Last Halloween, I invited a few friends of mine to my cottage, built in the Victorian era and located in the woods with other abandoned cottages, for a haunted weekend. Keeping with the Victorian penny dreadful theme, I was costumed as Sweeney Todd, with a handmade tailcoat. But even more impressive was my friend Emily, who invented an entire character and made a whole outfit to go with it. 

Emily’ costume consisted of a pair of cotton floral print fabric spats, a penny-farthing brass necklace (a penny farthing is an early bicycle, with one large wheel and one small), watch-piece earrings, a brass-colored ray gun made from a plastic water gun, and leather goggles suitable for Amelia Earheart. All of which she made by hand. 

Goggles are the quintessential accessory for a Steampunk outfit. Emily’s were made recycling readily available household objects, some of which would have been thrown out if not put to the use of costuming. Working with only a plastic soda bottle, two jar lids, a softball, spray paint, a strip of leather, and fasteners to create her beautiful work of art. Sounds impossible, right? Here’s how. 

 

DIY Instructions for Steampunk Goggles

 

To put everything together, you will need superglue, basic sewing supplies, and sharp cutting materials.

 

1. First, snip into and removed the leather from an old softball. (Softballs are slightly larger than baseballs, so you have more material to work with.) When the leather is opened flat with the thick stitches of the ball on the outskirts, it creates two curved shapes perfect for the base of goggles. Cut out the inside of the two circles, holding up the leather against your eyes to make sure they are the right size. 
2. Spray paint the leather of the softball to match the color of your leather strap. (Emily’s was black.) You can use an old belt for your leather strap if you would rather not buy new, expensive fabric.
3. Add a thin strip of leather between the circles by sewing (if you have a heavy-duty machine) or gluing. This will fall at the bridge of your nose when completed, and the size of the leather strip should be estimated by your face, making sure that it is long enough so that you can see clearly from both eyes.
4. Add a strip of leather to the side of each circle, where the curve begins to get small. These strips should be long enough to fit around your head. Again, these strips can be sewn or glued on. Emily used metal fabric fasteners to attach them which is practical and fits the artistry of the goggles perfectly.
5. To fasten the goggle base at the back of your head, sew a piece of elastic sewn between the two leather straps, measuring so that the base is just tight enough to stay on your head when looking through. This will allow you to put on and take off your goggles easily. You have now created your goggle base.
6. The size of the lids should be slightly smaller than the perimeter of the leather circles, and can be taken from jarred food, like preserves or fruit. Cut out circles from the lids, making sure the circles here are slightly smaller than the circles cut into your leather. 
7. Take a clear plastic, one liter soda bottle and cut two circles from this. These will need to be slightly larger than the circles cut from your lid. 
8. Glue the clear plastic circles onto the lids from the inside. 
9. Glue the lids onto the leather. 

 

If you would like to add decorations, lace and watch parts would compliment the goggles perfectly. Or, be creative and decorate your goggles any way you’d like. Congratulations, you have successfully completed your first Steampunk project!