bustle

as geeks so often do, this year I am making the pilgrimage to Dragoncon! I've decided on a steampunk costume. Therefore, I needed a bustle! So, I found a handy-dandy tutorial over on threadbanger and got to work.


Here is my bustle in construction


A spool of electrical wire, florists wire, and some ribbon and i'm all set!

Then I made a ruched overskirt to lay over the bustle out of a size 2 prom dress I found at the thrift store


my favorite part is that the dress had a pocket, which is now right on top of my bustle. I can tuck fans, programs, mints, whatever I need, right on top of the bustle!

Upcycling

I come up with crazy projects. It's a thing that I do. My biggest ongoing project is the endless scarf. It has its own (rarely updated) blog. My newest plan is to go a year without buying any new clothes. By which I mean clothes for which I am the original owner. The exceptions are a) my bridesmaid's dress for 'Liss's wedding in December and b) my costumes for the movie we're making. Other than that I can get things used clothes off ebay or from the thrift store, and I can make my own.
My first project is repairing a skirt that I've had since high school. The elastic wore out and there are several rips. All I'm doing is sewing it on top of a black cotton skirt that also has some holes. I'm sewing it on about 4 inches below the waistband of the cotton skirt so that it hangs a little longer.