Handbook of Costume Accessories E-Book

Diane Favell

• Herausgeber: The Crowood Press
• Kategorie: Geisteswissenschaft
• Sprache: Englisch

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2023

Beschreibung

An introduction to both traditional and new techniques of making Costume props and accessories for Stage and Media use. COSTUME ACCESSORIES works through a cross-section of practical projects, with Histories, making instructions, and order-of-works, supported with photographs and drawings throughout. Examples include canes and hats, crowns and lorgnettes, and very much more - all with the object of exercising a wide variety of techniques and approaches to the craft. Methods include: Millinery; leather-work; glove making; metal-work; jewellery work; bead-work; crochet; embroidery; 3D printing; CNC routing; chainmaille. Much of the work may be familiar, such as leather-work - but the book introduces techniques less often seen in theatre, which are now very much more available and practical to use. The changing world of the internet enables us to buy much more - but also the extraordinary (affordable) technology of small CNC machines enables us to make things in new, different ways as well.

Leseprobe

First published in 2023 byThe Crowood Press LtdRamsbury, MarlboroughWiltshire SN8 2HR

[email protected]

www.crowood.com

This e-book first published in 2023

© Diane Favell and Giles Favell 2023

All rights reserved. This e-book is copyright material and must not be copied, reproduced, transferred, distributed, leased, licensed or publicly performed or used in any way except as specifically permitted in writing by the publishers, as allowed under the terms and conditions under which it was purchased or as strictly permitted by applicable copyright law. Any unauthorised distribution or use of this text may be a direct infringement of the author’s and publisher’s rights, and those responsible may be liable in law accordingly.

British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication DataA catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

ISBN 978 0 7198 4156 9

Cover design by Maggie Mellett

CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION

1HATS

2CROWNS

3CANES, STICKS AND STAFFS

4GLOVES

5JEWELLERY

6BAGS, POUCHES AND POCKETS

7SPECTACLES AND EYEGLASSES

FURTHER READING

GLOSSARY

INDEX

INTRODUCTION

In theatre, a costume prop is perhaps best defined as a costume accessory – such as a brooch, glasses, watch, cane, crown, hat and so on. In practice, there is sometimes a crossover of responsibility with the props department on some items – depending on how the props are used. The wardrobe department and the props department also have differing skills and equipment available, so a reciprocal cooperation can also be very beneficial.

Traditionally, costume props have been so often magically produced from carefully guarded boxes and drawers by supervisors who have collected them over many years. Many may be originals, others well-made props made for specific shows long past – but all have had their future usefulness recognized, and been placed in safe custody.

In years gone by, a morning spent at the local flea market, local junk shops and the like were good sources of period pieces. Nowadays, online auction sites seem to have taken over rather more, which involves more time for delivery and sight-unseen purchases – however, there is undoubtedly a greater range of choice available, though many ‘cheap’ finds may need a bit of work to produce an authentic look.

The changing world has brought other advantages to us as well. We can buy very cheap but credible jewellery components from the Far East over the internet and, very importantly, we can ‘manufacture’ our own pieces using affordable desk-top machines if we are so inclined. This new approach opens the door to producing our own ‘designer’ props in-house, or at least knowing how it can be outsourced. It should be remembered that the new skills learned are never wasted and are very satisfying to learn.

The subject being so very broad, this book can only show a very limited cross-section of examples and techniques that, of course, can be applied much more broadly with imagination. We have in some instances shown the use of (desk-top) CNC (computer numerically controlled) machines in order to demonstrate how they may be used effectively. The same props can, of course, be made using conventional tools and techniques. The idea is to fire the imagination, rather than to prescribe their use.

In this book, we have touched on some ancient skills, though we have tried to concentrate on tools and equipment that you may have (or can get quite cheaply) in the home or, if you haven’t, maybe you know (or can find) someone who has. The new technologies emerging and coming into our homes through domesticating the machines are many and vast, though some basic skills in the manufacture of costume props will ensure good use of these technologies and an appreciation of authentic appearance.

We hope to bring you our combined, many years of experience in the manufacture and use of these items and, although we are merely scratching the surface of the vast subject of costume props, we hope that this may lead to an increase of interest in the skills and, hopefully, sow a seed for the furtherance of a lifetime hobby or career, such as we have had (and are having).

WORKSHOP TOOLS AND EQUIPMENT

In recent years we have become extremely fortunate that technologies that were just science fiction fifty years ago are now available to us domestically – and that benefits small workshops too.

Laser Cutting

One of the most dramatic is perhaps the laser – first successfully built in 1960, and developed over subsequent decades, lasers come in very many forms, but first came into our homes in any quantity built into CD players from the early 1980s. These were diode lasers – cheap and small – a far cry from the original ruby laser, and the gas lasers also developed.

A laser differs from other light sources in that it emits light coherently. This can be used in a number of different ways. For instance, spacial coherence can allow a laser beam to stay narrow over large distances, enabling such devices as laser pointers, or spacial coherence may allow the beam to be focused on a tight spot, allowing cutting and lithography.

