Crafty Threads

Crafty Threads

Crafty Threads

How to fill out a thread lifeboat. butterfly sewing machine - Organising my stash – Part II

Fabric stash and sewing supplies

My sewing stash requires a bit more organisation than the rest of my crafting and art supplies. For starters, I prefer to store my fabric behind glass or hard plastic so it is safe from damp, moths and kittens. I had about four 52L plastic storage tubs, which, as you can imagine, took up quite a bit of space! I am now folding them using a quilting ruler, so all the cotton and cotton blends are now folded to the same width and fit in less space.

I found this on Facebook and it is very apt of my own fabric stash.

I still need to find a sensible way of storing my tulle and heavier garment fabrics (velvet, taffeta, etc.). For now I am leaving them in their storage tubs and have placed them above my wardrobe. I usually use those for cosplay outfits, so they do not need to be as accessible.

I plan to buy the Lillången cabinet for my fabric and sewing supplies. It has glass doors with deep shelves where I plan to store my fabric, and two inset shelves where I can store my sewing supplies. It is a bit expensive so I will be buying it later this year.

Lillången from IkeaLillången from Ikea

I have all my supplies in mason jars as I my Mum was throwing out hers. I got 3 crates of them for free! Yeay for free things! They are great for segmenting all my supplies and has already saved me from the endless search for sewing shears or measuring tapes! Every one is labelled using chalkboard stickers so I can easily know where everything goes. These are currently on my Billy shelves and books are currently double stacked to make room for them. Eventually they will be going in the Lillången shelves.

I have bought some shelf brackets to erect and threadle with metal skewers – those will be to store all my washi tapes (I have a bit of an obsession!). I’ll be hanging these off the side the Billy book case closest to my desk. It also has two Variera bag dispensers (also from Ikea) attached to the side to store my wrapping paper rolls and rulers. Those cost $2 and prove that all the time I spend on Pinterest and craft blogs are worth my time! Such a great idea!

At the beginning of last year I bought a fantastically large desk from Officeworks, and it doubles as a sewing, craft and study space. No more commandeering the kitchen table for cutting out patterns!

I am well on the way to having a functional space. It makes me happy! Although….
 

Organising my stash

I am in the process of organising my room. As a hoarder, it has been really difficult to thin down my hoard, but I have gotten to the point that I nearly have the storage space to organise things how I want them. Nearly. I just need 2 or 3 more Billy bookshelves for this to be complete. In the mean time I am researching possible storage solutions that will work for me. Which basically means I am haunting the internet. I have so many bookmarks saved! I have a limited budget so I guess I will be making do with mason jars (I have billions Mum gave me because she wasn’t using them), shoe boxes (I need donations from more of my friends) and magazine boxes for the time being. If I had any power tools I would just make everything myself. I guess that will be next on my list of things to buy after the bookshelves. I get so frustrated that I can’t just make things myself.

Rather than the all black furniture I wanted, I ended up with white furniture (sales are my friend), and aside from my black iron and glass desk and my black iron bed frame the only non-white furniture I own an antique bureau I don’t want to paint. The rest of the furniture in my room is from Ikea because it fits my current budget. So as my furniture is black and white, I am planning on splashes of colour in my shelves. My bedspreads are all leopard print (yes, all of them!!!) and I have purple curtains. I can’t wait to see it all complete! I have bought some interesting wrapping paper to cover the few shoe boxes I have managed to scrounge, and have ordered some interesting labels from eBay so I can find things easily. I can’t wait for them to arrive so I can start the next step! This weekend I plan to move the long low shelf out into the kitchen for our cook books, music and booze collection, which means I  can get at the plastic storage crates where I have my sewing and craft hoards stored.

In the next month or so I have the delightful task of trying to organise a massive book collection, fabric collection and craft supplies in three Billy bookshelves. Luckily half my books are in the hallway, but even with half my books in my room they are double stacked! I do think I have a teensy weensy problem when it comes to books. So… I plan to buy another two Billy book shelves from Ikea. Possibly three, as I think I can fit in one of the slimmer ones as well. We will see.
Here is a quick snap of the first phase of my room overhaul. Everything has just been thrown where ever it fits until I have more shelving. Note the double rows of books – still!

