Update and Steampunk Vol. 1 by Tyson Vick

First of all, I know I've been neglecting this blog recently.  It's a combination of factors from the fact that I have a bunch of corset commissions and am busy with those to the launch of my new Jamberry Nails business.  Commissions are awesome but they mean that I have to devote my sewing time to those instead of coming up with tutorials or projects to share here.

I also realize I owe you guys posts about completing the Steampunk Darkwing Duck costume.  I've been putting those posts off mostly because I don't have decent photos of the costume yet.  My house and yard are both a wreck so I have no place to take photos here at the moment.  I'll try to get decent ones this weekend when I attend Apollocon. 

In the meantime, I was graciously allowed a look at the new photography book by Tyson Vick, Steampunk Vol. 1.  Mr. Vick has partnered with one of my favorite steampunk costumers, Alisa Kester of Dragonfly Designs for a series of steampunk shoots.   This Magcloud book features only the first of these photos, photos which have been featured in other publications, I believe.

The book is 24 pages of very lovely steampunk photography.  The costumes are very impressive and much more unique and original than you see in your average steampunk photo shoot.  At least those on the women are.  The male costumes are far less developed and elaborate.  Overall, this is a lovely photo book at a reasonable price.  But you don't really have to listen to me.  Check out these photos.





I'm looking forward to the further results of this collaboration, in the form of the Steampunk Guide to Hunting Monsters.

Portfolio: Costume

 (Left) Victorian 1880s bustle dress
(Right) Overbust brocade corset with matching Victorian skirt, bolero, and overskirt.


Bustle skirt, jacket, overbust corset.

(Left) Victorian Vest, shirt, cravat, Leather hat, military styled spats.

(Right) Steampunk vest with epaulettes, military sidecap, spats.

(Above) Peacock Mini top hat from scratch, for matching outfit.

(Left) Victorian women's Riding Hat

Steampunk Cleopatra costume, recreation and variation on an extant photograph, using Victorian patterns.  Corset, trained underskirt, pleated and bustled overskirt, accessories.

Edwardian ensemble: jacket, skirt and top hat, commission.

Portfolio: Corsets

In an effort to make examples of my work easier to find for prospective clients, I'm adding some portfolio pages to this blog.  Because I'd rather not try to make a second website.  :)

Please excuse all the amateur photography.  I am looking for photographers to collaborate with.

Victorian Pattern recreated to fit myself, with waist yoke, eyelets, and gear and clock hand embellishment.

Waist-training underbust with large hipspring






























Modest sweetheart overbust with extreme hipspring with lace overlay.

 Commission Old West Saloon style overbust.

(L) Closed front Star Wars comic underbust. (R)Gold and Brown Brocade underbust

Commission Floral Cotton underbust, pattern matched.

Friday Finds: Steampunk Nails and Makeup

So you have your steampunk outfit.  Maybe you know what you're doing with your hair (even if the answer is only "sticking it under a hat").  But what about makeup and nails?  Nothing pulls a look together like coordinating details.  I'll be the first to admit I'm not skilled at makeup.  But I'm loving my new Jamberry addiction because it means I can have amazing nails all the time.






I designed two custom steamy nail wrap styles which I am currently taking orders for.  They are $25/sheet (2-3 manicures and pedicures).  Email me or comment for details. Or join my Jamberry FB group.

I've seen several different nail styles using actual gears.  I always worry about them catching on things and falling off.  But they look neat. If you google "steampunk nails" mostly you will find a lot of nails with lots of metal glued on.   These are by nail artist Robin Moses, who has another steampunk style on the same page.

This tutorial by Jangsara is nice, although if you're going to glue on gears as part of your make-up, I'd go with smaller ones.

Then there is makeup done in the style of the band Steam Powered Giraffe.  It's always impressive.  Here's a post about what products to use, here's a video tutorial, and here's the source of the second pic.















I'm always hugely impressed when I see people with this style of makeup at events and know I could NEVER actually do it.  But maybe you can!

I can't find a source for this image other than Pinterest, so you'll have to just enjoy it.  I love the use of clock hands or at least the image of clock hands.

And yet another image that doesn't seem to exist outside of Pinterest.  I hate not happy proper sources.  But LOOKIT.

Tool Review: Crosslinks Grommet Press

Anyone who makes corsets is aware that adding the grommets can be one of the more time-consuming and annoying parts of the process.  I've wished for an easier and faster way to insert grommets for years, but I had not heard many good things about hand-grommet presses, and can't afford and don't have space for a kick-plate grommet machine.

