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theladyrebeccaSteamcon was the weekend before last, and despite my work schedule, I was able to attend Friday and Saturday evening. Unfortunately, either all the panels took place Saturday morning or Sunday, or there just weren't any panels this year, because I wasn't able to attend any! I did, however, attend plenty of dancing, got a better understanding of how to play Whist, and danced some more.
On Friday, I went to the Welcome talk, then learned some Ballroom basics (which wound up being the exact same class I took last year), and bought a new felt hat blank. For dinner, I walked through the mall and the Disney store in costume (that always gets some fun looks), and after, went to a class on the cross-step waltz. That was nice, since that's one of the ones that has always thrown me off - for some reason, in the past, I've found it more difficult than normal waltzing. Most of the rest of the things going on that night involved loud and obnoxious music, so after waltzing, I settled down to a couple hours of Whist. I've only played once before, but now I really think I'm getting the hang of it. It's a fun game! For Friday, I wore my new Ravenclaw bustle - some pictures from the day are below, but I will have a proper write-up about it, with much better pictures.
I loved the dress, and didn't have too many train mishaps, even with the dancing classes. I'm glad I made the pleated tail easily removable, though - I took it off for dancing, and it made things much easier! The only real problem I had is that my bustle kept shifting around like crazy! I'm a bustle newbie, though - does anyone with more experience wearing them have any tips to prevent them from twisting?
Why yes, that is a wand in my hand, a time turner around my neck, and a prefect badge pinned to my bodice. ;)
On Saturday, I had to work till 5pm, so I missed most of the goings-on. Luckily, I got there in plenty of time for the most important thing to me - Ballroom Dancing! It was a ton of fun, the caller was quite good, and even though there weren't really any splendid gentlemen to dance with like last year, several of us single girls switched off, so there was never a lack for partners (and usually, girls are better dancers anyway). It was a mix of country dances like the Virgina Reel, several Quadrilles (my first time at Quadrilles, but I definitely enjoyed them!), and a couple waltzes. I would love to find a place around that does historical dancing like that. As far as I know, there's only English Country dance or plain waltz in Seattle. After the dancing, there again didn't seem like much but loud music going on, but I found a game room, and wound up in a nice game of Ticket to Ride. For Saturday, I turned my 1780s riding habit into a Steampunk get-up, and managed to only get some bad mirror pictures for you all:
I'm rather proud of the blouse. A couple days before the con, it was a lacy 80s Grandma-blouse I had found at a consignment store last spring. I added a few darts to make it fitted over my corset, hacked off and rehemmed to get it into a bodice point, added several hooks and eyes in between the buttons to help with the strain, and stuck a short piece of flat steel boning in the front fold by the hooks. Voila! Instant lacy Victorian bodice.
I made the hat the night before. I bought a vintage plain felt hat at the con on Friday for $15. When I got home that night, I added a wide velvet band, scrunched a little and tied into a bow. Then I took a feather spray and some fake flowers, and stitched them into the band. And then I stuck it on my head form, dampened the whole brim with steam, and pinned it with twill tape into the shape I wanted (the brim had been flat across before). I left it overnight, and it was perfect by morning. It even survived all the ballroom dancing!
I didn't wind up making too many other changes to the outfit. I added the tassels in the front, and took up a tiny pleat in the length of the fabric underneath the tassels, so that the front of the skirt wouldn't be longer than the back. I wore it over my ruffled bustle-era petticoat, but instead of wearing it with the actual bustle, I sewed my small bustle pad from last year's Monarch Butterfly Fancy Dress into the curve of my 1780s petal-shaped bum pad, and wore that instead. The only other thing I changed was to not button the jacket all the way, since it looked very odd - it's built to fit over my stays, not my Victorian corset! I accessorized with my vintage mink muff, a fan, my black lacy Victorian boots, and a small black velvet purse. I'm so glad I wore an outfit without a train - it would have gotten so damaged with all the dancing!