Anyway, I am still researching DIY storage solutions, but at the moment, this is how I am proposing to organise things on my Billy shelves.

Mason Jars
– different types of pens & pencils
– scissors, craft knives & rulers
– craft supplies
– tools
– buttons

Boxes
– material (organised via type & pattern/colour)
– props & costumes (organised by subculture)
– paints
– fixatives & glues
– threads, bobbins & ribbons

Magazine boxes
– art journals
– sewing patterns and sewing machine manuals
– academic journals (hey, don’t forget I am an archaeologist & grad student)
– assorted magazines I am keeping for various reasons

Spice racks
– nail polish

Loose
– sewing machines
– books
– frames & artwork

Oh, one of the exciting things? My new desk is massive and will be perfect not just to study at, but for sewing! Yeay!!!

Costume: Lando Calrissian (Part III)

I’ve been working my butt off. It is 3am, but it is all starting to come together. I really want to go to bed, but I am on a roll and I am worried if I do that it will mean I will be late tomorrow.

Done:

    Blaster (thanks to Simon!)
    Hair – dyed dark red. I couldn’t find a wig shop in time, and it took so long for the black to go last time I dyed it black. Dark red will have to do!
    Cuffs on the shirt
    Collar of the cape
    Bottom hem of both the blue drill and the gold paisley fabric (such a pretty stitch!)
    Pinned the side seams ready to sew

Still to go:

    Sew side seams, joining the outer cape and lining
    Decide how to dart the back of the cape (so many options!)
    Sew the neckline
    Attach the cape and the collar to the neckline
    Figure out how the hell the cape will stay up!
    Figure out how to sew a black spandex collar on a blue blend v-neck.
    Drink more tea

My grandmother gave me her old Toyota Quiltmaster, and I swear it is the best sewing machine I have ever owned! I have a feeling I will be sewing a little bit more now because it is such a delight to use.

Cosutme: Lando Calrissian (Part II)

 

I wish I could be at home making my Lando costume. I am itching to get stuck into making my cape! I think I have a solution for his blaster too! I wandered into a discount book store which was having a sale (kids books were STILL $5! ) and found an electric toy gun. It looks really shoddy, and I can’t believe they wanted $8 for it (it makes sounds and is see through – ooh, spacey!). There is NO w…ay I would let a child play with it, but I think I can dismantle it, take out the shoddy electrics, put it back together and mount a scope on the top. I will probably paper mache over the whole thing though, because it needs extra bumps in the barrel.

Why am I at work when I could be creative? D: Being an adult really sucks sometimes! Of course, kids can’t spend more than $100 on items to make a costume LOL

Now all I need is to find a black wig to buy.

Costume: Lando Calrissian (Part I)

    



This year my friend and I are dressing up for Supanova. Supanova is a convention held around Australia at different times of the year. This year one of the guests is Carrie Fisher and I am a massive Star Wars fan. So Sarah is going as Han Solo and I am going as Lando Calrissian. I am not sticking to cannon. This will be a goth girl’s interpretation of Lando. And I am really excited to be planning my outfit. I left it late again this year, but hopefully it is possible. The only bit I am concerned about is making Lando’s blaster. I’ll probably paper mache something I guess.



On Sunday I went to Kmart to see if they had any blue shirts I could alter. I was in luck! I found one which was only $8 and the right colour. The only issue is it is a V neck, but I can work with that.


    Lando’s silk brocade cape lining – and yes, those are dragons!