1965 saw the very first laser cutter, built to drill holes in diamond dies – and heaven knows at what cost! The early 1970s enabled production of CO2 lasers to cut such materials as textiles, as CO2 lasers were not yet powerful enough to overcome the thermal conductivity of metals.

By the 1980s, there were more than 20,000 metal-cutting lasers in the world, and their numbers and abilities were increasing – however, they were a very significant investment, as was the control element that enabled them to be used.

Fast-forward to today – it is now possible to buy a 40W CO2 laser from China for under £400, which may cut materials up to 5 or 6mm thick. Also available are 10W diode lasers that will cut up to 6mm.

If you wanted to buy a laser, what would you choose and why? Well, first, it depends what you want to do.

A laser can etch and it can cut, and it is one of the fastest processes of doing so. It can cut paper, card, wood, acrylic, fabric, leather, and large industrial machines can even cut metals – steel up to 15mm thick! Many other materials can be etched, including stone, glass and some metals, even with ‘hobby’ machines.

If you are a large concern and want to make an income from selling or making lasered products, then you will need a very capable, fast machine. In very simplistic terms, to cut through a material, you can either pump a small amount of energy into it and go slowly, or you can pump a lot of energy into it and run faster (this is very simplistic – it can be a lot more complicated than that). Therefore, if you need speed, you would need a high-powered machine, such as a large CO2 laser, which can cost a fair bit. If you are simply doing bits and pieces for yourself, speed is not likely to be such a concern – and, therefore, either a small CO2 or a diode laser may well be the most appropriate.

A CO2 laser consists of a fairly large, lidded box with a work-bed at the bottom, and an enclosure at the back that houses (among other things) the static glass CO2 tube, which generates the laser beam. The (red) light beam is then bounced sideways and forward off angled mirrors – some of which are travelling on computer-controlled linear rails – to finally bring the beam down on to the workpiece to be cut. CO2 lasers also require cooling. The normal method is to have a water tank – or often a water chiller – under the machine, with a circulating pump, which keeps the CO2 tube cool when it is powered up.

A diode laser (blue laser) is a much simpler affair, insofar as the laser beam is generated in a laser cartridge mounted on a computer-controlled carriage, which itself moves around in the X- and Y-planes on sets of linear rails. A minimum of 4W will be needed to be sufficient for any useful purpose.

Although lasers put out a parallel beam, it is too wide to be of use for cutting – the energy is not concentrated enough – so both types of lasers have lenses at the business end, above the workpiece, to concentrate the light beam into a tiny spot, just as a child does playing with the sun and a magnifying glass. In exactly the same way, the distance from the lens to the work to be cut is critical in order to get the spot at its hottest and most efficient. On some lasers, this Z-axis is also computer-controlled, so the lens can be lowered with the depth of cut in order to cut deeper than it would otherwise be able to do. Other lasers have the lens height set to the workpiece, and the possible cutting depth is, therefore, limited.

All lasers should have extraction. Just about everything you cut is going to generate dust or gases, and so extraction is highly recommended. The enclosed type of laser cabinet has a collar to take flexible ducting, often with a built-in fan, and may be exhausted out of the window or through a hole in an adjacent wall (sometimes via a filter). Some types of laser are ‘open’ (Class 4) and extraction needs to be a little more imaginative. We have a hood over our Emblaser with an in-line extraction fan, which then vents through a redundant airbrick.

They are also a fire risk, as they function by burning through materials. They should never be left alone under operation, and all sensible precautions should be taken.

Lasers are dangerous and eye protection must be worn. The frequency of the light damages the eyes and can cause blindness.

Like so many things in life, you get what you pay for. Many people have bought CO2 lasers from China for very little money, and have found that they have needed to make alterations to get them to work or to make them safe, and that the software to control them isn’t adequate – and that is a very important point. It is no good having a wonderful machine if you don’t have the software to make it go.

There are companies in Europe who will supply these machines, worked over and with decent software to make them a reliable investment – but, of course, at a very significant premium. Other people do manage to find solutions very successfully, and there is a lot of information on the internet on the subject – you must really read up on the matter before making such a purchase.

Likewise there are many diode lasers to be had cheaply, and some suffer from the same lack of support; also the software side should be taken as seriously as the hardware.

There are some lasers out there that run on web-based software – meaning that your work has to go over the internet to some server somewhere for processing before it comes back to you for cutting. There may be some benefits, but there are downsides to being at the mercy of someone else’s on/off switch.

When the authors looked into the subject of a suitable machine, we looked into both hardware and software before choosing to buy an Emblaser 1, which wasn’t the cheapest machine available. This was a simple diode machine with a 4W business end, simple X- and Y-axes, and was supplied with Vectric Cut2DLaser software.

Fig. 1 The Emblaser 1 laser printer.

The machine was imported from Australia, came in kit form and took an afternoon to assemble – with absolutely no difficulty. It is also a very small machine – an A4 version was chosen, so that the whole machine fits easily on a worktop being 490 × 440mm and weighing all of 7kg – a choice that has never been regretted.

