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Costume Design & Construction

Complex Foam Headpiece 5D+10C

To do the Project: Read the example shown below, or that of A Sculpted Foam Rabbit Head and extrapolate the methods for realizing your own design from it.

Step 1: Make a design for your headdress that you can use as a guide.

Step 2: Get a head block that can be pinned into, and cover the block with muslin, before putting on the cap to keep hot glue off the block.

The Foam Book : An Easy Guide to Building Polyfoam Puppets

The Costume Technician's Handbook : A Complete Guide for Amateur and Professional Costume Technicians

 

Stage Costume Step-By-Step : The Complete Guide to Designing and Making Stage Costumes for All Major Drama Periods and Genres

The Magic Garment : Principles of Costume Design

Costume Construction

Elegantly Frugal Costumes : The Poor Man's Do-It-Yourself Costume Maker's Guide

Critter Costuming: Making Mascots and Fabricating Fursuits: Books: Adam Riggs

Costume Design 101 : The Art and Business of Costume Design for Film and Television The Costume Book: The Non-Professional's Guide to Professional Results

Costumes and Chemistry : A Comprehensive Guide to Materials and Applications

A Complete Guide to Silk Painting

Art to Wear

The Costume Designer's Handbook : A Complete Guide for Amateur and Professional Costume Designers

The Costume Technician's Handbook : A Complete Guide for Amateur and Professional Costume Technicians

 

Stage Costume Step-By-Step : The Complete Guide to Designing and Making Stage Costumes for All Major Drama Periods and Genres

The Magic Garment : Principles of Costume Design

  If the design calls for the bill to be removed, do so with craft scissors.

Step 3:  Find materials for making the elements that will be attached to the cap.  (In this case Stanley Mode Sugarbox will show mattress foam being marked, cut and glued to make the horns of the headpiece).

  Marking according to the rendering: Cutting:  marking a second layer using the first layer as a pattern: Cutting the second layer:   The pieces cut out:   Gluing the layers the double layer:  Using an electric carving knife to shape the horns to a point The finished foam horns

  then the central spines  are cut the finished spines:

Step 3: Before assembly, cut fabric covers for the headpiece, and use them for attaching the 3-d elements more strongly.

Here the fabric is marked and cut: 

    pinned: Sewn:  trimmed and clipped:

  turned inside out and pulled on the horns to cover them   The spine covers are marked, cut and pinned: and sewn and put on the spines:    Step 4: The cap is then covered with the fabric, taking care to leave the adjustable band where it can continue to be adjustable.

The 3-D elements are then temporarily glued to the cap to hold them in place, and then sewn by hand through all the layers for extra strength:

Step 5: Minor light weight decorative elements are then sewn or glued to the headpiece to "finish" the design.      

Step 6: When it is finished, photograph the headpiece from a few angles as jpeg files and post them to your File folder at the class eGroup.  Post a message to the group letting everyone know you have posted the pictures so you can get feedback.

Stanley in the finished headpiece.   

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