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Description
All of the materials used here can be found at a grocery store or thrift shop. The belt, wall hangings, and pads all came from a thrift store.

For those concerned about using rubber in something steampunk, don't be. Rubber in large quantities is very much a child of the Victorian era.

Natural rubber comes from a South American plant, the Para rubber tree, and its properties were first studied in the mid 1700s. For over a century it was a rare commodity. In 1876, Henry Wickham gathered thousands of Para rubber tree seeds from Brazil, and these were germinated in Kew Gardens, England. The seedlings were then sent to India, Ceylon (Sri Lanka), Indonesia, Singapore, and British Malaya. Malaya (now Malaysia) was later to become the biggest producer of rubber. In the early 1900s, the Congo Free State in Africa was also a significant source of natural rubber latex, mostly gathered by forced labor. Liberia and Nigeria also started production of rubber.

In India, commercial cultivation of natural rubber was introduced by the British planters, although the experimental efforts to grow rubber on a commercial scale in India were initiated as early as 1873 at the Botanical Gardens, Calcutta. The first commercial Hevea plantations in India were established at Thattekadu in Kerala in 1902.

In Singapore and Malaya, commercial production of rubber was heavily promoted by Sir Henry Nicholas Ridley, who served as the first Scientific Director of the Singapore Botanic Gardens from 1888 to 1911. He distributed rubber seeds to many planters and developed the first technique for tapping trees for latex without causing serious harm to the tree. Because of his very fervent promotion of this crop, he is popularly remembered by the nickname "Mad Ridley".

Here is my most popular tutorial, concerning the use of color in Steampunk design, and two others I've done:

Steampunk Sessions: Form and Function in FashionThere is often a great deal of debate about the roles of form and function in fashion. Some styles and fads sacrifice mobility or comfort for a message or a look, while others prefer something more practical. Steampunk fashion is no less subject to this debate, and perhaps even more so on some levels.
With its strong use of elements such as mechanical devices and symbols and articles such as goggles, vests, and hats, the question that often arises is, 'but does it work?' A lot of steampunk fashion is designed for show, and often not intended for everyday wear and tear. Items that only need to be worn every so often, perhaps even only on a few occasions period, one could argue do not need to hold up as well so long as they can make it through the event. Items that are intended for everyday usage, though, most certainly must be able to withstand the rigors of regular strain, and must be washable, maintainable, and repairable, on top of performing any functions required, whether simple or

Description
All of the materials used here can be found at a grocery store or thrift shop. The belt, wall hangings, and pads all came from a thrift store.

For those concerned about using rubber in something steampunk, don't be. Rubber in large quantities is very much a child of the Victorian era.

Natural rubber comes from a South American plant, the Para rubber tree, and its properties were first studied in the mid 1700s. For over a century it was a rare commodity. In 1876, Henry Wickham gathered thousands of Para rubber tree seeds from Brazil, and these were germinated in Kew Gardens, England. The seedlings were then sent to India, Ceylon (Sri Lanka), Indonesia, Singapore, and British Malaya. Malaya (now Malaysia) was later to become the biggest producer of rubber. In the early 1900s, the Congo Free State in Africa was also a significant source of natural rubber latex, mostly gathered by forced labor. Liberia and Nigeria also started production of rubber.

In India, commercial cultivation of natural rubber was introduced by the British planters, although the experimental efforts to grow rubber on a commercial scale in India were initiated as early as 1873 at the Botanical Gardens, Calcutta. The first commercial Hevea plantations in India were established at Thattekadu in Kerala in 1902.

In Singapore and Malaya, commercial production of rubber was heavily promoted by Sir Henry Nicholas Ridley, who served as the first Scientific Director of the Singapore Botanic Gardens from 1888 to 1911. He distributed rubber seeds to many planters and developed the first technique for tapping trees for latex without causing serious harm to the tree. Because of his very fervent promotion of this crop, he is popularly remembered by the nickname "Mad Ridley".

Here is my most popular tutorial, concerning the use of color in Steampunk design, and two others I've done:

Steampunk Sessions: Form and Function in FashionThere is often a great deal of debate about the roles of form and function in fashion. Some styles and fads sacrifice mobility or comfort for a message or a look, while others prefer something more practical. Steampunk fashion is no less subject to this debate, and perhaps even more so on some levels.
With its strong use of elements such as mechanical devices and symbols and articles such as goggles, vests, and hats, the question that often arises is, 'but does it work?' A lot of steampunk fashion is designed for show, and often not intended for everyday wear and tear. Items that only need to be worn every so often, perhaps even only on a few occasions period, one could argue do not need to hold up as well so long as they can make it through the event. Items that are intended for everyday usage, though, most certainly must be able to withstand the rigors of regular strain, and must be washable, maintainable, and repairable, on top of performing any functions required, whether simple or