American Duchess

American Duchess: A Penny Dreadful Review

            I do love sharing blogs. I’ve found another one that is quite lovely. This one is called American Duchess. You can find it at americanduchess.blogspot.com.

            It has resources for those with sewing skills and resources for those with the means to purchase what they cannot make. If you wonder where to find those bits and bobs of historical detail, look no further. The American Duchess will know where to find what you need.

Here also is a resource for those of you (like me) quite interested in Clockpunk. “Clock what?” you ask. Clockpunk is Steampunk set before steam had quite taken over the world. Think Jane Austen or the Scarlet Pimpernel with intricate clockwork automatons. Most of the American Duchess tutorials focus on ladies’ costume of the late 18^th century and early 19^th, something that is rather difficult to locate on the Aethernet. There are, of course, tutorials belonging to other periods of costume, including one on the making of a proper bustle, which even one as sewing-challenged as I could be tempted to try out (please do not laugh at my results).

Best of all, this blog links to a store full of historical shoes. The blogger, Lauren, an avid costumer, became frustrated at her inability to find historical shoes (as I imagine you might be frustrated right this moment). Unwilling to simply shake her fist at the unfairness of it all, she decided to manufacture historical footwear and is doing quite well for herself.

            I give this blog five gears out of five. It is a quite comprehensive resource, and I believe it is one of a kind! Do investigate. And, should you require shoes, I cannot think of a more excellent place to find them.

Your Correspondent From The Aethernet,

Penny J. Merriweather

Steam Ingenious

Steam Ingenious: A Penny Dreadful Review

Many Steampunks seek out tutorials for the construction of various garments and items. I have located a blog which features many tutorials of a useful nature. The blog is entitled Steam Ingenious.
The writer is a talented female who enjoys bustle skirts on a budget. As a lady crafter, most of her tutorials cover the subject of female dress (though there are a couple of useful how-tos for gentlemen as well). Through plenty of pictures and step-by-step instructions, she explains how to recover a parasol/umbrella, how to create a bustle skirt from thrift store curtains, and how to repair a worn corset. Being sized a bit more realistically than many patterns allow for, she also has a helpful tutorial on how to upsize a pattern. For the especially adventurous, she also has written how-tos on building corsets from scratch. Each project she outlines is something she has done herself, so the reader benefits from her mistakes and learning experiences as she warns crafters about what can go… adventurously.
She also offers helpful tips about Steampunk fashion in general, with plenty of photos to illustrate her points. Recently, since she lives in a warm part of the northern hemisphere, she made a series of posts regarding summer Steampunk suggestions (such as cotton, pith helmets, and open-toed shoes).
I give Steam Ingenious five gears out of five. This is quite a useful blog, especially for folks who are able to sew without stabbing their fingers with every other stitch.


Your Correspondent From The Aethernet,
Penny J. Merriweather

Steam Wench's Salon

The Steam Wench’s Salon: A Penny Dreadful Review

Here is the blog of a Canadian Steampunk. She found herself running a Steampunk group in Vancouver, and has chronicled her adventures in crafting, costuming, and Steampunk on http://steamwenchsalon.blogspot.co.uk/.
Steam Wench has a fascinating collection of posts. She’s described everything from mudlarking to designing a brochure, from sewing projects to history. She has a clever, amusing tone with a sophisticated vocabulary. When she posts a how-to, it is clear and easy to follow, with plenty of pictures of both the work in progress and the finished product. I read her blog post about putting together a Steampunk tea cozy, and I thought I could have a go at it. Then I remembered that I sew like an inebriated simian with a missing thumb, so I wisely did not attempt it.
        If I had any skills in the sewing department, I might attempt the vendor’s apron that Steam Wench recently explained – it would be enormously useful. If any of my devoted readers feel like a bit of a sewing project and have sufficient scrap fabric lying around, I wear size medium.
I give this blog four gears out of five. Every post is brilliant, but there need to be more of them. Soldier on, Steam Wench! Good luck to you! I like the way you write, so you should write more!

Your Correspondent From The Aethernet,

Penny J. Merriweather

Steampunk Style Jewelry

Steampunk Style Jewelry: A Penny Dreadful Review

As I wandered through a bookstore, I paused to inspect the craft section on the off chance I might find something about the creation of Steampunk objects. Imagine my delight when I struck gold! I discovered a slim volume purporting to tutor me in the ways of creating Steampunk jewelry.
Steampunk Style Jewelry, by Jean Campbell, features a variety of pieces by a variety of designers interspersed with informative blurbs on the origins of Steampunk, goggles, the community, and other useful things for a Steampunk jeweler to know. The pieces explicated are a wide range of Steampunk flavours.  With this book, you can create adornments for all occasions, pieces that can take you from the ballroom to the boiler room. Perhaps the most valuable sections of this book are those in which Ms. Campbell suggests where one might find resources for things such as clock bits and copper wire.  She also describes handy techniques on how to distress or “age” materials in order to make them look antique or “time-traveled.”
I have a good theoretical grounding in jewelry-making now. I did not attempt the pieces demonstrated because I am an amazing klutz and could most likely get into a fatal situation with a pair of pliers and a pillow. I found that I would be able to, after a careful study, use the directions in this book to approximate the items in the photos. Safety tips are included to keep emergency room visits to a minimum. I do wish there were a few more “in progress” illustrations. Some projects feature several of these, but not all. Some do not have any.
I give Jean Campbell’s Steampunk Style Jewelry three and a half gears out of five.  The pictures are inspiring, the directions are mostly clear, and the blurbs on Steampunk are accurate and helpful. I would not recommend it for the absolute novice.  If you have sliced open your fingers whilst wrapping gifts, as I have, this book and the entirety of jewelry-making is not for you. If, however, you have played with wire and have not poked yourself in the eyeball with it, you would likely do well to get this book.  This is a perfect crafter’s introduction to the genre.

Your Correspondent From The Bookstore,
Penny J. Merriweather