Overall, despite the dancing, it was definitely not worth the cost of the con. I think I just don't have enough interest in Steampunk (or enough time off on the weekend to spend at a con), so I probably wouldn't buy a weekend pass again. Then again, I vaguely remember saying that after last year, too...
On Friday, I went to the Welcome talk, then learned some Ballroom basics (which wound up being the exact same class I took last year), and bought a new felt hat blank. For dinner, I walked through the mall and the Disney store in costume (that always gets some fun looks), and after, went to a class on the cross-step waltz. That was nice, since that's one of the ones that has always thrown me off - for some reason, in the past, I've found it more difficult than normal waltzing. Most of the rest of the things going on that night involved loud and obnoxious music, so after waltzing, I settled down to a couple hours of Whist. I've only played once before, but now I really think I'm getting the hang of it. It's a fun game! For Friday, I wore my new Ravenclaw bustle - some pictures from the day are below, but I will have a proper write-up about it, with much better pictures.
I loved the dress, and didn't have too many train mishaps, even with the dancing classes. I'm glad I made the pleated tail easily removable, though - I took it off for dancing, and it made things much easier! The only real problem I had is that my bustle kept shifting around like crazy! I'm a bustle newbie, though - does anyone with more experience wearing them have any tips to prevent them from twisting?
Why yes, that is a wand in my hand, a time turner around my neck, and a prefect badge pinned to my bodice. ;)
On Saturday, I had to work till 5pm, so I missed most of the goings-on. Luckily, I got there in plenty of time for the most important thing to me - Ballroom Dancing! It was a ton of fun, the caller was quite good, and even though there weren't really any splendid gentlemen to dance with like last year, several of us single girls switched off, so there was never a lack for partners (and usually, girls are better dancers anyway). It was a mix of country dances like the Virgina Reel, several Quadrilles (my first time at Quadrilles, but I definitely enjoyed them!), and a couple waltzes. I would love to find a place around that does historical dancing like that. As far as I know, there's only English Country dance or plain waltz in Seattle. After the dancing, there again didn't seem like much but loud music going on, but I found a game room, and wound up in a nice game of Ticket to Ride. For Saturday, I turned my 1780s riding habit into a Steampunk get-up, and managed to only get some bad mirror pictures for you all:
I'm rather proud of the blouse. A couple days before the con, it was a lacy 80s Grandma-blouse I had found at a consignment store last spring. I added a few darts to make it fitted over my corset, hacked off and rehemmed to get it into a bodice point, added several hooks and eyes in between the buttons to help with the strain, and stuck a short piece of flat steel boning in the front fold by the hooks. Voila! Instant lacy Victorian bodice.
I made the hat the night before. I bought a vintage plain felt hat at the con on Friday for $15. When I got home that night, I added a wide velvet band, scrunched a little and tied into a bow. Then I took a feather spray and some fake flowers, and stitched them into the band. And then I stuck it on my head form, dampened the whole brim with steam, and pinned it with twill tape into the shape I wanted (the brim had been flat across before). I left it overnight, and it was perfect by morning. It even survived all the ballroom dancing!
I didn't wind up making too many other changes to the outfit. I added the tassels in the front, and took up a tiny pleat in the length of the fabric underneath the tassels, so that the front of the skirt wouldn't be longer than the back. I wore it over my ruffled bustle-era petticoat, but instead of wearing it with the actual bustle, I sewed my small bustle pad from last year's Monarch Butterfly Fancy Dress into the curve of my 1780s petal-shaped bum pad, and wore that instead. The only other thing I changed was to not button the jacket all the way, since it looked very odd - it's built to fit over my stays, not my Victorian corset! I accessorized with my vintage mink muff, a fan, my black lacy Victorian boots, and a small black velvet purse. I'm so glad I wore an outfit without a train - it would have gotten so damaged with all the dancing!
Overall, despite the dancing, it was definitely not worth the cost of the con. I think I just don't have enough interest in Steampunk (or enough time off on the weekend to spend at a con), so I probably wouldn't buy a weekend pass again. Then again, I vaguely remember saying that after last year, too...