At the convention I attended on the weekend they held a ‘Masquerade’, which they treat more as a costume party and disco than a ball with people wearing masks. The theme this year was Scrapyard Cathedral – clothing made of trash but with a gothic touch.

When considering what we throw out a lot of, my first thought was all the postage materials. In particular, these bags:

They often turn up with just one small parcel in them. Usually a parcel that has split open. The fabric is made up of woven plastic strips. A bag is about the size of a person. It put me in mind of burlap sack dresses or garbage bag gowns. So I cut the base out of one and put it on the duct tape dress form. A bit of pinching and pinning later I had this:

I wanted the ‘maximum load’ writing to go around the waist, covered by a belt, but this meant that the front of the bag didn’t quite go high enough to meet at the top so initially folded it so I had an off-the-shoulder design. Yet I also liked the idea of creating ‘straps’ by tying the plastic loops at the top of the bag with string. Though I wasn’t exactly sure how the top would go, I had a basic shape. I bought some polyprop and made the lining:

It sort of ended up with this neckline, which was easier to keep in place:

When I attached the lining I discovered a mistake with the way I’d cut the armhole into the bag. I considered making it strapless, cut across the top of the bust. But I’m no fan of strapless dresses so I cut the top off another bag, split it in half and pinned the pieces to the form so that the plastic loops matched the ones on the back. This allowed me to fit the bust better, too.

When I tried it on I found it very loose and bottom heavy, so I took in the darts some more and added a fringe to the front:

And I made these postage-themed accessories. A bangle and choker out of packing tape and stamps, and a clutch out of a bubble wrap posting bag:

It’s not very gothic – more Scrapyard than Cathedral – but it was a fun costume to make and wear. And dance in – though being essentially a plastic dress it was rather hot. By the end of the night the side seam had come apart on the non-zipper side, but this was unlikely to be a more-than-once use dress.

A few weeks ago Paul took me into a shop on Swanston Street in Melbourne that I had no idea existed, and almost wish I didn’t: Retrostar Vintage. It’s huge, apparently ‘the largest vintage clothing store in Australia’.

I tried on a few things, including a velvet jacket since I’d seen on Pinterest that velvet was making a comeback and I’ve always liked a bit of velvety elegance. It was one of the fashions of the 90s I really loved. The jacket fit perfectly so I bought it:

I have to say, though. The 90s are ‘retro’. They’re not long enough ago to qualify as ‘vintage’. I’m not THAT old.

The jacket had one big down side: the lining was literally falling apart. I decided I’d have it re-lined. I chose a beautiful royal blue satin in my much-culled fabric stash.

After making the two costumes I felt a bit bolder in my sewing ambitions, so I decided to try lining it myself. I removed the old lining – which more a matter of cutting around the seams than unpicking as it had deteriorated so much it was practically evaporating before my eyes. I used it to make a pattern:

Then I noticed something a bit strange about the pockets:

One was a bit distorted, so I removed them both. After washing and brushing the coat, the old seam indentation lines on the jacket aren’t too obvious. They look like seam lines that are meant to be there. I’ve decided to leave the pockets off.

I cut out the new lining pieces:

Sewed them together:

Sewed the lining onto the jacked at the bottom and sides, then hand stitched the collar and wrists. The hand stitching was much easier done on the old dress form:

And got Paul to take the usual headless model shots:

New lining!

Between the tidy-up of the craft boxes and the bag sort and cull it was only natural to get inspired to make a bag. I can’t remember what this style of bag is called. They were all over the internet a year or two ago. I’m calling it the Fold-Over Clutch.

It’s a simple lined pouch that, well, folds over.

I added a loop and used an offcut of the fabric to make a handle. The fabric was a sample square, probably from a book of upholstery fabric, which I picked up at Reverse Art Truck, the lining was leftovers and the clasp and ring were from my collection of salvaged bits and bobs.

I have another piece of sample fabric, in a tan-grey colour.

I’m thinking of making an oversized frame purse with light blue lining.