#goth sewing

Alchemist costumeeee I made!! Ya!

-Goth DIY Tutorials Number 1 (Part 1)- Hi there, I decided to start a little DIY series! I’m not the most professional at anything lol but I’ve been doing DIY and crafts my entire life and been part of the goth subculture for 10+ years. I’ve seen a lot of baby bats and people inexperienced in crafts online saying they don’t know how to DIY thrift store clothing to be goth so I’m here to help! I believe DIY is super important to the goth subculture and should be easy and accessible, and if I can stop anyone from buying big fast fashion brands I’ve done my job.

For the first post of this series I thought I’d link some sources for people new to DIY or looking for some easy projects to do yourself (projects will be in part 2)🖤This will help you find a starting point if the idea of DIY is overwhelming.

None of these links are mine! I will be posting my own tutorials as part of this series though:)

I did this post a while back about my decision to make myself a winter coat, but the project has been on hold for a while as the perfect fabric hadn't appeared.

Not too long after that post I did find an excellent liner fabric - quilted red velvet! It was a little expensive but perfect for an awesome gothic coat that I also wanted to be as warm as possible.

The outer fabric was much more difficult, however this weekend I went into my usual fabric store to find a heavy upholstery velvet roll-end, 4 metres, 150cm width FOR SIX FUCKING POUNDS! I had to ask a member of staff to check that wasn't per metre (which would still have been an excellent deal) but nope, it was for the full thing.

It's not black, more like a charcoal grey, and it has a pattern to it which is good as patterning can hide many sins if your work ends up not as neat as you'd like.

Sunday was spent cutting my pattern, a process I hate, and made even more difficult by the thickness of this fabric.

I ended up with an epic blister on my thumb, but very pleased to have it done.

I know you need to be careful with the grain on velvet, but I'm not going to worry too much about keeping it all in the same direction when it's only the lining. The outer I definitely did make sure of however!

Then last night I made a start with the sewing. I was concerned my machine might not be able to handle the thickness of this fabric but it was totally fine. I also managed to set the tension right first time, so the underside of my work doesn't look a total nightmare.

Pockets to start, and it looks like they'll be nice and big.

I learned a new technique for these - understitching! Once the pieces are sewn together you sew the seam allowance to the facing. This keeps the edges of the pockets crisp and neat and prevents them from shifting into the wrong position.

It's difficult to properly explain with words and pictures, I was quite confused by it at first, but this instructional video is very helpful.

So now I have the outer shell of the coat ready to sew together, down each side, going around the pocket edges, and across the shoulders.

More updates to come!

my first ever sewing project ! ✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦

I used crushed velvet and two different lines of lace on this old hulking sewing machine. I plan to attach this painting somehow but I'm still trying to figure that out

This is oil on canvas but the majority of the canvas has a hard wooden backing. Not sure how to work around that ( ；∀；)

This outfit has been a long time coming!

I bought this black fabric with blood splatters on it in a post-Halloween sale last year. I didn't have a specific project in mind at the time, I just couldn't pass up blood splatter at 5$ a metre. So it sat in my fabric stash for a while. Then, I started teaching my sewing class. And in the process of showing my students all the amazing things you can create for yourself, I made my first(successful) fully tailored blouse. And LOVED it. And I thought, hey, you know what would look cool? A black blouse with that blood fabric as a contrast.

And thus, the Blood Splattered Rockabilly Ensemble was born.

It features a circle-and-a-half(ish) skirt with more than two dozen pleats of varying sizes, a black stretch cotton princess seam blouse with slight ruching detail over the bust and heart shaped buttons(I sew my button plackets closed so I don't risk gaping, and sew the buttons on where the holes would be. The shirt is pulled on.), and contrasting cuffs and collar.

It's a really small thing and you wouldn't notice because it's against my neck or under the collar, but I am so pleased with how the pattern matching came out on the collar and stand. Those streaks of blood really just blend right into each other in some places!

As a final touch, I picked up a 5$ pair of faux leather sneakers and used dimensional fabric paint to make them a bloody mess.

While this is technically a Halloween outfit, I have to be honest. I would wear this year round.

(Also, please appreciate how adorable I am in those gifs, because my phone died recording them)

If you like what I create and want to help support me and my sewing class, consider dropping a tip in my little tin cup:

Spooky bug themed quilt is done!!!!!

Now I just gotta figure out product photos and shipping needs for quilts, any suggestions?

Thank you! My fashion is a big part of who I am and I put a lot of work into my wardrobe. Here are some other fashion pictures from before I made this account