Today I bought fabric my fabric for the Lando cape and I am now itching to get sewing! However I have since realized I should try the shirt I bought from Kmart on first, just in case it does not fit and I have to make one from scratch instead. They didn’t have any yellow/gold/amber brocade, so I had to buy a paisley cotton print instead. Expensive, but still very beautiful! It won’t be cannon, but I still want this cape to be as close as I can make it. You should see the wet look material I bought to bind the shirt cuffs and create a collar on the cape and skirt. It is so pretty!😀

I really can’t wait to see how it all comes together!

Facebook & Pinterest

Please be aware that I have not rebooted this blog as planned (yet!). I do, however, share pictures and links at the associated facebook page! Some are pictures of my outfits and makeup of the day, others are inspirational images and articles I have found online. All current updates are available at www.facebook.com/ZjasBlackThreads

I also spend a lot of time on pinterest. You can find me at http://pinterest.com/obsidiantears83

Lunarmorph, The Steampunk Symposium, and plans falling apart

 

Shit Hitting The Fan

So things didn’t quite go to plan. I set up my sewing machine to sew my skirt for the Steampunk Symposium and Lunarmorph. I spent an hour unpicking the skirt I wanted to restructure, and things were going great. I started sewing the waistband of the skirt and about half way through the bloody thing died. I was having issues with the bobbin previously, as well as the foot peddle getting stuck, but it was still working. However it started tracking thread, it started eating the thread, and it started cutting thread. Bloody thing😦 That is the 13th sewing machine I have killed!😦 I need to stop buying second hand machines!!! Well, this one was given to me because my Nan bought a Janome and needed a new home for her Brother, but you get the drift. I am sending it off to the pastures. It failed me when I really needed it. Dad can fiddle with it and get it working again. And then he can use it to sew horse blankets (the filly always looses her headpiece or rips her blanket on the barbed wire fences). I have to admit, I am a bit of an oddity. My mum can’t sew to save her life. She really can’t! Dad however… maybe because his mum was a seamstress… well he can sew. He used to help me sew my barbie clothes I designed as a kid. (My barbies had green or pink hair, and wore punk or vintage LOL) He used to thread the bobbin for me. He showed me how to use the different settings on my first sewing machine! I really do love my Dad! He also taught me to crochet. My Nan (his mum) tried to teach me, but she is left handed (I’m right handed), and then my other Nanna tried to teach me, but couldn’t. So Dad sat me down and taught me the stitches. He is also house broken. Mum can’t cook. She burns things, over boils them etc. She still cooks, but only because she has to. Dad is the one with the gift. He taught me how to make pancakes and lamingtons (he is a master at those!). And his pumpkin pie is to die for! Mum makes great chips LOL In reading all this, you would think that maybe my Dad is an inside dad. But he is always out working in the shed with the cars and motorbikes, or off fixing fences or working with the animals. He is just really talented at everything, aside from people LOL Mum hates that. That she has to make a lot of effort, and he just does things naturally. She hates that he is naturally artistic. And that I got that skill from Dad. But I got hers too. I can’t sew with patterns without screwing them up, and while I can have a real flair for cooking, sometimes I screw it up magnificently. All in all, I am a combination of both. I am “daddy’s little girl” but I am my mum’s daughter too. So I killed another sewing machine.

I need to start saving up to buy a brand new one. Sarah said I should get an industrial one and snickered. I just want one with instructions and a warranty so I can fix the basics (i.e. I have no idea what cut the thread on Saturday!) and get them to fix it if it is complicated!!! I’ve decided to visit my Nan and see if I can finish the skirt on her sewing machine. And I forgot she was a seamstress, so I may ask her for lessons.

