Wearables Sewing Project: Punk/Steampunk/Cyberpunk (Glamrock/Jrock/Visual Kei/New Romantics) [ Round 131 ]

Can't wait to see everyone's projects this round ! =)

 

My sewing table is not useable right now, but I am going to lurk and see what folks make this round as the outfits are always so cool.

 

I'll make an atempt at padding out the warderobe of one of my boys this round. For some reason, the girls always end up with warderobes many times the size of those belonging to the boys.

This is Benny. He is a Miracle Doll Vic on a Dollzone body and you may recognize him from previous rounds where I worked on a jester costume for him. This time I'll focus on his "real" clothes.

What he wears in the picture is very close to his entire warderobe.

So, this is the plan:
*Colourful tights to go under the jeans. Not only is it true to style, but it will hopefully also keep his knee joints from eating the threads of the distressed fabric.
*Basic socks.
*Some more shirt options. Preferably some that can be layered and combined in different ways.
*Accessories. He needs a classic dog collar, some bracelets and perhaps a key chain at the very least. Maybe a hip belt, if I can find a good belt buckle.
*Boots. I don't seriously think I'll get around to making them, but it would be good if I did. He has very narrow feet and finding anything that fits is hard. And they need to be right for a punk, even if there are a few Doc's style boots floating around out there, they always seem to have a zipper, wich I don't usually mind for doll shoes, but... well... zippers on your boots in some circles is a bit of a faux pas, suggesting that you don't have the dedication to put in the effort. There is a lot of coding in boots.

 

Oooh, I really want to join this round! Hopefully I can attempt some sewing this month! But if not, I'll be a-lurking

 

I'll be watching everyone's work with interest

Teddy

 

Really excited for this round, maybe I'll try and make something cool for one of my boys... I've been wanting to push myself to make more detailed stuff for the boys especially, maybe this will help! Time to dig around for inspiration...!

 

@PoeticSoul What a fun fabric! This is going to be awesome.

 

@Lillith Oh that mohawk is neat! But ah yeah I could see how the fella would need some more layers! Bit chilly these days for just a mesh top

@PoeticSoul More fun fabric! I'm digging the dots.

A while back I found a chunk of "cosplay leather" at the thrift store and brought it home for this sort of occasion. It's a four-way stretch material but seems to be nice enough; nicer than the last chunk of pleather I got, which was dead set on falling apart, at least. So I figured I ought to use it to make some leggings, starting with poor, pantsless Thalassus.

One simple pants sloper later, I cut out the leggings from the pleather and some leftover white tights from wigmaking. The pleather's black, after all, so I wanted to line it in case of staining. But sewing four layers of very stretchy material was, as they say, a time.

The seams are godawful, but finally, Thalassus appears to have functioning pants. And a sloper, too, so I can make more pants in the future.

 

Exactly.
And while I am sure he is the type who lets style go before comfort, there are limits.
I wish I could make him an apropriate jacket, but there is only realy one obvious way to go with that and I think that's a bit too complicated to fit into this round with everything else. I may consider making him a denim jacket, that may be an acceptable substitute to tide him over. After all, it took some of us years to manage to find a good leather jacket we could aford back in the day, so poeple made do with what they could find. A friend of mine wore a studded trench coat for years. We always teased him about it, but he made it work.

 

Trying to jump start my crafting stuff again, so I plan on using this lady since got a face up and a wig that fits her.



I've also got this set of extra arms I'm thinking about putting into the design, but it's not a super good fit so her neck needs cleaned after I take it off.

Spoiler

As for what I'm going for design wise, these are some patterns I have that I was thinking of altering to fit a sort of steampunk aesthetic, but going for the diy look that regular punk has? so far the overalls is most likely, but I have an ambitious idea for a regency styled punk look for her.

 

@Lillith - Benny's mohawk is epic! I can't wait to see what you do for him.

@PoeticSoul - I'm excited for you to make another suit! The New Romantics style is really fun to see.

@VentisetteStars - Steampunk with a DIY feel is going to be so cool. I look forward to seeing what you make!

I'll probably just lurk this round as well. I have a God-doll (he belongs to a family member) who needs clothes and is into the Punk style. I've got an outfit planned for him, but I probably won't be able to get to it while the round is going on. So, I'll enjoy watching everyone's projects!

