Steampunk Bloomer Pants DIY

 

I hate trends.  Normally, if anything is "popular" my gut reaction is to run the other way and not look back. However, once in a while something shows up that just fits a person.  With my love for antiques, metal music and science fiction, steampunk just fits.  This trend (Oh, how I really do dislike the word.  Maybe that's a personal issue...) has gracefully made it's way into home decor, movies and just about everything else, with most people not even really noticing.  In the fashion world, however, most steampunk is only found in the smallest touches, the most outrageously expensive merchants or in the world of conventions for video games, comic books or role players. I, frankly, would rather include the things that I like in normal, everyday life.  Here is an easy project for doing just that.

I've been looking at projects for turning slacks into bloomer style bottoms for a while now, and I'll give you some advice that a lot of people seem to ignore.  Go find some cheap, second hand slacks that you don't mind cutting up, but whatever you do, don't get something that starts off looking bad on you.  If they don't fit nicely before you alter them, they'll still look bad after.  Look for something that looks tailored to fit on top, and you'll be doing well.

After you've gotten your slacks home, you need to cut off the bottoms.  You'll want to try them on again and mark the spot.  Since you want to tie them below the knee, you'll give an inch or two extra for flexing the knee, 2 or 3 inches for the ruffle at the bottom, and another inch or so for turning the fabric under to hem.  This should mean that you cut off the pants at about mid calf. Just decide for yourself exactly what you want.  After you have cut one leg, just lay out the slacks and fold them lengthwise, lining up the waistband, and cut the other leg to match.
 
 I used two different kinds of lace trim for this project.  The smaller stuff, as you can see, is for adding to the hem, and the one with the ribbon running through the center is for tying the leg tighter below the knee. You don't want modern looking, wimpy lace for this project.  Try to find something on the coarse side.  I also recommend replacing any buttons with something to match.  Here I used some vintage shell buttons. 
 
Pin the top lace so that it is a couple of inches below the bottom of your knee.  You will need this room for the ruffled look and for your knee to bend.  Once you have pinned the lace where you want it, (make sure you give extra length in the ribbon for tying) fold the slacks to check that you have everything even and symmetrical.  You may use a sewing machine to sew everything in place, but for this project, I just sewed it all by hand while watching TV.  I didn't want my stitches showing and ruining the effect.  Finally, replace buttons, and add extra (I put one smaller button on the bottom of every belt loop), and maybe add some lace trim sticking up out of any pockets.

 Even with all the hand sewing, this project only takes an afternoon, and adds a fun steampunk flare to your wardrobe.  

Pairing your ruffled slacks with simple tailored tops will keep it mainstream enough to wear in "normal" society.  The key here is to match the style without going over the top.  The first time I wore these, I started off with a ruffled, and corset laced jacket over the tank and vest, and it looked like I was off to some kind of convention (Not really my thing).  Changing to a gracefully tailored sweater took it back to the real world.

Go make something fun today, and add a little artistic flare to the boring world around you.

I

Dreadlock Tube Hat with Corset Lacing

I went through my knitting this afternoon and came across my most popular hat.  I would say that it is my most requested pattern, but people don't ask me for the pattern.  They ask me where I bought it.  This was actually one of the first hats that I designed, and it was made right after I fell in love with steampunk.  Today I share it with you.


Honestly, I can't remember exactly what yarn I used (except that it was cheap stuff), but it's really pretty simple.  I recommend that you measure your head and knit a gauge swatch to see if it will fit you.  Adjust your needle size, or the number of repeats of the pattern, to get it right.  If this is hard to read or follow, please, please click on comments and let me know. (Just because it's all obvious to me, doesn't mean that it makes sense to someone not inside of my head.) 

Again, if you can't read this, yell at me. I apologize in advance for not getting off my butt and learning to chart more professionally.

Slightly Steampunk Lighting Project

We all have those times when stress amps up to the point that we need a distraction.  For me, this past month has been one of those weeks.  So, last week I needed something different to do.  As timing would have it, my sweet husband had just bought this chandelier, from an "antique" dealer, for our anniversary.  Someone had spray painted it flat white for a shabby chic look.  We wanted steampunk...   My de-stressing project was provided.

My youngest little creative and I started off by painting it metallic black (along with a vintage style globe stand to match).  The surfaces had been prepped with steel wool.  I had also done a small repair to the metal on the globe stand, and had pealed off much of the annoying band of astrology stuff from the metal strip surrounding the globe (In the end, this ripped texture added a corroded look to the the finished piece that I love).

We actually just used cheap craft paint for both pieces, so the whole project only cost about 5 bucks. The paint colors we used were as follows: Sequin Black, gun metal grey and sterling silver; all of them metallic.

After painstakingly getting the black into all of the nooks and crannies, we followed with a quick brushing of the metallic gunmetal grey.  We were carefully not careful with this step, so that the black would show through in the low spots.  As you can see, the globe stand took extra coats of paint.  Finally I added some silver to the high spots in strategic places, and used it for the candle stick tubes as well.  I'm thinking that eventually we'll cover the plastic tubes with old fashioned style pipes, painted to match. (much more steampunk).

After all of the painting was finished, I spent about 5 hours or so rewiring and cleaning every single crystal.  The old ones looked awful, so it was well worth the blisters.  One day, when we buy our long term home, we plan on putting this chandelier in our multimedia studio.  Until then, we grin whenever we look at our little piece of obnoxious elegance in our living room.

Stress always passes, and I believe that all things work together for my good, so I'm thankful that I have lovely things to focus my mind on when life threatens to derail my brain.

Go find something good to do! 

I Never Drink Kool-aid

I've shown these pictures to a few of you before, but never explained how dying with kool-aid works.  This blue yarn is something that I had spun myself with a mixture of sheep's wool, alpaca and angora.  After spinning my wool, I washed the natural oils out and dyed it with powdered drink mix. It is amazingly color fast and dyes a brilliant color. Here is what you can do:
Start with clean wool yarn or unspun fiber, and make sure that yarn is in a loose skein (not a ball, for obvious reasons, if you think about it). Place this in a large pot of room temperature water.  For most dye projects you need a non-reactive pot that you never use for food, but for this project that really isn't important.
Add your favorite color of drink mix (I think I used 2 packets of blue and 1 green.)
Cover, and bring this mixture to a boil. 

Do Not Pull Yarn Out To Check On It!  If you do, it will shrink before your eyes.  Turn off the heat and let it cool very slowly, leaving the lid on.  After this slow cooling period, all of the color that the fiber can hold will have left the water, and will now be in your yarn instead.  It's really kind of funny to open the lid to find the brightly colored yarn soaking in perfectly clear water.
That's it, dry and possibly wash your yarn as normal. This makes a great color fast, light fast dye... I've even tested it.

I love that my kids like to help card the wool.

Spinning is super relaxing.

My steampunk inspired vest as it blocks.