The Cut2DLaser was loaded on to a computer, instructions were followed and the provided example pattern was cut providing instant success. Weeks then followed of learning what it could really do. The manufacturers had advertised what they thought it could do, and we ran our own tests. Surprisingly, we could match them. Moreover, much finer detail than I would have thought possible was achieved with accuracy to 0.2mm.

Since Giles’ ‘day-job’ involves the use of AutoCad and Draftsight, drawings for laser cutting were made on this software – although Cut2DLaser also has its own drawing capability, and it can import other file types and convert images into the vectors that it needs.

Generally, sheets are fixed down on to the work surface with cheap 50mm masking tape on a couple of edges, as the laser shroud is only about 2mm higher than the work, and if the sheet is slightly bowed, or lifts, the laser will catch it as it passes and move it – thus destroying the cutting job.

Engraving a breadboard or a piece of slate is easy, as it doesn’t need fixing down. However, such jobs usually need positioning accurately, and that is achieved by taping a sheet of plain paper down first, and burning the outline of the slate (or board) on to the paper, so it is known exactly where to place it.

Wood is one of the easier materials to laser, as it doesn’t do anything too unpredictable; however, other materials aren’t quite so straightforward. Many plastics give off highly toxic fumes when heated, and should never get near a laser. Acrylic is one of the safe ones, but still needs extraction. As with any heat process on plastic, the laser melts as well as burns, so if you use a cutting speed that is too slow, the acrylic will re-seal itself behind the cut – which is immensely frustrating; therefore, experimentation is required to ascertain the optimum cutting speed for the thickness of the material being cut. Similarly, if you do too much cutting in a small area, the acrylic can start distorting and curl up slightly towards the laser.

Given what plastics are made of, you must be aware of what you can safely cut and what you can’t.

Sadly, diode lasers can’t cut clear acrylic – the beam just travels straight through without touching it, due to the wavelength of the light. A CO2 laser, however, will cut clear acrylic.

We use a laser-quality ply and MDF, which is available from a number of sources. One of the fundamental differences is the glue used, which is more sympathetic to being cut by laser.

Examples of laser cutting in this book are:

•Fourteenth-century glasses

•Leather crown

3D Printers

The other spectacular development in technology in recent years has been the emergence of affordable and practical 3D printers, now available for a few hundred pounds. Like all these CNC-based machines, a need to master some software skills is necessary in order to use them – but once you have learned the skillset for one, it is much easier to adapt to another species of machine.

For a few years the only affordable machines were FDM (fused deposition modelling) printers – filament printing – where the machine is fed by a small drum of coiled plastic filament, which is fed into a heated print-head, which is moved left and right, backwards and forwards, laying down a very fine thread of molten plastic in a precise position or line. This steadily builds up, as the build plate lowers beneath it while the object builds. In some ways this is quite crude, leaving visible ‘build-lines’, which are a giveaway as to its origins. It is, however, fairly strong, and reasonably quick and economical. The plastic filament is available in many colours and in many characteristics – even with wood or metal as a ‘filler’. It is certainly extremely useful for stage use.

More recently, resin printers have become practical in every sense – mostly in the form of DLP printers (digital light processing). These have a small resin tank at the base, underneath which is a screen (like a phone screen) that projects a picture of the cross-section of the print every 50 or 100 microns, with the build plate rising and falling above it, until the object to be printed is completed. The light of the image on the screen hardens the resin that is sitting directly above it each time it flashes on, which will be many thousand times on a large print. The resolution or detail this process gives is superb, with much smoother prints – but the whole print process can take up to two days to complete, and there isn’t quite the variety of resins as there are filaments for the FDM printers.

The prints from a resin printer need to be washed off either in alcohol, such as IPA, or water for some specialist resins, and then the prints cured in light of particular frequencies.

Resin printers can give off fumes, which are best extracted to outside. Resin printers can also be temperature-sensitive – not liking lower temperatures (lower than 20˚C), causing print failures.

WHAT TO PRINT?

You can draw your own designs in a 3D drawing package. The authors use DesignSpark Mechanical – a free download from RS Components – but Sketchup, Blender or countless other programs will suit. Alternatively, sites like Thingiverse.com allow the free downloading of all sorts of designs ready to print, which is extremely useful.

WHICH IS BEST?

Both types of printer have their good qualities and their weaknesses. If you are producing a larger item, or one that needs to be robust, then an FDM print is going to be most suitable; also if you need that special bracket or widget to sort that particular problem. However, if you need a very fine and beautiful piece of jewellery reproducing, then a resin print will win hands down. To be blunt, our workshop has both – a Flashforge Finder FDM printer and a Mars 2 Pro DLP, and both get used.

Fig. 2 FDM printer – Flashforge Finder.

Fig. 3 DLP printer – Mars2 Pro DLP.

Examples printed in this book:

•Printed ring (DLP print)

•Chain of Sir Thomas More (FDM print)

•Ivory-handled cane (FDM print)

CNC Router

STEPCRAFT 420

Like so much technology, CNC tools have become affordable and useful on a small scale. One immensely useful machine is the Stepcraft 420 CNC Router.

