This is a uniquely designed reversible steampunk vest, created for Nathaniel Johnstone. Â Â It is fully reversible. Â The brown side is cotton duck, and the reverse is peacock-colored dupioni silk. Â Two versions are pictured here. Â One is the prototype and the other is the final version. I drew the violin design freehand in chalk, and then
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Before Nova Albion I was working on a pair of tall, fitted leather gaiters for a local steampunk. When I presented them before the convention, they looked like: They are made from chocolate brown heavy bullhide leather, scythed and all seams rolled. The lining was lightweight canvas. The closure is riveted, offset speed laces. We
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The top kimono is made from silver satin upholstery fabric, cut and constructed like a traditional kimono except for the body being a single piece of material. The painting was done by hand with black jaquard paint, watered down and applied with a sumi brush. The painting was done entirely freehand, following a dark-to-light, asymmetrical
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This is a wa-loli creation I am calling a ya-ta. The top is based on a traditional kimono, but with the top of the sleeve left open instead of the armpit. Also, instead of leaving the back side of the sleeve open, I left the front side of the sleeve open. All fabric edges are
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The silver satin kimono is sewn, but I have not yet painted it. Â Attached are some concept paintings in sumi on rice paper, rough styling ideas for the painting. Â In addition to painting it, I am also planning to make two underlayer kimono, and I’m hoping (fingers crossed that I’ll have time) to make a
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I started work last evening on a silver satin kimono, one of the costumes for the Nova Albion convention in March. I chose this material for my first attempt because I have a whole roll of it, little use for it, and it is a wonderful weight and flow for a kimono. When finished, I
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Yesterday and today I made two new tulle crinolines, sewn into wide elastic waistbands for maximum comfort and versatility.  The fullness is determined by the number of tiers of gathered tulle. The lighter weight crinoline has two tiers of tulle and is unlined. The heavier crinoline has five tiers of tulle and is lined
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I posted this lovely link to my Facebook page while this site was still under construction, but I love it enough to share it again here. The LACMA (Los Angeles County Museum of Art) posted photos and patterns of four absolutely gorgeous men’s 18’th Century jackets which are in their collection.
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It appears the 500 errors have been fixed, so keep your fingers crossed and expect a lot of updates this week. First is a pair of spats I finished over the weekend and will be delivering this evening. They are made from red cotton canvas, and lined with off-white cotton canvas. The buttons are black
Read MoreThe theme of this year’s Nova Albion Convention in Santa Clara, CA is Wild, Wild East. The costumes I am planning to make for myself and my friends are based on Japanese-European Victorian fashions, and real fashions of the Meiji period. This inspirational piece is posted to the FIDM Museum Blog, which is well worth
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