Back to the Steampunk Symposium. I couldn’t make my skirt. The material was too heavy to hand sew. It was green and black velvet underskirt I had to make, and then the top part of it was the black wide skirt (lots of ruffles), and covered in lots of black rivets and eyelets. I could have hand sewn it, but it would have taken AGES! It was easier to go back to my wardrobe and find something else to wear. I ended up wearing my long black hippie skirt, and wearing my maroon skirt over the top and hoisted up under my breasts. It is lace, velvet and satin, and having it so high contrasted with the black material underneath. I wore my magenta/purple ¾ blouse – it has a wide scoop neckline. And over the top of that I wore my black brocade corset – it is an overbust “Femme Fatale” from Gallery Serpentine. I was going to make my own goggles (I made the frame at least) until I realised they wouldn’t work with the new colour scheme. Green and magenta? Nah-huh! I also had a bronze-brown purse I had bought which didn’t work, and the boots I had bought were dark brown. Luckily the boots were dark enough that they weren’t too obvious. And I took my every day bag – it is black hemp with big brass buckles and buttons, so it worked. I had my hair out and wavy (my curls backfired, but it was still wavy, just not as curly as I wanted), and my nails a long wicked maroon to match the skirt. I wore my silver hoops (vintage from the 70s – I stole those from mum when I was about 13 *giggles*) and my necklace from Diva’s that I bought for Sarah’s 30th. It is tiers of black beads, and sort of has a tribal/Victorian feel to it. I also wore my bronze fobwatch on a chain around my neck, dangling between my breasts. I wore rings, silver bracelets, and some purple beaded bracelets lent to me by Anna. I did my make up dramatic with lots of black and purple/maroon. In the end I looked kind of like a steampunk gothic gypsy, and was befriended by the gentry, that being Sarah and her beau.
The Night

The Steampunk Symposium was snazzy! I really loved everyone’s outfits! They were pretty amazing. I can’t believe the time some people must have put into creating their accessories! It made me decide that because I really love my steampunk persona, that I really must put some serious effort into outfitting her! I mean, my crystal ball is amazing, but she needs some bling, baby! There were some stalls, and while Sarah was interested in the jewellery, it was mostly too formal for me. I was drawn to the weapons stall of course. They had an elephant gun!! O_O It was bigger than I am! I want it so bad! But I want the pistols more! They were beauties! They also had some guns made out of lamp stands, and some sort of pump-action pack. Can you comment if you know the designer? I’ll update this when I find out. I am interested in finding out the pricing, because I would love a dainty little pistol to tuck down my corset LOL There was also a steampunk R2-D2! And steampunk dancing girls – it was kind of belly dancing, kind of not. I have no idea how to describe it LOL I think we missed out on other entertainment, but there was nothing to indicate what acts there were and when they started. We also turned up an hour late, so if there was anything before 5pm we missed it! The steampunk was so amazing though, that I was happy to just wander around and decide who to mug for their clothes. Sarah is a ninja and a master at knotwork, so she could contain them while I strip them of their booty. We went next door for a drink and to check out the people walking to the Symposium and then up the road to dinner at Kafenes Greek Restaurant – which was BRILLIANT! Try their Bouyourti – it is absolutely divine!

We went back down to the Enmore Theatre after dinner for the Lunarmorph Fashion Parade – Sarah’s friend saved us a spot in the line (he designs the men’s range for Gallery Serpentine apparently) and we sat with him and his friend. We were going to sit in the front side rows, but later decided to sit in the general audience. It was a good idea, because we wouldn’t have been able to see as much if we had have been at the model’s feet. I was really impressed with the show! Fancy Piece was the MC, and they were terrific! Music was provided by Studio Serpentine, with their vintage synths – it isn’t my usual type of music (I like it heavy!), but they launched into the Doctor Who theme song and I was sold! I was impressed that there were one or two “plus size” models on stage – I get so frustrated that people design for skinny people but most of the Goths I know are at least in the 12-18 size range! Real women need real clothes! It has been a week, so I can’t focus on the clothes with any real detail, but I was in lust with most of the ranges! The entertainment each line put into their segment was amazing! Circus performers, burlesque, pole dancing, and damn, but Matt Bylett’s was entertainment all in itself! I was reminded of Luis Royo for a lot of his designs, and I love Luis Royo so I was bound to like them! We didn’t go to the after party, I was broke so I decided to head home instead. It turns out one of the Clockwork Butterfly models lives in the same suburb as me, and we had a quick chat at the station. I am very jealous! Apparently she gets a custom outfit for modelling for Clockwork Butterfly at Lunarmorph! Lucky girl!

