Steampunk Mad Hatter - overskirt

Day 5 - the last day of Steampunk Mad Hatter week and the breakdown of the overskirt.

Actually, it was quite easy.  I had a simple white, A-line skirt I'd made five or six years ago.  There is little to it so it was perfect for the repurpose!

Essentially, all I did was bunch it and gather it and stitch some buttons on it to give it the right appearance.  I wanted it to sit on my hips and I needed to make some minor alterations so I cut a bit out of the middle of the back and used strips of suede to make it fit just right.  There are A LOT of buttons on this and most of them are vintage - from my great-grandmother's button collection and some from my mother's collection.

Steampunk Mad Hatter - corset

Day 4 means the corset.  I have done corsets before so I already had the pattern but there are several options out there.  I personally used Simplicity 2966.

Along with the notions listed on the pattern, I used the same suede used for the belt for the inside and the iridescent taffeta-type fabric from the hat for the outside.  I followed the pattern with no real deviation.  Make sure that you have good interfacing to line both fabrics.

I dolled it up with some embellishments and voila!

Steampunk Mad Hatter - shrug & pants

Day 3 of my Steampunk Mad Hatter outfit means the two things I didn't do too much to.

Shrug:

I purchased this white shrug a few years back and it was in my trash/scrap pile because of the discoloration and holes along the edging.  BUT, it was perfect for a makeover since it was generally in good shape.  I picked up the brown trim - about three yards worth - and stitched all the way around.  Then I added more embellishments and was done!

Pants:

Easiest part of the entire outfit!  These pants are just wide-leg, dark brown cords that I bought a while back and are now a bit too loose.  I cut the bulky flaps off the back pockets and tacked the waist a bit but otherwise they were untouched. So, I am not including a picture of them.

Steampunk Mad Hatter - Necklace & Belt

Day 2 of Steampunk Mad Hatter week brings us to the necklace and the belt.  

Necklace:

Simple chain & pendant - extremely easy to put together with a few jewelry making tools.  The chain was preset with a closure so all I had to do was select the correct length and insert my pendant (I chose a leather circle with golden hands).  Easy peasy and done in five minutes.

Belt:

I used scraps of suede left over from curtains I made a while back.  I folded the 6" wide strip in half, right sides together, and stitched it closed along the long side leaving both ends open.  I pulled it through the open ends and after tucking the ends in, I stitched all the way around the outside to give it a more finished look.  Then, I went to decorating!

Here it is in segments: 

I attached this awesomely huge button to one end and then started decorating.  The chain needed a little something so I added the mini keys and the cute little potion bottle that is filled with embossing powder.

The cute little MY BUTTERFLY book is actually Wee Book Bling by the fabulously talented SJ Byrne (who is also the author of MY BUTTERFLY).  You can purchase customized pieces HERE.  I also wore two other pieces like this on the belt during the Author Fair.  The satin strip held my large potion bottles via a long piece of cord.  

 The first small pouch is just a strip folded into thirds (the flap folded into a point).

The second, larger pouch was a wider strip folded in half and then a flap added over the top of it.  This was convenient and held my necessities ;)  Yes, that is a mini PRIDE AND PREJUDICE book.

 This part is the back so not quite as decorative but I intend to embellish it further in the future.

And this is the other end.  Easy, peasy.

STEAMPUNK MAD HATTER WEEK!

I am devoting this week to breaking down my outfit for That Book Place's Author Fair - the reason I have been lax in my Kharmic Chaos blogging.  It took a great deal of time to put this together but I am proud of the outcome and look forward to continuing to add to it.

This is my personal version of a Steampunk Mad Hatter:

I've given the break down of my potion bottles before, and as you can see they really added to the outfit.  So here is the breakdown of what I made/repurposed from head to toe and when each will be spotlighted this week.

Hat - I am doing this first as it was the most challenging, time consuming, and rewarding.  I will be selling versions of this hat at future appearances.

Necklace & Belt - Tuesday

Shrug & Pants - Wednesday

Corset - Thursday

Overskirt - Friday

The Hat.  Perhaps the most important part of the entire ensemble and I knew I had to get it right.  I've researched how others have made these types of hats and I ended up doing a hybrid of some of the suggestions - essentially, I did it my way.

Supplies

Posterboard

Fabric (I used an iridescent taffeta-type material)

Glue Gun & Glue Sticks

Embellishments of your choosing

Hair Clips

First I cut the posterboard in the the sizes and shapesr I wanted.  I experimented for a bit before I got the right design for this style.  Since I wanted the top to be comically large in comparison to the brim I made the brim a solid oval shape.  My pieces were somewhat like this:

I covered the two ovals and the circle with fabric using the glue gun.  The rectangle required some work including a bit of trimming but I eventually got the shape I wanted and taped it closed before covering it with fabric as well.  

Then came the construction part.  Wrong sides together, I attached the two large ovals to make the brim. Next came the tube, centered on the largest oval and finally, I attached the smallest oval to the top to finish it off and then the fun began!

What I used to embellish: Buttons, jewelry chains, knitting scraps, charms, and ribbon.  Lastly, I attached hair clips to the bottom to secure it to my hair.  Here is the finished product:

This was so much fun!  I intend to make several more variations!