In basic terms, this machine holds and moves a router extremely accurately, left and right, up and down, at any speed, controlled by a computer. If the machine is rigid enough and sufficiently well built, with imagination and with the help of various computer programs you can cut out very sophisticated shapes and sculpt 3D objects at a speed and accuracy that would otherwise be impractical. Materials cut can be metals through to wood and plastics. These machines range in size from about A5 paper size up to very large industrial machines.

There are many forms of CNC machines for profiling materials, including CNC mills, where the cutting head stays still and the work table moves slowly up/down, side to side and front to back underneath it. This works well for smaller metal parts, but where bigger surfaces and faster pass speeds are needed, it is simply not practical. A CNC router has a much larger static work-bed with a moving gantry spanning across it, which travels over its entire length (the ‘Y’-axis). The gantry in turn carries a carriage that can travel the length of the gantry (the ‘X’-axis) and, finally, this carriage carries a vertical slide (the ‘Z’-axis) that carries the spindle holder – the router. By fitting stepper-motors to the gantry, the carriage and the vertical slide, you can drive and have the computer control the position of the router and its tool almost anywhere on the work-bed with tremendous precision in all three dimensions.

A good machine is well designed and well built enough that at the tool end of the router, there is absolutely no flexing, play or backlash (unwanted movement) – so the cuts will be accurate. If there is any flexing or movement, parts will come out inaccurate and the wrong size.

Workshops will use larger machines to cut plywood and timber parts for staircases and rostra, and they can be used to carve 2.5D sculpture and signage.

Fig. 4 CNC router – Stepcraft 420 CNC.

The authors possess a Stepcraft 420 with a KRESS 1050 FME-P spindle (router), which is a high-quality (domestic) machine with an A3-cutting capacity. These, like their larger counterparts, are designed for working in timber and plastics, although they do advertise their ability to machine aluminium. However, if a machine is well constructed, it may be even more versatile when fitted with appropriate tooling. Ours was bought primarily for profiling and machining brass and nickel-silver using carbide ‘D’ cutters, but will also make quick work of MDF, timber, acrylic and other materials, using conventional single- and twin-flute cutters.

Like all routers, they are noisy (not the CNC itself – just the router) and produce dust when cutting most materials. Fairly soon after acquisition an enclosure was made from 18mm MDF to keep the noise down and to control the dust. This was further lined in carpet to reduce reflected sound. Dust extraction was incorporated with a small cyclone to extract the dust and LED lights fitted. The enclosure proved remarkably effective, and the vacuum powering the extraction remains by far the noisiest element.

In order to use the machine (or any CNC machine) you need three computer programs (although some may be combined for some machines).

•Drawing program. We choose to work with DWG files and use Draftsight and AutoCad – but there are many alternatives.

•Toolpath program. We use Vectric VCarve, which also incorporates a simple drawing package as an alternative to the sophisticated drawing programs mentioned above. The primary function is to convert the lines of the drawing into actual toolpaths for a machine to follow, creating files for -

•Post processor. We use UCCNC. This is the program that does the final translation and actually ‘drives’ the machine in real time.

This is certainly a learning curve, but one that pays dividends.

The bed of the Stepcraft as standard is a laminate, and is nice and flat – but not to be destroyed in service, so some spare melamine shelving was used as a ‘spoil board’, i.e. a work surface that gets gradually wrecked and then replaced; 18mm MDF may be used instead. This can either be held down with two clamping bars fore and aft, which prevent any movement, or fixed down with low-tack, double-sided tape (50mm). In turn, the sheet material to be cut is also taped down with double-sided tape, which thoroughly restrains any movement at all, but does allow the sheet to be carefully peeled up afterwards. If cutting material of any thickness, it can be screwed down into the spoil board – taking great care to keep the screws away from any area that will be cut.

For timbers and plastics, a single-flute cutter may be used, adjusting depth of cut and pass speed for the material.

For much work in brass, 0.8mm-diameter carbide D cutters are used to get very fine detail; they require a delicate touch and are worked extremely gently, with only 0.2mm depth and 0.25mm/second pass. At these figures they don’t often break, but 2.6mm-diameter cutters can run through brass at a good depth and a greater speed with impunity.

One of the regular ways of breaking any tool is at the end of the final cut, when the finished piece breaks loose and traps the cutter and snaps it. Fortunately, the V-Carve program has a setting to add tabs – just like etches or sprues in a kit – which will hold the piece in position, keeping everything safe.

Examples of CNC routing in this book are:

•Lorgnettes

•Fourteenth-century glasses

Jewellery Repair

Although not conventionally within the scope of the wardrobe or costume department, it is extremely useful to have some basic jewellery-making/repair knowledge and capability in-house. Being able to make sturdy and proficient repairs to things is a great deal more satisfying than either bodging something together, or having to throw it away and replace it, as is being able to modify an existing item, or make two into one or whatever. Such knowledge is always valuable, and the developing expertise leads to better informed judgements and a greater interest in the subject.