Anyway, we had a lot of fun at Lunarmorph this year, and I am really looking forward to the Under the Blue Moon Festival next month.


Zja Zja, The Steampunk Gypsy Of The Sky (planning phase)

I am at a bit of a loss. The Steampunk Symposium and Lunarmorph are on Saturday. I am busy tonight and tomorrow, which leaves only Friday night and Saturday morning to create my outfit. I spent the weekend foraging for outfit components – 7 hours of shopping at markets, op-shops and cheap stores on Saturday! *faints* and I was walking for most of that (we took a breather for 30 minutes at lunchtime). I went from Central, to Broadway, Broadway to Newtown, Newtown to Haymarket, Haymarket to Wynyard then back to Town Hall. I should have taken a bus from Haymarket to Wynyard, but no, I thought “it’s not that far” *facepalm*

Anyway, it was an adventure and a half! And while I had some small successes, I am still worried about my outfit.

My persona is Zja Zja, the (steampunk) gypsy of the sky. I tell fortunes, and I have a air-wagon tethered outside. I named it a zepvardo – a compound word for Zepplin Vardo (a gypsy wagon). I travel across the skies taking passengers, telling fortunes and having adventures. I do take long-term passengers if they can provide skills to help on the journey. My friend Ari and her baby Vin sometimes accompany me. He is a ragamuffin pickpocket, and Ari will cook any birds I run into (suffice to say I deliberately aim for flocks of geese!). She also sells her clothes when we land at markets and souks so I can tell fortunes and earn my living.

My envisioned costume was quite elaborate. I had wide skirts in marvellous colours, my black corset and a white peasant shirt. I was covered in gold jewellery (storage of wealth) including a belly dancing waist chain of coins. I had sturdy buckled boots and home-made goggles. I have a crystal ball, and a steampunk gun, made by my brother Matthias who is a metal smith and quasi inventor.

But I ran out of money.

So…

I bought:

    A  small crystal ball
    A wide skirt that is sizes too small for me – it is black with bronze rivets
    1.5 m of forest green velvet to make the skirt wider (vertical darts I am thinking?)
    Dark brown boots with buckles
    Yoghurt (to use the containers to make goggles)
    Cheap sunglasses (to make goggles)
    Buttons for a shirt
    Fabric glue for the goggles

To buy:

    I need to find a large man’s shirt to turn into a peasant top after a Threadbanger tute I found. However, I am broke, and can’t afford a trip to an op-shop. I think I will have to see what I can salvage from my wardrobe. Everything I own is black….
    Gold jewellery (I am broke, so I think I will have to go without *sob*)
    A belt (not happening *sigh*)

The plan:

    Modify the black rivet skirt with the green velvet. I may add some underskirts to make things interesting
    Make the goggles. That requires me to eat one more tub of yoghurt, figure out a frame, cut up the sunglasses, cut and glue green velvet and find my black velvet ribbon
    Find a shirt and alter it to make an off the shoulder floozy peasant shirt. Sew on the buttons. Maybe add some subtle lace(?)
    Find some socks or stockings long enough for my new boots. Or both! I don’t want blisters
    Find enough bling to make me look like a gypsy! The problem is I am broke, so I will have to go for the ragtag waif look… Luckily I still have silver hoop earrings. Not sure what I will do about necklaces/bangles and bells.
    Collect the mail! My folks sent down the steampunk gun my brother created for me. I hope it looks good!
    Find an old tea cup and glue in some tea leaves. I may make them look like a black dog LOL Find a way to attach it to my ensemble
    Make a velvet pouch for my crystal ball

I am freaking out. I don’t have time or money…. Wish me luck! I will need it! To confound the issue, my housemate has his fiancé visiting from the Philippines, and I am not sure if I can use the dining room to sew. There isn’t enough room in my bedroom!! I think I need to start tinkering with the goggles first.

