A Steampunk Costume for Halloween – We Sew Together

As soon as Katie saw the pattern in the fabric store, she knew what she was going to be for Halloween: A Steampunk Lady. Unfortunately, the fabric store was out-of- stock of the pattern so we had to figure out something else. A few weeks later, I was in Joann's and spotted the Steampunk Costume pattern in a display — and it was 40% off to boot! I picked up the fabric, the pattern, and the interfacing and we started on this adventure in sewing.

 Katie has been wanting to learn to sew and I have almost forgotten how to sew. Years ago my grandmother taught me how to do everything from put in zippers to add darts to use a serger. This pattern was going to call upon all of that know-how and also rely on me to remember how grandma taught me to sew so I could teach Katie.

First. I had Katie cut out all of the pieces of the pattern and then identify which went with which part of the costume – there were two full costumes in the pack.

Next we sewed all night long. I mean all night! Really, why didn't I realize that this was a fully lined jacket? All of those skills from my grandma came in handy. Katie helped cut and pin and press the interfacing as needed and I did all of the sewing and serging.  We got some of the accessories from Amazon (click on the images to see more info)to help round out the look of the Steampunk Costume:

We took apart the goggles and spray painted them copper and then distressed them with various acrylic paint. I made a band for the top hat that matches the skirt and wrapped it with tulle, securing that in place with a stick pin. I added a Halloween themed ICE Resin bezel with Graphic 45 paper to the hat as well.

Katie loves her costume and it was nice and warm on a chilly October Halloween! She accessorized with a pocket watch, pearls, and some shoes I embellished with the Crystyler by Norma Rapko:

And now she wants to learn how to sew even more. Yay! So stay tuned for more of our sewing adventures.

Do you ever make your costumes for Halloween? Or sew your own clothes? I would love to hear more – and please share  links in the comments if you do sew.

I hope you enjoyed today's post!

Author: Jennifer Priest

It started with jewelry, beading, sewing, home decor, painting, basket weaving, pottery, and cross-stitch. Marry that to an entrepreneurial spirit & at 9 years old a girl is selling her wares at craft fairs as far as her parents and grandparents would drive her. These days, Jennifer enjoys crafts of all genres from sewing to scrapbooking to jewelry with a little dabbling in the mixed media world. Her style is approachable and she wants everyone who sees her work to feel that they too can embrace creativity and make their home and life beautiful.