So I worked my way up to what must be THE most popular steampunk pattern. Nearly every event you go to, you will see someone wearing their variation on this, and that is one of the beauties about steampunk, everyone can do their take on something, it is down to their imagination and creativity. It certainly awoke some creativity in me!

I hadn’t known what fabric I was looking for particularly, but I do love purple, and when I saw a purple plaid (I have always called it tartan, but I don’t think officially it is!) in The Fent in Macclesfield (one of my favourite fabric shops, that I don’t get to often enough), I knew that was it 🙂

The skirt is pretty simple, but uses a massive 5.4m of fabric @ 150cm wide.(for a size 12). And has a LOT of pleating. I think everything else I had done up until now was ruffled, so pleating was a new experience. It probably took ages (but it’s a long time ago now!). I used, and still do, a cake fork for my pleating. I like the width of the pleats it gives. I position the pleat, steam iron, and then pin in place, at both ends if it is a long pleat. Then carefully pin in place at the bottom of the skirt and sew! I’m not a big one for basting.

The jacket has it’s fiddly bits! The front part tapers to a narrow point so you need to trim seams carefully and iron thoroughly. And the sleeve flange can be a bit ‘floppy’ and look a bit weird if not positioned correctly. I love the shape of it and the detail on the back.

I use the hooped underskirt from my wedding dress to give the skirt its shape. It doesn’t have a bustle, as it would be hidden by the jacket, and the shape of the jacket would be wrong for a bustle.

This had its first outing at the National Rail Museum in York. I also made a hat to match, and a muff!

Later on in this year there was a meet up at The Asylum (a big Steampunk event in Lincoln) for steampunks who had made this pattern to show off their version of it. This started a group now called the Steamstress Squadron, who make the most amazing outfits, and help each other out / provide advice and guidance to newer sewers.

This is another of the ‘popular’ steampunk patterns. I actually made ALL of this outfit. The skirt is really straightforward and even has an elasticated waist. However, it isn’t one of my favourites. I feel it lacks a certain amount of finish – the skirt and bustle edges are just overlocked, or even just finished with a zig zag stitch (per the instructions). I didn’t have an overlocker at this point, but was lucky enough to have a friend who did, who didn’t use it much, so borrowed that.

There is a lot of ruffling on the ‘bustle’ part of this, so to be able to overlock the edges and not hem them, saves an awful lot of time, and it looks surprisingly okay! But not my favourite!

I haven’t learnt to use a ruffling foot yet, so all of the ruffling is done by sewing 2 rows of long basting stitches and pulling… I still haven’t tried a ruffling foot, on either the normal machine or the overlocker (that I now have). I really should have a go at some point!

The jacket I recall being okay to make. If I were to do it now, I would make a lining for it, even though the pattern doesn’t.

The finished product:

The bolero is quite simple, having only 3 pattern pieces for this version (an extra one for the version with a collar made for my daughter – which was more complex to put together). The thing that was most difficult with this was hand sewing the trim on. I don’t have much patience when it comes to trimmings. When I see some of the fantastic creations some people make, the trimmings REALLY do set their items off, and I probably should try harder!

This was a quick hand-drafted bustle so I had something different to wear occasionally. I spent a while looking for ideas on the internet, and thought I didn’t really need a pattern. It really needed the lace trim to give it a bit more oomph. I could probably have done with making all the pieces a bit wider, and having more gathering. But it did the trick at the time!

I have seriously lost count of how many waistcoats I have made now. When I was looking through photos to start this blog I kept seeing them and saying ‘oooh I had forgotten that one!’ It was interesting that they made a waistcoat in the Great British Sewing Bee final this year. The construction was different to the 2 methods I have used, but didn’t have pockets, just FAKE welts (shock horror).

This was my first waistcoat, for my son, and I think I made it by drawing around a bought one we had. I googled how to do pockets, and found a tutorial that was really good. I can’t seem to find it now. This wasn’t the one, but looks quite good –
https://historicalsewing.com/sewing-single-welt-pockets

Construction of this waistcoat was, I think, to join back and fronts of outer fabric, and same for the lining, and then to sew the outer to the lining, excluding the sides. It is then possible to turn the right way out by pulling the fronts through the shoulders… Then sew the outer part of the sides together (right sides together), you then need to hand sew the linings together on the inside. I made my Dad a matching waistcoat for Christmas, this time based on view C of the Simplicity 4762 pattern. I have more recently done this, in the same fabric again, for my husband.

I sourced some hot air balloon fabric from Etsy to make waistcoats for husband and son for steampunk events. I also made a very basic bustle for my daughter out of the same fabric. These waistcoats are view B of the Simplicity pattern.

Confidence growing I bought a new pattern that I had seen other Steampunks wearing. I really liked the back of this, and that it looked good without keeping a jacket on (for in hot weather!). This is the Harlots & Angels pattern. They also had a fantastic tutorial on their website, which I can’t find now, it seems to just take me to their Etsy site. Believe me, the tutorial was MUCH needed when it came to the construction, and the final part sewing the armholes up! However, once this is mastered, it is a great pattern, and I have made many of them since! The first ones were in this lovely red brocade.

Many more made since 🙂 I like this pattern!