 

I'm looking forward to seeing everybody's work! I think I'm gonna either sit out entirely or do something only loosely related to the theme this time around, lol. I await the strike of creative inspiration!

 

I'm joining this round with Ryoko, my Dream Valley Izzy. I'm planning to make her a Steampunk outfit with brown satin pants and a white or off white shirt. Here she is in a borrowed shirt and shorts she's claimed as her undies, since thy fit around her tail
.Ryoko Needs Clothes

 

So this is a lesson in remembering to not force yourself to do stuff, because I started a project with a scrap of a scrap from a few rounds ago that was large enough that I couldn't bear to not try to do something with it and I wasn't crazy about how any of it turned out and it's just sitting all blah pinned on the doll.

Round 131 project starts by Jules B, on Flickr
I had a decent scrap of material from the playclothes I made for round 128, and it reminded me of the trendy neutral sportswear and athletic/athleisure wear I I keep seeing advertisements for. So I thought I'd make Vivienne, who's got very prominent sculpting and always looks cold, a sports bra-style tank top with a twist, to fit the theme. I went for a post-apocalyptic punk sort of vibe, keeping the appearance of an obviously-recycled bit of fabric, I tried tying the shoulders together and thought it looked good like that, so I plan to sew the ties in place and have it snap closed in the back. I still can't find any of my snaps though, so I think that means I've got to admit defeat and go out and buy some I was feeling unenthused about this but it looked fine on her, I just wasn't feeling it (probably because I didn't feel like a project anyway, but kinda made myself, lol, go figure!).
Round 131 project starts by Jules B, on Flickr
Then with the largest remaining chunk of scrap, including the neckline of the original toddler shirt, I thought I'd experiment with different distressing techniques and try some decorative damaging on some sort of duster capelet, but I didn't like how that turned out honestly. I guess I could try playing around with it more in different ways, but for now both the top and the capelet are just sort of draped on her.

I took more time off and then I figured out something I actually did want to work on, so I've got different/other progress to report too, lol!

 

I really wasn't sure what I actually wanted to do, but then I found just the right man for the job - my first doll, Lasalle! I was changing his outfit to give him some TLC and I realized he's a layering fiend, it felt almost illegal to peel him out of the punk jacket I had him in. And so voila, an idea emerged! I'm gonna make him a long front punk vest with this plaid, and a fringed bandana if there's enough left over! So here's my actual victim, Viv's brother lol, with the fabric in question:
Round 131 project starts by Jules B, on Flickr

Spoiler: Pattern

Round 131 vest pattern! by Jules B, on Flickr

I tend to lose or forget instructions, so when I draft my own patterns if it's anything more than just matching up seams I like to write it out directly on the pattern itself. Save myself time and energy as well as hassle trying to recall what in the world it was I had in mind. Pencil is handy so I can tweak the written instructions if I realize I've made something unclear, as is the case for "cut 2 on fold, then separate" lmfao if I did this again I'd end up with 4 front pieces instead of just a single set

 

All part of the creative process...

Good plan - I've lost track at the number of times I've gone to reuse a pattern and then stared at the pieces wondering exactly how I adapted it last time.

Teddy

 

@Teddy oh man I feel you there, it's always baffling interpreting a mystery pattern you know you've used before!!

@PoeticSoul thank you!! I'm hoping to feel more motivation to work on it, maybe embellish it a little and play up the punk aspect!

 

I got my pattern traced, pieces cut, and pinned! I made some adjustments after seeing the fit, hopefully nothing too egregious reveals itself as I start sewing because I don't have enough material for a second try I did successfully end up with a good offcut to be a fun asymmetrical matching scarf! I've got some human scale sewing to do on a tight deadline for this Sunday, gotta look my best at the renaissance faire after all, so I'll probably be working more on this in the coming week.

Round 131 punk vest pinned by Jules B, on Flickr

 

And nicely pattern-matched up the front too.

Teddy

 

So much nice projects here ! =) I really love this monthly topic. ^^

Well, I wanted to sew for my dolls but... yes... bad health again is here. =_=' And these days it's COVID turn !
So I can only watch your projects and wait on the bench again. -_-'

 

@Moonycat31 take it easy, rest up and feel better! Don't push yourself, give your body time to fully heal. You can always think about future projects and decide on your plans!