Basic tools:

•Fine point-nosed pliers

•Fine round-nosed pliers

•Side cutters

•Small tin-snips

•Wet-and-dry 200, 400, 800, 1000 sandpaper

•Polish

•Needle files

•Jeweller’s vise

Silver-solder:

•Soldering blocks

•Borax

•Easyflo silver-solder

•Silver-solder paste (Easyflo)

•Cool-paste

•Pickle

•Torch

Jewellers’ supply companies, such as Cooksongold (amongst others), sell ‘starter’ kits for tools and for soldering, and are a very good way of starting out.

Repairs are often as simple as repairing a snapped chain, which may have a pulled link. Such issues are often rectified by using two pairs of pliers – one in each hand – and re-forming the offending link to its original form. Occasionally it is necessary to make new links or new droppers. These processes are very easy if you are equipped with suitable pliers – but not so easy without!

More complicated solutions are required when a jump-ring has snapped off a pendant or, even worse, wire glasses’ frames have snapped. The only good solution with this kind of job is to use silver-solder to repair, as soft solder or glue is rarely strong enough to hold.

SILVER-SOLDERING

Silver-soldering is a process of joining metals together using a silver compound as the solder material. Also known as hard soldering, the process takes place at between 680 and 780oC (depending on the grade), and produces a very strong, hard-wearing joint – which is why it is used in jewellery, where subtlety and strength are so important. It is available in sheets, strips or as a paste in a syringe.

Metals that can be silver-soldered are: steel, silver-steel, brass, copper, nickel-silver, stainless steel, silver, gold and various others. Aluminium and other low-melting-point alloys cannot be silver-soldered.

The process is done on a very simple hearth, often just a cluster of soldering blocks on a soldering sheet (these not only protect and insulate surrounding surfaces, but they also reflect the heat back on to the job being soldered).

Always make sure you have a bucket of water beside you and that there is nothing flammable within a couple of feet of where you are working. Also remember that smoke or heat detectors may be set off unintentionally if you are working near them.

Always turn off the torch as soon as you have finished heating.

The item or area being soldered should be thoroughly cleaned, using wet-and-dry or similar, to bright, shiny metal and then flux applied to the area that you want the silver-solder to flow in. The most common flux is borax powder, and half a thimble full of this or less should be mixed with water to form a creamy paste that can be applied with a brush. The silver-solder can be cut into small pillions – squares 2 or 3mm or so, depending on the size of the job.

One or more pillions are put into the flux, over the joint, and then the torch lit and applied.

For small repairs or making, a small butane torch, such as are also used in the kitchen for crème brûlée, can be used. They are obtainable online very easily and very cheaply, using lighter canisters for refills. Try to buy the type with a self-ignition button.

Heat the joint evenly, making sure both sides get hot. If it is something uneven, like a jump-ring on a pendant, then make sure to apply most of the heat to the larger ring to prevent overheating and possibly melting the small jump-ring. As it gets up to temperature, the workpiece will approach red heat, and you will see the silver-solder start to melt, then liquefy like mercury and flow through the joint. Once it has flowed to where you want it, you can remove the heat and turn the torch off. Solder will always follow the heat when it is liquid, so if you want it to move along, slowly move your torch and the solder will follow (assuming the job is clean and fluxed).

Using silver-solder paste is even easier, as the paste includes its own flux – so all you need do is clean the job, apply paste (making sure it is on both parts) and then heat it. Be warned though, you need to heat the paste in one go – do not take the torch away halfway through and then try and come back to it – it won’t work, and you’ll need to clean it off again and start over.

After the joint has been made, pick it up from the hearth with a pair of pliers and quench it in water to make it safe. All being well, you will have a very strong, smooth joint that just requires cleaning.

PICKLE

Pickle is a generic term for the chemical used for cleaning the metal after it has been heated by soldering or annealing. Heating brass or similar up to these high temperatures causes a thin layer of scale to form, which is easiest dealt with by chemical cleaning rather than mechanical, such as wet-and-dry paper. The pickle is kept in a ‘bath’ or a jar that should be sufficient to submerge the work in its entirety. Non-reactive tongs are used to remove the work from the pickle, after which it should be thoroughly rinsed off with water. The work should always be allowed to cool before immersing in any pickle to avoid splashes of acid.

The old-fashioned pickle was a 10 per cent solution of sulphuric acid, which, although highly effective, is not something that most of us would like around the workplace or home. If you are thinking of using such serious chemicals then remember always to add acid to water, and never the other way round, and stir it in as it is being poured to prevent heat build-up.

I always have a jar of pickle handy. Pickle comes in various forms. My favourite is the swimming-pool additive, PH Down, which comes in 1kg tubs from Amazon and suchlike, and half a dozen tablespoonfuls into a large mayonnaise jar of water (clearly labelled, for safety!) creates a very effective cleaning solution. Others prefer citric acid, available from chemists as a food additive, and while not quite as quick at cleaning, it is certainly safer in a mixed environment. Normally, 20 minutes in pickle followed by a thorough rinse under the tap will clean off most of the crud from the soldering. Be warned – do not use the same mix of pickle on silver if you’ve been using it for brass or copper, or your silver will come out copper coloured!

