How To Make: Steampunk Goggles

There are about as many ways to make steampunk goggles as there are steampunk goggles, but I hope this tutorial will help get you started.

Some of the things you'll need:

- Leather/vinyl [for the eye cups and straps]

- a small buckle or vest clip [to adjust the straps]

- 1.5 inch plumbing coupler [to make the eye pieces]

- Plexiglas [for the lenses]

- Optional: 2-hole pipe strap [for the nose piece]

The most important piece is the plumbing coupler, which looks like this:

You can find these at any hardware store for around $6, and one coupler will make both eye cups.

Mark off the width you'd like for each cup on the pipe:

We used a fat pencil as a guide - but keep in mind my goggles are shallow, and sit very close to the face. You may want your eye cups to be longer.

Next, cut the pipe:

To hold the pipe, John clamped channel lock pliers on the edge and then secured the pliers in his table vise.

Oh, and it only looks like he's about to cut his fingers off. Promise. ;)

Keep in mind that the coupler pieces that screw on to these edges are the only metal that will show on your finished goggles. So, if you want your goggles something other than silver, paint those pieces, not these. (I painted mine copper.)

Now the lenses:

To keep your saw from scratching the Plexiglas, first cover it in blue painter's tape:

Since we already had a finished pair of goggles to work from, I used one of those lenses as a template.

Cut out your lenses on a scroll saw:

Sorry about the crazy hair photo bomb.

Once your lenses are cut out, you'll need to use heavy grit sandpaper to fine-tune the fit. They should fit snugly inside the outer screw-on pieces of the coupler.

NOTE: If Plexiglas is not an option, cut your lenses from a clear thick report cover. You can even layer a few sheets together to make them stronger, and no one will be the wiser!

Next, the eye cups:

Wrap a piece of paper around the metal pipe to mark the length and form a template. You want your eye cup to flair out slightly at the temple, so that it forms a seal around your eye. To do that, your shape should look something like this:

Play around with the shape to see what you prefer: the more rounded the valleys, the farther out your temple flair will be.

And in case I've completely lost you, here's what I'm talking about:

See how the far edge is higher? That's the temple edge. Again, on my goggles it's a fairly subtle difference, so play around and see what size you prefer.

Once you have your template, add about an inch to the straight edge and the two side edges, and then cut our your vinyl/leather:

The extra inch along the straight edge allows you to roll over and sew the curved edge like this.

Now, I won't lie to you: this part is hard if you're not a sewer. (Er, meaning a person who sews, not a smelly network of waste disposal pipes. But you probably knew that.)

Which is why I had John do it. :D

To puff out our rolled edge, we stuck a piece of rolled paper raffia inside. This is completely optional, though.

Finally, sew the two edges together right side in, flip your cup inside out, and you've got your finished leather eye cup. It should fit snugly around the metal pipe, like so:

Glue the leather to the metal, making sure to leave the metal edge with the threads exposed. Here I'm using a toothpick to fill in the tiny seam between the leather and metal with superglue.

At this point you'll want to attach the nose piece. We used a copper pipe strap bent into shape, but I'm considering going back and replacing it with a strap of leather. (Because my eye cups are so shallow, the metal nose piece touches the bridge of my nose, which is uncomfortable. If your cups are longer, though - as John's are - you won't have this problem.)

We attached the nose piece with bolts and small screws. You can do the same with a leather or chain nose piece.

Next cut your two straps and glue them to the sides of the eye cups, as you see above. If you bring the raw edge of the strap all the way forward against the metal threading, it will be covered when you screw on the edge piece, like so:

Also be sure to hand-stitch your straps along the edge, since glue alone probably won't be strong enough.

Once you sew on your strap buckle or vest clip, you're ready for the fun part:

Accessorizing.

I bought these brass filigree pieces from The Mermaid's Dowry on Etsy, which has hundreds and hundreds of gorgeous stampings and charms. (Kid? Meet candy shop.)


I glued the tiny rose gold piece on the nose piece (bending it to match the curve), and I hand-stitched the largest filigree pieces onto the straps:

And finally, on a whim I cut out two circles of iridescent cellophane to insert in the lenses, which turned out to be my very favorite part. It adds a lot of fun color, is easy to see through, and helps hide the bolts from the nose piece besides.


Cost Break Down:

Because this is one of those projects that uses tiny scraps left over from other projects, the cost can be quite negligible. The only things I had to purchase were the plumbing coupler ($6) and the vest clips ($3). Even with the vinyl and filigree pieces, I'd say your material cost should stay well under $20 - probably more like $15.

So, if you decide to make a pair, please send me pictures!

And if you missed it, click here to see John's goggles and ray gun, plus more beauty shots of these.

*****

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