Shock!

It is amazing how much difference the correct needle makes. The moment I swapped the ordinary needle fo a leather needle, the stiches became perfect! Shame I'v already sewn a large part of the costume by hand.It actually looks quite good.
And in other news, here is some Steampunk jewellery, inspired by this lovely tutorial

Very simple to make: I used polymer clay, and pushed bits of paper clips into the clay while it was still uncooked (is this a real word?). The little charms and decorations are what I found lying around (I have a surprisingly large number of fake pearls and flower decorations)