Intro to Costuming
Spring 2021
As one if my remote courses during the pandemic, intro to costuming provided me with useful knowledge on the basics of hand sewing, pattern usage and construction, and several other skills that were ultimately used to make three projects - the half scale dress form, the sloper, and the puppet project.
Final Puppet Project
I set out to create a rod puppet that had a similar aesthetic to @floppycatcreations’s “franken punk” dolls. I thought that it would be time consuming and somewhat difficult, but I was excited to see where things would lead. In the end it turned out far better than I expected and could ever have hoped.
Learning outcome
While working on this project, I fulfilled the key roles of a costumer in the following ways: I was able to think up an idea and realize that idea from concept sketch to a fully made project. I gained experience with a sewing machine and various other sewing techniques and worked with fabrics that were not consistent in texture, lightness, and material content. I also engineered and thought through the process of making movable parts in a realistic and doable manner. I worked only with materials found around the house, making a cost-efficient product that still looks professional. I spent $0 on this project, and many items would have been unused or thrown away otherwise.
I learned that making a puppet is harder than I thought- I learned so much about fabrics, sewing machine operation, making compromises, adapting on the spot, and creating something that I’ve never even attempted before.
I would love to continue creating my own sewing projects in the future, including stuffed animals or puppets like this one.
Half Scale Dress Form
Using cardstock, glue, rocks, and a lot of masking tape, we were guided as a class through the process of making a usable half scale dress form for the sloper dress we’d make later. For extra stability, I used mod podge and tissue paper to create a sort of papier-mâché to seal it and glue it all together.
Sloper
Entirely hand sewn using the hand sewing stitches taught in class and made to fit the half scale dress form.
