever I want to use my sewing machine I need to pack away my computer (with it’s massive monitor), and whenever I want to make art or craft I have to sit cross-legged on my bed. My current housemate has his name on our lease and we aren’t really allowed to use the other rooms – he gets very territorial. The thought of me using the dining room for sewing or painting would have him huffing and puffing, and we don’t have a veranda or anything for me to take over for a few hours. Basically I am limited in my creative space and I fucking hate it! So here I am clearing the air. The Lady Lair will have a dedicated room, and I decided I will have a dedicated blog! Hurrah!

So I decided to make yet another new blog for all my crafty –type posts. Currently they are going up all over the internet, as I don’t have one main blog or a specialised blog where they belong. I have a blogging addiction, and I had planned to just have the two blogs (books and music) but limiting myself has just meant that I have more specialised blogs occurring. I had another called Rage Against The Sewing Machine that I was fiddling with, but there weren’t many posts, and it was very disorganised and just sewing related. So I have deleted all the posts from it, and will delete it completely when I have imported some of the settings. I will bring across some of my newer posts because they are relevant to what I am planning to post about this week, but the rest can disappear into the ether. I want a new start all round!

My tastes tend to lean towards subcultures. Mostly goth, steampunk, psychobilly, rockabilly and vintage.

I am planning to eventually start a market stall with little sewn items (bags and purses etc), greeting cards and other crafty items. I may even take up making friendship bands again! If I can remember all the designs I used to make! LOL The only one I remember off the top of my head is the Mermaids Tail. It was a knot-work bracelet, and it used to do really well when I was selling them. Anyway, all the proceeds will end up going to my trip to Mexico. I don’t think I will make a lot of money, just a few dollars LOL The money isn’t the important thing. I have already promised some shoulder bags for my friends. I have an obsession with Spotlight and Lincraft. I love haberdashery stores, so I tend to stockpile fabric. Hopefully this will help me use some of it LOL