We Will Rock You

I have recently designed and made a corset, jacket and bustle using 'We Will Rock You' theme.

I have learnt so much from this project especially heat manipulation. I created the bust by layering a fabric called Lurex over a knitted 100% jumper I bought from a charity shop and embroidered into it. Once embroidered I used a soldering iron to burn away sections to reveal the woollen knit underneath. I then layered this over duck feathers, handmade wet felt, and strips of synthetic fabrics and sweet wrappers that have been melted using a heat gun.

I used the rest of the woollen jumper on the inside of the jackets collar using quilting techniques. The back panels are decorated with a technique called Slashing which is made by layering multiple layers of different fabrics and stitching parallel lines about 1 cm away from each other. All of the layers apart from the bottom layer is then cut down each row and the whole piece is irritated by being put in the tumble drier. This produces a mock chenille appearance. The puff sleeves also have some hand embroidery creeping out of the top edge.

 There is an attached Crystal Organza skirt that is cut on the bias. It continues around the back of the corset and ties into a bow at the back that can be incorporated into the detachable bustle. Although it does not show in the photograph I added a small flower pattern along the bottom corners of the skirt using a sublimation printer which prints dye onto paper and then uses heat to transfer it onto the fabric. (the waste paper left over is often what is used to wrap flowers). I also used the sublimation printer to print Queen memorabilia onto the back panels of the corset.

The detachable bustle is made up of more strips of synthetic fabrics and recycled plastics/wrappers that have been treated with a heat gun. I have then embellished this with beads, duck feathers, peacock feathers and handmade wet felt pieces.