 

Oh no! I hope it's as mild as possible and that you recover soon

Teddy

 

I'm jumping in last-minute with my Withdoll JWD Luna! I don't have much of a plan, I know I'll be making a shirt and a skirt, but I'll add details as I work on them. I'll be using RAD patterns that will need resizing, so I might end up only making mock-ups, but I still wanted to join. Here is my doll sulking in a pile of fabrics. The style I'm going for is steampunk, but, like, mostly brown with gears glued on it, Wish knock-off steampunk, I'm not very talented...



I'd like to make her some stockings, too, but I'll save that for another round. I'll be glad if she isn't bum-naked by the end of the month.

 

@neon_jellyfish I love the lace you chose!! She's gonna be ready to pilot a flying steam engine in no time

 

{GRIN!} Sounds like every sewing plan I ever make....

Very nice.

I just logged in to check the thread first thing while I have a first cuppa of the day, beofre heading downstairs to set up the livingroom for the Dolly Day I'm hosting today. Betweemn that and playing D&D tomorrow with the dolly folk who are staying over, I probably won't get much time to be online again utnil Monday. so I'll catch up on peoples' weekend sewing rogress then

Teddy

 

Sorry for being so quiet this month.

I have prepared som fabric and marked out a good number of t-shirts for Benny, most of wich I intend to do some painting and distessing on, once I've goten around to actually sew them... Uhm, I still hope to be able to do that before the end of the month, but there are other projects draining me, as ususal.

@neon_jellyfish Nothing wrong with a late start. I'm looking forward to see what you'll make!

@PoeticSoul Wonderfully fun as usual! I love how the combination of the light blue shirt with the vibrant colours of the vest works. They compliment each other without fighting for dominance.

 

@PoeticSoul Barrio is looking runway ready as usual - from the waist up at least, in this pic! I love how that vest really pops paired with that shirt!

 

Progress was slow this month ><) I picked a bad fabric for the base that made for some struggles. (luckily it was scraps from some old clothing, so I don't have a ton extra.) The straps were a total fail cause the material was too thick to inside, so I was debating chains or ribbon. Probably gunna call it here and shift this into next month's mori theme.

But I have the start of something which is a win for me since I haven't really sewn in a long while.

 

@PoeticSoul That looks great!
I hear you about the sewing struggles. Not for the faint of heart, for sure.
I mean, the entire BJD hobby is kind of hard core over all, if you think about it. Especcially if you are in to customization. Powertools, toxic chemicals, moving parts under high tension... People outside the hobby are often surprised to hear that there is such a thing as doll related injuries.

 

Progress at last!
I've finished a bunch of t-shirts and a pair of socks.

I didn't bother with finishing all the edges of the shirts, as some will be cut away. Next step is to dig out some fabric paints, some bleach, some sand paper and a sharp knife. T-shirt surgery!

 

@VentisetteStars I think it looks gorgeous and professional, how cool!!! I love the idea of using a chain as straps, it gives such a neat combination of textures pairing it with the fabrics!

@PoeticSoul his wardrobe is the envy of any New Romantic!!! I love how the shirt tie gives the neck area a lovely sort of symmetry with the ruffled sleeves under the jacket! I'd never have known by looking you had fabric shortage worries, it looks perfect to me!

@Lillith I'm also eager to see your work as a t-shirt surgeon, sign me up for med school with you to learn your wisdom and ways!

 

So, I did some stuff...


I made a crochet singlet, trying to mimic the look the the cheap cotton singlets people wear for warmth under their shirt. It is kind of the poor mans mesh top, you'd buy a white one and dye it into the colour you like. Best way to get a mesh top in fun colours, especcailly if you lived in a small town in the pre-internet era.
It's going to be good for layering. The shirt on the right is simply painted, shredded and given a coffee bath to make it look dicoloured.


Front shows the band name, back shows a song title. This band always told their fans "Don't buy the t-shirt; make your own" So I am taking them up on that.
Not sure about this one. It looks too new. I mean, it is new and all t-shirts are new at some point, but it stands out. I think this one will get a coffee bath as well.


On the left basic bleach pour. Not much to say about this one.
On the right sleeveless shirt with a line from a song lyric. I may cut the sleeves a bit shorter still, but over all I'm happy with it.