Like all techniques, good soldering requires some practice, and it is well worth having a little go on things that don’t matter first. However, once mastered, it is incredibly useful and very satisfying.

COOL PASTE

Once in a while it is necessary to solder (silver or soft) near other components that will melt or come unstuck when heated. This can be a real pain, and is best avoided where possible by forethought and good sequencing of work. However, it can still happen, even if it’s just making a repair.

Help is at hand.

Intended to protect areas not requiring heat when soldering, such as stones, areas of metal or soldered joints, Technoflux Cool Paste can be applied liberally, which will very effectively isolate heat from the area.

The effectiveness of this has been tested by getting a 5cm-long strip of brass, 1cm wide, and very liberally applying this paste all the way round the centre (in a complete ring) and then, holding one end by the fingers, heating the other end up to red heat. It got a little warm, perhaps 40˚C. The heat goes into the moisture in the paste and will ‘kill’ the paste before the heat can travel to the other end, acting as a heat-sink.

This has been used when it was necessary to silver-solder something 30mm away from plastic-centred wheels, and it was safely achieved with no problem. Cool Paste is available from Cooksongold among other suppliers.

It is not suggested in any way that everything should be silver-soldered – far from it – merely that silver-soldering is another tool and technique that can be added to the armoury given its significant usefulness. It is also extremely easy and very satisfying to do. There are many informative videos on YouTube on various aspects of silver-soldering where many hours can be profitably spent.

Suppliers: Cooksongold.com; cupalloys.co.uk

GLUES

It is important, so far as one can, to use the right glue for the job. There are so many different sorts of glue out there, and many have been carefully designed to do specific things or have specific attributes – it helps to be aware of these when making or mending.

This is not intended as an exhaustive list, but simply some of the more common adhesives.

PVA (polyvinyl acetate) – white glue. This is an adhesive for porous materials, such as wood, paper and cloth. Generally it is not water-resistant, although ‘waterproof’ types are available. It can be watered down, and added to paint, plaster and cement. It is not a ‘structural’ adhesive, but is very useful within the creative environments.

Copydex – latex dissolved in water, with ammonia added as a stabilizer to the rubber solution. Copydex is a contact adhesive, i.e. you apply it to both surfaces, let it dry and then place them together; very good for fabrics. Like all contact adhesives, care must be taken not to touch two primed surfaces together prematurely, as they will stick and the finish will be damaged pulling them apart. Strength is not great, but it is normally used with a larger surface area.

Cyanoacrylates – superglues, now available in many forms. There are specific types for glass – useful to give an invisible joint and low ‘bloom’ (the frosting that normal superglues can cause on glass). Other common variables include the viscosity – runny or gel – and the speed of setting.

Cyanoacrylates are very good at sticking to most things – wood, metals, fabrics, glass, ceramics and most plastics – but won’t cope well with polyethylene, polypropylene or PTFE. Generally, they struggle with temperature as well, so around 80oC is the limit – don’t mend your tea mug with it!

Epoxy resins – again there are many types, including structural adhesives. For making, we have two distinct types – the 5min type and the 24hr type.

Five-minute epoxy (and the 90sec type) are fast-acting, two-part adhesives that come either in a double syringe or in two tubes. When mixed, you have a short time to apply and locate the parts, holding them in position till they set. Compared to the alternatives, they are not high-strength and have a minute amount of flexibility, even when cured. They are fine for applying ‘decoration’ but not for serious holding strength, such as a repair. The best that I have found in this category is Devcon High Strength 5 Minute, which is significantly stronger than most found in DIY chains.

The 24hr epoxies are stronger, having longer to cure and create more chemical bonds – and are, therefore, better used when strength is the priority.

Milliput Epoxy Putty – is an extremely useful material curing rock-hard in around 4hrs, and fully curing in about twice that. It is supplied in two ‘bars’, which when mixed thoroughly together in equal quantities can be handled like plasticene. When cured, it can be machined, tapped and drilled, sanded and painted. Milliput can be used for making small items, repairs, gap-filling or a multitude of other uses.

1

HATS

INTRODUCTION AND HISTORY

The term milliner originally meant ‘using goods from Milan’, which included gloves, buttons and small accessories. This somehow changed in the eighteenth century to mean making head-coverings and the current term was born.

Hats can be made from any material, including all the dressmaking fabrics (some having been millinery stiffened) buckram, straw and even wood. Hats are used for protection, as in the case of sun and bee-keepers’ hats, riding and builders’ hard hats. Also, for identification, as in the case of military hats, policemen, chefs, royalty and, more than anything, for completing a fashionable outfit.

Medieval and Before

Hats were used a lot for protection and, in the forming of the religious orders, head coverings became a strong requirement for devotion in many religions. Some of these ecclesiastically born hats were redesigned for common use. With the emergence of the Renaissance period (1300 to 1600), many head coverings would be individually wrapped or made, impossible to know exactly, so here are a few typical worn hats.

