We’ve been really busy at Storied Threads lately, getting a bunch of new designs and new items ready for sale. I finally managed to have a brief photo shoot yesterday, and get pictures so I could share them all with you!
First, remember a few weeks ago, I had that bad night and got over it by having a totally creative night, working on a new design that had been in my head for a while? Well, here it is!

Steampunk Belt Pouch

Close-up of the new belt pouch
This is my new Steampunk Belt Pouch. (Which needs a MUCH better name for that, before I create the website page for it next week. Any ideas?) It’s a belt of cotton webbing which has half a dozen leather-and-d-ring straps at one end, and a simple buckle at the other. (This particular buckle is a vintage slide style buckle that I picked up at a flea market a while ago — I have three or four more of them to use, and then I’ll have to find something else.) The bag itself is a nice, wide shape that wraps along the hip, and attaches to those D-rings by means of a couple of large trigger clasps. The nifty thing here is that it means you can arrange it wherever and however you like along those d-rings, moving it more forward or backward, moving the ends farther apart or closer together. The bag itself is embroidered, and fastens by means of a couple of leather straps through paired d-rings at the bottom.

Clementine Skirt
Next up is the Clementine skirt. The Clementine is a sort of Steampunk version of my Pick-Up Skirt. (And is named in homage to the Clockwork Century books by Cherie Priest.) This is another design that has been in my head for a while, and I figured that as long as I was getting one steampunk idea out of my head, I might as well do the other as well. It has twice as much fabric as the regular pick-up, giving it an extra wide hemline. It has rings and claps embedded in the seams at four points, giving a great deal of variety to the way it can be worn. Here are two variations, picked up straight at the four points, and bustled around to the back. You can have so much fun with this, catching it up in different configurations, being neat or messy about it, depending on the character you are portraying.

Clementine, bustled around to the back

Clementine, picked up straight at the four points.
And now for something completely different! How about a little Middle Eastern / Bellydance inspired stuff?


I first made these Harem Pants to go with a dress-length jacket I picked up from Silver Thistle Frazzled Knot. I wanted something light and airy and comfortable, and (as so often happens) it wasn’t until I wanted them that I realized other people might like them, too! I knew I had to take pictures of them for the website at that point — and realized I had nothing appropriate to couple them with for the photo shoot. So, after making a couple of pairs of pants for stock one day, I started work on this jacket (henceforth to be known as the Jasmine Jacket). My husband came up to the studio when it was about half finished, and when I told him what I was working on, he looked dubious.
“Just to play devil’s advocate,” he said, “shouldn’t you be focusing on building stock and finishing commissions right now?”
“Trust me,” I replied.
I finished the jacket the next day while he was out, and when he got home, I tried it on for him. And when I came out of the bedroom, his jaw hit the floor. (And I don’t need to tell ANY of you how good that feels!) He said, “So….you’re adding those to the Storied Threads line, right?” And so I am.

Steampunk Military Insignia in action!
And finally, last but not least — the final unveiling of the Steampunk Military Insignia! You’ve seen the scans before, so just one picture for now — I stitched the final patches (perfected based on the feedback you gave me) onto my awesome jacket from Chrononaut Mercantile, so that they could be seen in context. Not too shabby, eh?
These patches are now available in my Etsy shop, just so you know. The rest will be available via the website by sometime next week!
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