Prop Agenda: I often neglect the fabric side of props on this blog, simply because it’s more challenging for me and I avoid fabric projects as much as possible. Of course, we props people need to develop all our skills, not just the ones we are interested in. So I’m sharing this video I found of a fabric project that even I can pull off
4 comments:
I think this is great. A lot of the different mediums in theatrical design can seem like a totally different language to people who specialize in different mediums. As alienating as a sewing machine might seem to people, a true theatre artist would be well served to have skills in all area. This is a great starting project!
I think that this project was almost more complicated than just learning how to thread a needle and learn how to sew a straight line. You are definitely going to loose some durability when using this method, but in a crunch this technique would sufficiently completely the task and create a nice looking product. I hope the site isn't too popular because the author made typo that was very obvious. "With just an iron, hem tape, an iron and a thrift store pillow, your set can have pillows that fit the design of whatever show you are doing." For this project I guess you need not one, but two irons. If I had a website I would make sure that there wasn't giant typos like that.
I've used this adhesive before and it is pretty great but not if you want anything to actually hold for a long time. I've used it to make clean hems on spandex unitards and they look amazing but I still had to sew them down to hold them because the adhesive doesn't hold when being tampered with! I do love the idea of using burlap and that coral print fabric together, but just as Keith said, it's probably easier to just learn how to sew than to use the iron on adhesive. Because the adhesive can be a real pain and isn't that great. (Oh and haha about the typo that Keith mentioned... that was pretty funny)
I feel that this technique really isn't worth the work, and that, although this may be a bit easier of an option to someone who doesn't sew, even with my basic knowledge of sewing from stagecraft I think that it would be faster for me to just use a sewing machine. The results would look the same, but the seams would be stronger. Also, I think it would be cheaper just to sew it because thread is less expensive than the tape she used. That being said, the tutorial was good, and for a no sew pillow it's a great option. I can definitely see this being employed by prop masters, if they don't have access to a sewing machine or they just need to be able to do it quickly without setting something up or worrying about it. Although, I think if a show is running longer than 3 weeks, this techniques would not be ideal. This seems like a solution for short runs, but for longer runs and home decorating, I just don't think it had enough durability.
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