I still have one plain black shirt left. I intended to leave it, reasoning that a basic black t-shirt is a good thing to have in the warderobe, even for a guy like Benny, but it's having the same problem as the Asta-shirt, it looks too new, it doesn't fit in. So I am thinking of a way to make it look just a little bit washed out and worn, without taking it too far.

 

@PoeticSoul Thanks! I had fun with this.

 

@Lillith for your bleach pour, do you dilute it at all or just go for straight bleach? It looks so good!

 

Straight from the bottle.
When doing it full size, you'd typically just splash some on and let it do it's thing, but I wanted more control because of the scale so I used a drinking straw as a sort of a droppler. Then just waited until it looked about right (20min or so) and rinced it out in running water and finally washed it with some soap. Not sure if the last step does anything to the chemistry, but it's how I was told to do it back in the day and does eliminate the bleach smell so I reasoned that it can't do any harm.
Obviously; goggles, gloves and good ventilation is a good idea as well.

 

Well I fully procrastinated and didn't do much more work on this until today, lol, so I've got progress shots but only a mostly-finished garment to show for myself this round lol. I have the shoulder hems pinned, that's all that remains so hopefully I won't leave this sitting around for another few weeks!

With the sides sewn up and the upper back taken in nicely, to bring in the shoulders just a bit:

Spoiler: Progress pic

Round 131 vest progress! by Jules B, on Flickr

I then went all around the edges to turn them under, pin in sections, and sew&go until I had made a complete line of stitching all the way around!

Round 131 vest progress! by Jules B, on Flickr

I'm very pleased with how sharp I was able to get the edges! As usual this was all hand sewing, so working with smaller seams wasn't very difficult. This fabric frayed way less than I was afraid it would, I'm honestly a little impressed! I really don't know much about this fabric other than it was bought, presumably as a remnant, for a school project when my brother was in early elementary school and I nabbed the unused pieces hoping to do something doll-related with them. Which puts this sometime squarely in the 2006-2008 timeframe, and it sat here in this house in my old fabric bin for at least 15 years until I moved back in and unearthed it for this round.

Spoiler: Detail shot

Round 131 vest progress! by Jules B, on Flickr

The goal for this was to get Lasalle here something new and nice to wear for some Delfuary appreciation photos, but hey, at least I made him something It's never a bad time to appreciate your dolls, after all! I'll update soon with a finished report.

 

@Mamo Very nice and neat hems! Well done.

I made a few last minutes accessories for Benny. A spiked collar, a skull necklace and a key chain.


And here is a close up on the collar, because I am very proud of how it turned out. Unfortunately it doesn't photograph very well, at least not with me holding the camera, but oh welll.

 

In some ways, sure, but it's all a matter of perspective. If you'd ask him he probably sees himself as a fun loving pacifist who grabs his pleasures where he can find them and just wants people to mind their own busines and get along. I'm sure he makes bad decisions ocationally, but mostly out of boredom.

Thanks! I am very happy with how it all turned out. It was about time that this doll got some attention. Thank you for hosting these monthly Sewing Projects. It's a wonderful way to keep productivity up.

 

Not the best photo, but it's really hard to get this girl to stand. Here's Ryoko in her finished pants and shirt. I'm not a hundred percent happy with it, but it fits and looks pretty good. I may make a corset/over bodice to make it a little more steampunk in the future.
Ryoko's first outfit[

Now on to the next project!

 

I was able to finish up and I even took him out for a photoshoot! I'm really pleased with how they turned out, and that they did end up looking good with the outfit I put together for him! The shirt is from Dollmore (via DDE), the pants are actually 70cm size from Alice's but they fit well, and the boots I've had since like 2009 so it's really anyone's guess, lmfao.
Garden of giants by Jules B, on Flickr

 

@Lillith he looks superb and concert-ready with his accessories!! Incredible work, what a perfect set! The collar is my favorite but the chain just takes it to the next level, you kitted him out perfectly!

@Leo Pheonix I love the high standing ruffled collar! It really frees up the whole chest and torso area for whatever bodice you might want to go for, too! To me it looks like a major feat/accomplishment to tailor pants that look so perfectly made for her that also fit over those unique feet, they look fancy and comfy AND tailored at the same time!

 

Thanks @Mamo ! I happened to have a pattern for wide pants that fit her without any custom tailoring.