DIY Steampunk Fashion: Costume and Accessory Tutorials and Patterns

Steampunk is a visual style based largely on the Victorian era. It takes a specualtive look at what might be if the past was set in the future. The term was coined in the 1980s, created to define a genre of novels and a small subculture growing around the idea.

For example, one common theme in Steampunk is the development of steam (rather than electicity) as our primary form of power. Other steampunk ideas include questions such as what would the computer look like if it were invented a century earlier?

Steampunk Fashion

Steampunk fashion draws largely in Victorian styles and asthetics.  However, unlike the stayed, demure Victorians, steampunk takes many liberties that would have gotten Victorian women banished to the bordellos like shirt skirts and open shoulders.  The style also includes many mechanical motifs, such as watch gears and other cogs.

As steampunk grows in popularity, more and more wonderful free patterns and tutorials are popping up all around the internet. These resources will help you assemble your own DIY steampunk costumes using easy techniques and basic, inexpensive materials.

Lastwear is the the world's first open source clothing company.  The name is taken from open source software, which posts its source code for developers to use in their own applications.  Translated to the fashion world, Lastwear's open source philosophy means open, free sharing of their productions patterns.

The company is in the process of preparing to release their patterns on their website.

No woman's steampunk ensemble is complete without a corset. Don't know how to sew? No problem! Learn how to make your own corset without a needle and thread by using duct tape instead of traditional fabric. With duct tape available in a rainbow of colors and many styles of corsets to choose from, creating a truly custon piece is easy to do in a single afternoon.

Duct Tape Corset Tutorial

Aviation accessories are popular in steampunk garb, especially goggles. There are dozens of innovative ways to create your own goggles - this one uses mason jar rings in an ingenious design. Other DIY steampunk goggle designs use bottle caps, plumbing parts, deadbolt casings, or any other appropriately sized circular pieces.

DIY Steampunk Goggles Tutorial

Looking for a different twist on steampunk goggles? Check out this masquerade-style mask-on-a-stick with steampunky goggle styling. Masked ball, anyone?

Steampunk Goggles Masquerade Mask Tutorial

Spats are fabric cuffs that go over boots, an item common in Victorian-inspired steampunk fashion. This free crochet pattern could also be adjusted to create other items; shorten the pattern to create wrist cuffs with ruffles, or lengthen the pattern to create an Elizabethan-looking collar.

Ruffled Spats Free Crochet Pattern

Learn how to repurpose a watch into a unique piece of steampunk jewelry. This tutorial even shows how to use a watch whose face is cracked by filling the watch case with polymer resin. The necklaces in this tutorial are made using broken costume jewelry and other recycled items.

Recycled Watch Steampunk Necklace Tutorial