1. Getting Started
The Costume Shop / Stock Costume Shop Supplies / Sewing Equipment / Tools / Sewing Supplies / Costume Shop Safety
2. Using Existing Patterns
Sources for Patterns
3. Fabric
Fibers / Yarns / Woven Fabrics / Knit Fabrics / Other Fabric Construction Systems / Fabric Finishes / Fabric Selection / Fabrics Frequently Used in the Theatre / Determining Fiber Content of Fabrics / Determining Yardage / Fabric Widths / Other Considerations
4. Sewing
Costume Construction Techniques / The Sewing Machine / Stitching / Sewing Machine Techniques / Hand-Stitching Techniques / Clipping, Trimming, and Grading / Pressing
5. Creating a Garment
Layout and Cutting / Fittings / Finishings
6. Draping
Materials Needed / Draping Slopers / Draping Period Costumes
7. Flat Pattern Drafting and Manipulation
Pattern Drafting / Materials Needed / Creating an Upper-Body Sloper / Flat Pattern Manipulation
8. Dressmaker Details
Dressmaker Details / Details That Control Fullness / Decorative Details / Other Useful Needlework
9. Fabric Modification
Fabric Qualities / Dyeing / Methods of Painting on Fabric / Printing on Fabric / Other Decorative Treatments / Distressing Fabric and Costumes
10. Understructures
Researching Undergarments / Adjusting Patterns to the Modern Body / Corsets / Hoops, Panners, Bustles, and Rolls / Padding
11. Hats and Headdresses
Parts of Hats / Measurements for Hats / Using Old Hats / Making New Hats / Making Soft Hats / Making a Buckram Hat with Crown and Brim / Working with Wire / Stretching Hats and Head Forms / Structures Built on Buckram Crowns
12. Shoes and Footwear
Parts of a Shoe / Using Existing Shoes / Materials Used in Shoe Modification and Construction / Soft Shoes / Shoes with Rigid Soles / Boot Tops and Spats / Painting and Dyeing Shoes / Legwear
13. Masks and Armor
Materials Needed / Creating a Plaster Face Mold / Making a Mask / Armor
14. Jewelry and Crowns
Materials Needed / Creating Jewelry Patterns / Jewelry Making Techniques / Crowns
15. Wigs
Getting Started / When, Where, and Why to Use a Wig / Acquiring Wigs / Thinning the Wig / Softening a Hard-Front Wig / Ventilating / Making the Most of a Wig through Styling / Synthetic Wigs and Hair / Washing a Wig Correctly / Rolling and Styling a Wig / Conclusion
Appendix: Costume Maintenance
227 pages, $48.95 list
1-4786-1129-4
978-1-4786-1129-5
© 2015
spiral
eBook availability
Costume Construction
Second Edition
Constructing costumes requires a diverse set of skills to successfully create magic on the stage. Knowledge of sewing is vital, but Katherine Strand-Evans shows how much more is involved. She walks readers step by step through setting up and supplying a costume workshop; choosing fabrics; draping, drafting, and manipulating patterns; dyeing and fabric modification; and constructing accessories such as historical undergarments, hats and headdresses, shoes and footwear, masks and armor, jewelry and crowns, and, new to this edition, wigs (written by James McGough). Throughout, the author considers not only the creative aspects of executing costume designs, but also the limitations of budgets and time. Costume Construction opens doors for each reader to find his or her own path to becoming an effective costume technician.