Foundation of costume
Foundation of costume
The costume department is responsible for designing, creating, and maintaining costumes for a performance. They work closely with the director, set designer, and lighting designer to ensure that the costumes match the style of the show and complement the overall production design.
A costume design is the first step of creating clothing and accessories for a character or performer in a production. This gives the other members of the costume team a visual of the costume before its made.
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Jobs in costume
Costume hierarchy
-costume designer: the ideas and design of the costumes
-costume maker: in charge of the costume team, budget, and time frame for projects
-costume cutter: interpret sketches and drawings created by the costume designer to create the costume
-dresser: assisting the maintenance of costumes during performances
-milliner: mark out and cut patterns to create designs for hats
-costume standby: works under the direction of the costume designer and supervisor
-costume supervisor: work with the costume designer to ensure costumes or outfits are of the standard they require
-costume breakdown artist: give costumes ‘character’ by making them look old and worn
-wardrobe assistant: help to select, assemble, maintain and make the costume for actors
-running wardrobe: running all costume shifts, quick changes, and handoffs during each performance
Designer
Supervisor
Cutter
Maker
Assistant
Measuring
Measuring
Measuring is used create accurate and well fitted costumes for artists When measuring a client it is important to respect a clients space and make the experience as comfortable as possible especially because to make a costume we may have to measure sensitive places. Some etiquette that is applied by the person measuring the client is standing to the side of the client to avoid awkward eye contact and making the client aware of the next measurement you’re about to take.
Once we have the measurements we can go to stores and measure clothes with the measurements to find the perfect fit for the client.
Using size charts will help you determine the right size for any body type. A good costume will fit the artist perfectly. There are many different sizing charts, varying from age, gender, and country to create the perfect fit.
To source costumes we can make, buy, hire, or borrow. Once the have got the artist's measurements we can check the size of the clothes were sourcing by measuring half of the item and doubling it to create the full measurement, then comparing it to the artist's measurements.
Pattern making
A pattern is a template for parts of a garment that when assembled become a full garment. Patterns are useful for duplicating a design multiple times and avoids starting from scratch every time. Patterns should be thought as an architectural drawing of the body. There are multiple types of patterns including: commercial pattern, basic block pattern, digital download pattern, cad pattern.
A seam allowance can be drawn onto a pattern creating excess fabric after the seam. On costumes the seam allowance is larger as it allows the size to be adjusted for many different artists without making another costume.
Some tools that are used in pattern cutting are:
-pattern paper
-tracing paper
-pattern master
-set square
-French curves
-metre rule
-measuring tape
-tracing wheel
-carbon paper
The task was to create a waistband pattern using measurements we had taken in a previous lesson then cut it out of scrap fabric. we had to an under lap of 4cm and a depth of 6cm so once folded it would create a depth of 3cm. We used pattern paper for the base and measuring tape to measure.
About fabric
there are three main types of fabric: woven, knitted, and non woven. Woven fabrics are made using yarns that are held tight and cross each other perpendicularly on looms. Knitted fabrics are made by interlocking loops of yarn. Non woven fabrics are made by bonding fibres together using heat or chemicals. All fabric also has a salvaged edge which keeps the fabric from unravelling, bias grain a thread line that allows the fabric to stretch, and a grain line the direction a fabric should be cut.
Hand sewing
Hand sewing
Hand sewing a garment is an alternative to using a sewing machine and allows us to have much more freedom in stitch choice. Some tools we can use for hand sewing are: fabric scissors, seam ripper, thread, pins, and hand sewing needles. different stitches also require varying amounts of thread this can be achieved by doubling or quadrupling the thread increasing the thickness. Some stitches include:
-running stitch -back stitch -blanket stitch
-slip stitch -herringbone -whip stitch
-stab stitch -swing tack -tacking stitch
-embroidery stitch
Sewing machine
Types of sewing machine:
-sewing machine
-over locker
-cover sticker
-button hole machine
-embroidery machine
-bar track machine
-knitting machine
There are two types of sewing machine, they are domestic and industrial. Domestic machines are machine that are used at home, they are cheep and compact making them easy to use and transport. Industrial machines are mainly used in factories or business settings, they are large and powerful making the hard to control but effective if there is a need for mass production of a product.
A sewing machine uses two threads (a bobbin at the bottom and a spool of thread from the top) to sew. The top thread flung around in the bottom of the machine hooking the other thread to make a stitch.
An over locker gives a trimmed and finished edge to any fabric or seam. They are mainly used to make durable seams as well as hems and finish fabric edges.
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The task was to demonstrate 2 types of seams using a sewing machine. We firstly used two patterns to achieve a straight seam and a curved seam. Then cut out the shapes and pined along the marked out lines. Finally we sewed along the seam using the sewing machine and finished with an iron. I really enjoyed this task as it was our first time using the machines in class and I believe my seams were quite neat especially the curved seam. But if I could adapt my samples I would go back with the over locker to neaten up the frayed edges