MEN’S FASHIONS

The Phrygian Cap

The Phrygian hat came to Britain from Europe and can be seen from as early as the first millennium. It is a ‘pull-on’ cap with a curved shape on the top. They were usually made in two pieces and could be made from leather, wool or linen. They were brought back into fashion many times in the following millennia and also came to symbolize ‘freedom and the pursuit of liberty’ during the American Civil War and French Revolution, when they were called liberty caps.

Sectioned Caps

Short, multi-sectioned caps, fitted to the head, were worn for protection and also for devotion.

Coifs

Men wore hoods, often with a small shoulder cape attached. The hood section was made with two pieces, resulting in a corner at the top; this was called the ‘liripipe’. The liripipe became a focus of fashion and gradually lengthened in the fourteenth century; it continued to lengthen until it became impractical to wear and was rolled round the hood. The end of the liripipe was worn under the chin and tucked into the folds of the rolls. This hat was then refashioned into a hat in its own right and was called a chaperon.

WOMEN’S FASHIONS

Barbette/Wimple/Veil

Religious orders rejected all types of flirtation, including the showing of hair, and nuns would, therefore, wear a combination of a barbette, wimple and veil. These items were brought into the fashion arena and adapted. The barbette was a chin strap, which was put on first, the wimple then was worn over the head and sat round the chin, often by way of shaped fabric with a hole for the head to go through, the veil then went over this and was held on with either clips or a circlet.

Crispinette

The crispinette covered the side of the head and in the thirteenth century this was quite plain, though sometimes meshed. During the fourteenth century, it became more decorative and in the fifteenth century, the crispinette developed further to create wide cylinders on either side of the head. The veils became more elaborate, and it could also be worn with jewelled crowns or circlets.

Henin

The conical henins of Europe were not worn much in Britain, though a form of henin that was worn was flattened on the top and worn with a veil. Sometimes the veil was held away from the hat with wires – this was called a butterfly veil.

Sixteenth Century

MEN’S FASHIONS

Although plain hoods were still worn by many working men, the fashion encouraged a smaller, soft-brimmed cap. The hats were made from fur felt, straw or brocade, often to match the outfit worn.

Petasos

The petasos (originally from Greece) was a wide-brimmed felt hat. The crown was usually small and fitted to the head and the hat was used for travelling. Monks and priests might also wear a petasos when out among the people.

Tudor Cap

The Tudor cap had a soft crown, gathered into a soft brim. In the sixteenth century, the brim might have been ‘dagged’ and turned up on to the crown. The brim later became smooth and smaller, and sat horizontally. The crown further developed into a shaped pattern with a flat top and side panels, which sat down on to the brim. The style endured into, and through, the next century.

Capotain (Copotain)

The capotain arrived from Italy towards the end of the sixteenth century. It was a hard, conical hat with a stiff brim and could be made from fur felt or stiffened brocade. It was fashionable throughout the Elizabethan era and was probably the forerunner to the top hat.

WOMEN’S FASHIONS

The henin endured for a while into the sixteenth century. Women were still covering their hair, though this changed with a further development of the wimple and veil, and later during Elizabeth I’s reign, women started wearing what we would call hats, first with a smaller version of the men’s capotain hat. By the end of Elizabeth I’s reign, women were showing a lot of hair and covering as little as possible, with tiny hats perched on top.

The Gable Hood

The gable hood was essentially an English invention. An embroidered, stiff, front hood was developed in the shape of a gable roof, with a non-structural drape on the back and long lappets falling from behind. A small cap was worn under the gable for stability and the drape fell around the shoulders. The hood became more structural through the century with further rings of embroidered bands behind the gable front.

The French Hood

During Henry VIII’s reign, the gable hood was periodically changed for a French hood. This allowed some hair to be shown and was a much softer shape at the front, sometimes hugging the head and sometimes with a wired, sweeping shape at the front. The front shape was to endure into Elizabeth I’s reign and was favoured by Mary Queen of Scots, though Elizabeth lost the drape at the back.

Seventeenth Century

Felt hats came into their own during this century. The century was politically charged and changes happened quickly with the Commonwealth in 1649, followed by the Restoration of the monarchy in 1669.

MEN’S FASHIONS

The Beaver

Made with beaver, this was a wide-crowned, wide-brimmed hat. During this century, it went through a few changes: the brim became wider, it was turned up on one side and trimmed with feathers. During the Commonwealth, the crown was also reshaped to resemble the capotain of the previous centuries and adorned with a band and a buckle worn by the Puritans. The Cavaliers still wore the decorated version and further embellished it.

The Tricorn

Towards the end of the century, there was a further development of the beaver: the wide brim was turned up on three sides, forming a triangular hat with three points. This style was to endure until the end of the following century.

WOMEN’S FASHIONS

For the most part, women would wear a smaller version of the men’s fashions, small linen caps or the caps from the previous century without the drapes at the back; now women were at liberty to show their hair.

During the Commonwealth, the Puritan women would cover their hair – a more pious look being more acceptable. These would be plain linen, often with a starched band at the front.

