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.