But recently I decided I needed to try something, so I bought myself a grommet press from ebay.  I looked around at the options available.  Most presses you find on ebay are the same green press sold by many sellers.  I'd heard not great things about those, so I looked for some different option.

I found a different design of press being sold by the Ebay seller Crosslinks.  It looked more sturdy than the green presses, and I decided to give it a shot.  I order the set with three sizes of grommets and dies, plus a stand to catch loose pieces.  I thought having the base would make the press more stable without needing to mount it to a table.

Well the first thing I noticed when I received the press was that the base has WHEELS ON IT.  When stability is what you want, why would you put WHEELS on the base.  Though the press easily unbolts from the base, the wheels are fairly permanently attached to it, so it makes the base mostly pointless.

However the press itself was quite large and heavy duty seeming.  I wasn't making any corsets at the moment, though, so I couldn't test it out right away.  Finally, a couple of weeks ago I had a corset in need of grommets.  I wanted to use the grommets I had, since they were in coordinating colors.  I tried using the press with my existing grommets with horrible results.  They wouldn't go cleanly through the layers of fabric of the corset and they didn't finish cleanly, either.

The washers are bent and splitting, and there are splits in the post.  Not to mention the mess that is the third one.  This is after a huge struggle to make the holes myself, then insert the grommets.  I went through several grommets that were destroyed, and by the end of this process was sore and breathing hard.  Nothing about it was easier or less frustrating that setting them by hand.    So I tore these out and replaced them by hand.

I decided that, ok, I make pretty thick corsets.  I'll give the press another chance with a simpler task.  So I had some lacing panels to make for mock-ups.  I made them of two layers of imported coutil, so it's very strong fabric, but thin, and only two layers.  This is as thin as I will probably ever make a corset, so I'm giving the press the best chance.  And I used the grommets that came with it.

It was a disaster.  I couldn't get a single one to set.  It would only cut through one layer of fabric, leaving the second layer intact, and the grommet half secured.  The first one had the washer pop off immediately, the second one was only attached on one side.

Honestly, it is so bad I feel like I'm doing something horribly wrong.  I tried seeing if I was inserting the grommet upside down, but no.  I looked at the instructions that came with it and I had it right.  I checked to make sure I had the right size die...

I got it to work fairly well when I set a grommet into a single piece of quilting cotton.  But who grommets one thickness of cotton?

So this was a total failure and waste of money.  Now I have to figure out what to do with this thing. I can't return it, as I waited too long to properly test it.  So I can try to resell it to someone without telling them that it sucks?  Anyone want a grommet press?  Cheap?  Maybe you'll have more luck than me?

So I'm back to setting grommets by hand.  I've ordered a hole punch I can hit with a hammer instead of using a rotary hand punch, because that thing KILLS my hands.

Does anyone else have experience with any grommet presses they'd like to share?

Book Review: Baba Ali and the Clockwork Djinn

Baba Ali and the Clockwork Djinn: A Steampunk Faerie Tale by Danielle Ackley-McPhail and Day Al-Mohamed

As you may be able to tell from the title, this book is a steampunk retelling of the story of Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves. I'm not terribly familiar with the original, except for what I know by cultural osmosis. And I'm not overly thrilled by the idea of steampunk versions of familiar stories. However, this book proved that a steampunk retelling could be done VERY right indeed.

I think the main danger with any retelling of a well known story is that you want to avoid being predictable and telling a story in the same way with merely new window dressing. This book admirably succeeds in this regard. I was absolutely enthralled and had no idea what was going to happen from moment to moment, although I did spot various points of connection to the original tale.

The story follows Ali bin-Massoud who has traveled to London to study artificery under the famed Charles Babbage. When his father dies mysterious, Ali is summoned home and he receives some mysterious legacies from his father that many people seem willing to kill for. The story follows Ali on his journey home, his conflict with his greedy brother, and his discovery of their families' guardianship of the legendary Cave of Wonders. In this cave he befriends a Djinn and sets out to free her through his skill at artificery.

This book does a really fantastic job of blending a traditional tale but making it distinctly steampunk. Some of the wonders discovered in the cave are clockwork automatons much more complex than that being made by modern craftsmen. Clockwork elephants lead caravans across the desert and conceal the cave from discovery. Plus there is the magic of the Djinn, which is woven effortlessly in with the technology.

It's always a delight to read a steampunk novel that is set in a culture other than that of Victorian England and we need more stories that handle the blending of influences this well. I highly recommend it.