Costume Construction

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.

All students of costuming need to learn basic sewing techniques to build costumes for theatrical performance. Basic Sewing for Costume Construction teaches just those fundamentals. Cunningham brings decades of classroom experience as she guides readers with clearly laid-out projects covering hand stitching, fasteners, pinning, sewing, and seams. Additional material on measurement, fabric selection, and use of commercial patterns, as well as three complete construction projects, round out the Second Edition. Each project builds on the previous one to develop a full understanding of the costume construction process.

Learn how to create historically accurate costumes for Elizabethan period productions with Elizabethan Costume Design and Construction! Extensive coverage of a variety of costumes for both men and women of all social classes will allow you to be prepared for any costuming need, and step-by-step instructions will ensure you have the know-how to design and construct your garments. Get inspired by stunning, hand-drawn renderings of costumes used in real life productions like Mary Stuart as you’re led through the design process. Detailed instructions will allow you to bring your designs to life and create a meticulously constructed costume.

During Queen Victoria's long reign there were constant, often subtle, changes to men's clothing in the large, diverse and growing population. This practical book guides you through the male fashions of the time and includes eighteen garments typical of the era. Each project is carefully grounded in historical research, while traditional tailoring techniques are simplified for the modern costume maker. It is an essential handbook that describes fabrics and tools for pattern drafting, tailoring and costume construction, and explains how to get the best results from each. It covers a wide variety of gentleman's attire adaptable for different occupations and social status, including assorted shirts, trousers, breeches, a tailcoat, a jacket, a frockcoat and several waistcoats. There is a full set of patterns for each outfit, along with clear, full colour construction photographs and finally, the author suggests how outfits can be adapted to fit different sizes and characters, and gives practical insights into the making process. It's ideal for anyone interested in Victorian costumes including theatre designers, theatre makers, re-enactors, historical enthusiasts and live action role-playing (LARP). Superbly illustrated with 232 colour photographs and patterns, it is written by Sil Devilly, a costume maker with over twenty years of experience in both design interpretation and construction.

Since its first publication in 1980, The Costume Technician's Handbook has established itself as an indispensable resource in classrooms and costume shops. Ingham and Covey draw on decades of hands-on experience to provide the most complete guide to developing costumes that are personally distinctive and artistically expressive. No other book covers the same breadth of necessary topics for every aspect of costuming, from the basics of setting up a costume shop to managing one and everything in between.

Successful costume design requires a solid foundation in general artistic principles and specific knowledge of how to apply those principles. Cunningham presents readers with just such a foundation and develops it to expose beginning costume designers to the myriad skills they need to develop in order to costume successful stage productions. She begins at the most basic conceptual level—reading plays from a costume designer's perspective. She then follows through with the practical considerations that must be considered at every stage of the costuming process—research, development, sketching, and costume construction. Cunningham has built on the long-standing success of the outstanding first edition with new figures and updates throughout the text, including 24 pages in full color. Examples have been selected from a wide range of stage productions representing a variety of designers, styles, and approaches. Interviews with award-winning designers from stage, film, and other media show the practical importance of the book's concepts. Every chapter incorporates material reflecting the ever-increasing impact of technology, especially computers, on costuming. New to this edition is an ancillary download package (available here), giving students a selection of basic figure drawings to serve as the base layer for digital renderings, ready-made forms and checklists for assembling and organizing costumes for shows, and a list of research and reference websites with easily clickable links.

One way of creating a theatrical costume is called flat patterning. This is when a costume designer uses a pattern made to the wearer's measurements to cut out and sew together a costume. In many cases flat patterning is the more appropriate method for creating a period costume - skirts, pants, and sleeves, for example. However, working in two-dimensions often does not translate correctly onto a three-dimensional dress form or person. Often a designer will need to tweak style lines on a garment once they see it worn, or a costume will need a quick adjustment right before going on stage. In those cases, designers need to know how to correctly drape a costume. Draping is also the best way to construct a period costume right from the start. The construction of garments in earlier centuries often constricted movement, especially in the area of the armhole. The very different size and proportions of contemporary people compared to those in previous centuries makes the use of period patterns difficult. A well-draped garment can give the impression of period accuracy while permitting the wearer greater freedom of movement. Having a mock-up pinned to the form in its early stages is quicker and easier to adapt than drafting a flat pattern, cutting it out of muslin and sewing it. It also provides the opportunity for greater creativity and adaptation as well as a better understanding of what fabric will and won't do. In Draping Period Costumes, Sharon Sobel explains in step-by-step detail the basics of draping and demonstrates the use of those basic skills in the creation of a representative selection of period costumes from a variety of time periods. Chapters are broken into time periods and have two parts: an analysis of how clothing was made and worn during that specific time period, and detailed instruction on draping techniques to construct the costume. Copiously illustrated, images allow this visual audience to easily follow along with detailed instructions. A part of the Costume Topics series, this book will be 256 pages, a snazzy 8.25 x 7.5 trim size, and spiral bound-a format consistently requested by our audience so that they can lay the book flat while working from it.