Comments | steamfashion: Steampunk Lady's Apron

jadecat9 in steamfashion

Steampunk Lady's Apron

Jul 11, 2007 22:27

I made this based off something that I had seen on another post.

I finally managed to take some images of the Lady's Apron that I worked on just before WesterCon, and have finished the "last" touches last week.

This is one of those fun costumes you just have to continue "tweaking". It will be a while before I truly finish it.

( Photos Behind the Cut )

aprons

Comments 22

tattycat July 13 2007, 00:48:59 UTC

That is just splendid! I've been looking for an "everyday in my workshop" sort of steampunk ensemble, and you've definitely inspired me to think about aprons.

androidlusts July 13 2007, 00:51:12 UTC

This is awesome ! Did you draft the pattern yourself?

jadecat9 July 13 2007, 01:07:08 UTC

I was following

daft July 13 2007, 00:58:57 UTC

Hah! That is super awesome. I really hope labricoleuse gets a moment away from her hectic schedule to see this fabulous descendant :D
Lady Artisan Aprons are totally the new goggles!

jadecat9 July 13 2007, 01:02:33 UTC

This is my take on labricoleuse's beta pattern.

channonyarrow July 13 2007, 01:01:31 UTC

That is way cool.

chenderson July 13 2007, 01:03:26 UTC

When you say "antiqued", what's your process? I've always assumed that "antiquing" meant "artistic scuffing", but the cogs and clip still look quite shiny.

jadecat9 July 13 2007, 01:28:44 UTC

Well, the problem is that the resin didn't hold the gold pain very well. So, I had to seal the gold paint, but then the acrylic seal made it even SUPER SHINEY!

I took sandpaper to it to see about cutting down the shine, and then rubbed black paint all over it, wiping off bits. It's definitely less shiney, but it's not "matte" either.

The acrylic seal also reflects a lot. It's not as shiney as the photo makes it look; the flash is reflecting off the gold paint.

The clip itself is pretty matte since I didn't seal it. I took sandpaper to it, and bits of the black show through. Again, with the cogs, it's not as shiney as it looks in the photo due to the flash reflecting off the metallic paint.

dave_iii July 13 2007, 01:28:49 UTC

There's a level of crud that needs to work its way into the nooks and crannies of older items to make it look "real". Depending on the color of the material (like silverish, maybe) simple black paint can be washed over the thing and mostly removed. The rest of it can be as shiny as you like but there's parts that no buffer's cloth can reach, not without a strong cleaner, which would damage the piece in general. Take a modern piece of jewelry and compare it with a genuine antique, you'll see the difference.

Of course, even a buffer's cloth (heck, even a dusting cloth) will slowly work away the metal on real silver, brass, gold, etc., so by cleaning it you're actually reducing its value.

I know that sounds like I'm pulling that out of... the air, but it's true, honest.