Edit: God I love my mum! I called her having a breakdown about money, and she dumped $50 in my account when I told her not to. I could have lived on rice for a week… Now I can get a man’s shirt and a belt!😀 And food and my meds… LOL
Related Articles

    13 Coolest Steampunk Gadgets (uphaa.com)
    6 Amazing Steampunk Helmets (techeblog.com)

Accessories links & updates

I just wanted to share a link with you. One of my school friends is a designer, and has collected a number of resources on accessories. She has a few I am really interested in looking into, so I thought I would share them. You can find the article on Queen of the Trailer Park. I really recommend her blog for some awesome ideas and tutorials, I always find it an interesting read.

There is one using drink can tabs which I found particularly interesting. Whenever I drink a Red Bull I wonder what I can do with the tabs, because they have the tab cut out. It is an interesting design, and mostly I have used it as a stencil or for interesting photo lenses. Anyway, I think it would be interesting to make one of these with Red Bull tabs. Although I am not sure if it would sit as well. And I would probably use a thinner black elastic rather than the wider white elastic on the example she shared. I guess I could always punch a hole on either side of the bull? I don’t know. I will have to collect some and have a play to see what would work best:)

Here is the example she shared, and below that is a Red Bull tab.

I also found an entry about Broomstick Lace a few weeks ago that I want to follow up. You can find out more about it at twoandsix.

In lest than two weeks is Lunarmorph! It is a fashion show for dark alternate culture, and it part of the Under The Blue Moon festival. In the hours before Lunarmorph, UTBM is also hosting a Steampunk Symposium. I am getting very excited! I may have mentioned that I am obsessed with steampunk, but I haven’t had a chance to go to any events as yet. Mostly it is me mooning around about blogs online, or sharing things I stumble across at Dystopian Treasures. This time I am going! And my brother is making me a steampunk gun! I am so excited! I am going scrounging at the markets, op shops and in the dark alternate stores of Enmore and Newtown on Saturday with a friend, looking for accessories etc. And on Sunday a friend is dying my hair purple for me. I am really getting hyped!! I will share my finds as I make them:)

In other news, I started an etsy and twitter account – mostly to save the name “Black Threads” for later LOL I haven’t updated either yet, and won’t until I start selling. At the moment I am just creating accessories to sell. I talked to some of my crafty friends who are also interested in selling some things when I start my market stall:)

Reminiscing about Friendship Bracelets

    
bracelet brésilienImage via Wikipedia

I read this wonderful article about friendship bracelets, and as it is something I plan to start making again, I thought I would share with you. The article is called “Before there were silly bands…” and is well worth reading. At the end, the blogger asked a few questions, and I thought I would share my responses here.

# What is your experience with Friendship Bracelets?
I grew up with my mum wearing them. Then the friendship bracelet craze hit in the early nineties when I was about 9 or 10, and I started making them – first for my friends, and noticing the market, I made extra and started a cottage industry with my friend Tanara. It meant I actually had money for lollies after tennis practice (we were quite poor).

# Do you still remember a specific bracelet?
There was one I used to make called the Mermaid’s Tail. I made my mum one in a variety of blues.

# Seriously, why do we forget the meaning of the bracelets? The friendship behind them?
Not everyone does. When I am making carepacks for friends, I tend to include them.

# Is it wrong to place such value on a piece of string tied around your wrist? Should we use something else to “symbolize” friendships?
No. They are both pretty and meaningful.

# When was the last time you made a friendship bracelet? Received a friendship bracelet?
I made one for my mum’s last birthday. I haven’t received one since the nineties that was hand made.

# Am I in my own life boat, or do other people only know how to make one pattern? The three-colored one — you cross one color over the other two and pull…you keep going and it starts twisting that color and then you switch…Did that make sense?!
I know a number of different knots and braids to use. The more variety in colour, the better! I like making them in shades of one colour as well. I am planning on having a market stall and those will be part of my stock.


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