Dressmaking for Steampunk – by Wendy Jones

Hi all – just a brief introduction. My name is Wendy and I am a trendy, well-dressed lady in her late fifties. Having had a sheltered, isolated upbringing in the beautiful north-west part of Wales, I was brought up with two younger brothers on a farmstead. This led to a large part of my childhood being spent with my nain (grandmother), as my parents were so busy. She taught me many useful things and basic skills, one of which was sewing. Well that’s a start then!

I love to paint and cover many genres of art using oils, acrylics and watercolours. Since I’m always fiddling with sewing repairs on my wardrobe collection and my partner's socks (why are they always so holey ?), then why not make my own clothes, I thought. This in turn brought out more of my innate creative side – a side I so wished I'd have found sooner. What to create though?

Thanks to a good friend of mine, Ann, steampunk came up. Ann is superb at costume design and creation. She showed me some of her work. Wow! ...talk about blown away! The combination of Victorian-style clothing, melded with the mechanisation of the industrial revolution – what a mix! I was hooked. Who came up with this wonderful idea of mixing style with an era? Just superb.

Thanks to the internet, I started researching ideas via YouTube, Pinterest, social media groups and dedicated steampunk groups, which gave me a plethora of ideas and costume related matter to sift through. There are also lots of templates and pattern designs to view, some free and some for sale, as well as plenty of steampunk paraphernalia to purchase or view – ideal for adapting to the styles I prefer.

I gained so much inspiration from all these other wonderful people doing similar things, that it was really exhilarating – quite the buzz! One person in particular, Bianca Esposito, who has her own channel called The Closet Historian, has been so much help. Her wonderful videos go into great detail about the whole process of designing and creating a costume, albeit period pieces.

Right; the nitty gritty: materials. For me, buying a costume pre-made is out of the question due to expense, style and sizes. We all like to make something our own through style and individuality, and why not! Fortunately, there are so many charity shops about – what a resource – and many a bargain to be had. I have previously bought curtains, bedsheets for lining, blouses and various dresses outright, just for a specific material or a design that I like. Faux fur too – all have their uses.

eBay has been amazing for all the little nick-nacks such as cogs/gears, goggles, lace, linings, frills, ribbons, edging, feathers and many more things. Spoilt are we! Our local Tesco superstore was selling cheap felt hats last year, so I bought several for covering, reshaping and adding all the steampunk adornments that make them stand out – ideal for customising.

My best investment was a dressmaking mannequin, now full of pinholes, but its size is nice and close to my body shape. I bought a new sewing machine too, although there is rather a lot of hand sewing of very fiddly frills and delicate materials.

I will often have to unstitch a piece every now and then, especially a complicated bodice of many parts, just to get the right size. I also often get confused with the different sizing units between American, European and British patterns. And then there is metric and imperial – all very confusing when following patterns! Sometimes with careful measuring, a dress will still be too long, what with hems and then edging or frills. So out come the five-inch heels, but not particularly practical. So although I look at them longingly, I usually bite the bullet and reduce the dress length instead; sigh!

Another problem I've encountered has been the difficulty of using different materials – some will stretch and some unravel. Velvet is a nightmare, it moves even after you’ve pinned that sucker down! Mistakes are commonplace, but I visualise every piece I create and with patience, conversions and practise, it becomes a rewarding learning curve to an end-result that I can be proud of.

I have many projects on the go, and quite a few outfits finished, all in the space of two years. My first steampunk gathering was at Portmeirion, an Italian-style village in Penrhyndeudraeth, North Wales. It is a fantastic venue that was used for the TV series The Prisoner in the sixties. I also went to Llangollen last year for the town's Victorian get-together. Last Christmas, another venue: Beaumaris Victorian Fayre, where I won first prize for the design I wore. Wahoo! ...a great result, very uplifting and confidence boosting. I must be doing something right! I'm looking forward to this year's events with new designs, whether fancy dress, Victorian or especially, steampunk.

– Wendy Jones, Steampunk Aficionado – April 2024