Getting Ready for San Diego Comic-Con with a Guest Post by Katherine Gleason, author of Anatomy of Steampunk

Today, I have a special treat. Katherine Gleason author of Anatomy of Steampunk: The Fashion of Victorian Futurism has written a guest post for Craftside! It is a fun look into her kitty-filled world and her experience making the sleeve garters tutorial from her book.

Thank you, Katherine for sharing the fun you had making on the sleeve garters and your trips through New York City shops (I miss them!)

If you too want to make the sleeve garters you canDownloadthe tutorial from the book Anatomy of Steampunk.

---------

Everyone is getting psyched for Comic-Con in San Diego. Unfortunately I won’t be there, but my book Anatomy of Steampunk will be. Plus, I’m sending two pairs of handmade sleeve garters, made per the directions in the book, to the convention.

You could win a pair of said sleeve garters. Stop by Walter Foster Publishing (booth #1320), enter the drawing, which will be held Saturday afternoon, and you may walk away with some new arm wear! Check it out, and let me know what you think!

I’ll confess that after all the crafting projects I’ve completed, I still have a little sewing anxiety. I worry that I will botch things up, prick my fingers, and sew my crafty item-in-progress to my skirt. (I have done that before!) Also my thread tends to tangle, which I think is because I bought the really cheap stuff. Sigh.

So, I procrastinated a bit on starting this sleeve-garter project. When I finally got myself out the door in search of supplies, though, I got wicked inspired. I had already scored some black and white checked ribbon at a small shop in my neighborhood, when I set off for Pacific Trimming in New York’s Garment District. There, I bought the requisite brass-toned metal slides. I also spent a bit of time looking at the store’s other offerings. So many different kinds of fastener, buttons, zippers, elastic, mysterious notions, and more! I started getting all kinds of new ideas.

After Pacific Trimming, I visited Daytona Trimmings Company where I found the striped ribbon that I used for one set of garters. (I bought three yards—one yard for my Comic Con garters, one for a set that I made for a steampunk event hosted by the fabulous party mavens Gemini & Scorpio, and I have a yard left over.)

Then, I swung by M & J Trimming and was blown away by the huge selection of ribbon. So many colors, patterns, and materials! I felt happy with the striped ribbon I’d picked up at Daytona, but I couldn’t walk out of M & J empty handed! I bought a yard of French grosgrain in a blue and gray stripe. I may need to make myself another pair of sleeve garters! The pair I made for myself back in the fall are a bright blue, and I’m thinking the blue stripes could be good for a more sober mood.

So, I guess the moral of this part of the story is: if you’re feeling stuck or need inspiration, go look at some materials. They’re sure to get your imagination going again.

Once I was back home, I pretty much followed the directions that Noam Berg, the fabulous steampunk, musician, and man about town, wrote for Anatomy of Steampunk. 

The second time I wove the ribbon through the second slide, though, instead of just pulling the ribbon under the top bar of the slide, I passed the ribbon over the top bar, looped the ribbon back, and tucked it through the slide. This way the folded edge of the ribbon comes out inside the garter. While I was working, Luca kitty had to get in on the act. 

With a project involving ribbon, of course he did! There’s nothing like a little feline assistance!

Success!

More about the Race Point book:

Anatomy of Steampunk: The Fashion of Victorian Futurism

by Katherine Gleason, Forward by K W Jeter, Introduction by Diana M. Pho

From formal outfits to costumes crafted for the stage, from ensembles suited to adventure to casual street styles, steampunk fashion has come to encompass quite a few different looks. But what exactly is steampunk? Originally conceived as a literary genre, the term “steampunk” described stories set in a steam-powered, science fiction-infused, Victorian London. Today steampunk has grown to become an aesthetic that fuels many varied art forms. Steampunk has also widened its cultural scope. Many steampunk practitioners, rather than confining their vision to one European city, imagine steam-driven societies all over the world.

     

Today the vibrance of steampunk inspires a wide range of individuals, including designers of high fashion, home sewers, crafters, and ordinary folks who just want to have fun. Steampunk fashion is not only entertaining, dynamic, and irreverent; it can also be colorful, sexy, and provocative. Most of all, steampunk fashion is accessible to everyone.

    

Illustrated throughout with color photographs of the dazzling creations of numerous steampunk fashion designers, Anatomy of Steampunk is an inspirational sourcebook. In addition to presenting the looks and stories of these creative fashion artists, the book also details ten steampunk projects for the reader to try at home. Allow steam to power your imagination!