Eighteenth Century

MEN’S FASHIONS

During the 1700s, the tricorn hat endured throughout. They were usually fur felt hats and black, though there were lighter colours for the more adventurous. The hats were more tailored to shape now and often decorated with feathers. The military also took on the tricorn and added cockades of ribbons and feathers. The tricorn hat was worn by all classes, naturally with a varying amount of decoration.

The large-brimmed hats were still favoured by some, while clergy favoured low-crowned, flat-brimmed hats.

The Bicorn

Towards the end of the century, the tricorn was re-formed into a bicorn. The back and the front of the hats were turned up, with the two points sitting at the sides.

The Top Hat

A form of top hat started to be seen at the end of the century.

WOMEN’S FASHIONS

Women were still perching tiny hats on their ever-rising hairstyles and with the larger hairstyles came larger hats to accommodate them.

Fontange (Frelange)

At the end of the previous century, a fashion came from Europe that was usually called commode in England. It consisted of a wire-framed and lace-covered high fan that stood high from the front of the hair, and a cap that covered some of the hair at the back. The fontange was sometimes made with a starched fabric, folded into a fan. As with most fashions, it eventually became impractical and died out early in the century.

Calash

This was a large hood, often attached to a travelling cape. It was developed to cover and protect the huge hairstyles of the period. To do this, large wire or cane ribs were inserted in several places through the hood.

Nineteenth Century

Hairstyles and fashion, generally, became a little more sombre in the 1800s. The bicorn disappeared and hats that we are more familiar with became fashionable.

The Top Hat

The beaver, as it was still called, went through many styles through the nineteenth century. In the early years, it was a large, very shapely hat with the brim curving down at the front and back. At the same time, a very tall hat was seen, called the ‘stovepipe’: it was made of silk velvet, which gave it a high sheen. The tall crown quickly became shorter and, towards the end of the century, it developed the slight shape to the crown and the practical top hat was born – a fashion that endured throughout the following centuries for formal occasions.

Deerstalker

A multi-sectioned cap with a small peak and flaps that could be tied up at the sides was introduced for hunting. It was made from tweed and was first seen in the middle of the century.

Bowler

A further development of the capotain of the previous centuries was a hard-topped bowler hat, which originally was used as protective wear for riding and labouring, though it became part of the livery of many office-based workers. First seen in the 1880s, the original ones had a higher crown and the brim was more shaped than the twentieth-century development.

Boater

A hard straw hat also made its appearance in the latter half of the nineteenth century. Originally a fashion item, it became a uniform for many gentle sports and schools. The boaters were so hard, they were generally made bespoke to the shape of the man’s head.

The Flat Cap

A cap with a brim, which, instead of the multi-sectioned shape, had a flat top with soft sides; it was very popular with the working classes. It also became fashionable with some sports, including golf.

Homburg

Another hat that originated as a hunting hat was the homburg, a stiffer felt hat with a small, flat brim with a sharp turnover at the edge and a crease down the top.

WOMEN’S FASHIONS

The Bonnet

There were many forms of bonnet during this century. It was very popular, at the start of the 1800s, to secure a hat on the head with a scarf or length of fabric tied under the chin. This might have been an adaption of a man’s hat; however, it quickly developed into the bonnet. The poke bonnet was formed, which had a small crown and a very deep brim coming forward to obscure the face, usually made from braided straw. By the 1830, the brim had opened right out and was lined with all kinds of beautiful embroidery and draped silk. Through the 1830s, large ribbon and silk flower decorations adorned the bonnet and the brim swept down lower at the sides to allow more room for this. It might have been made from buckram, straw or stiffened linen. The 1840s saw the brim becoming part of the crown, developing an almost cylindrical shape. From this point, the bonnet became smaller, so that by the 1880s, it was very small, perching on the back of the head.

The Round Hat

During the 1860s, the round hat was very popular. This consisted of a very small crown and a large brim, and was usually made from braided straw. It might have been tied on with a scarf, if travelling, or shaped down at the front and the back. Smaller versions of it were taken up in the uniforms of schools, resembling the boaters of the men’s fashions.

Twentieth Century

MEN’S FASHIONS

The hats from the end of the previous century were still popular – the homburg, boater, deerstalker and caps – and they all played a part throughout this century too. The top hat was still popular with the elite and on celebration days.

Trilby

The trilby hat took many forms and is still popular today. A softer-styled hat with a flat brim and dent in the crown, folded down the centre and forming a holding pattern at the front, it was popular with all classes. A smaller brim and slightly pulled up at the back was popular with musicians. The trilby could be made from felt, tweed, straw or a synthetic material.

Pork Pie Hat

This has a flat top, a strong indent around the top and a small, upturned brim; it was a popular street hat and especially popular in the 1960s.

Panama Hat

This hat was introduced from Europe in the nineteenth century and was especially popular toward the end of that century and into the twentieth, through to the 1930s and beyond, as a summer hat. It comes in a variety of brim widths and is not unlike the trilby, though it has a straighter crown with a teardrop dent in the top. They are often made from woven straw.

Baseball Cap

This cap was worn for sport since the mid-nineteenth century, but came on to the streets during the 1940s and has become very commonplace ever since. The size and shape of the peak, and method of fastening at the back of the crown, are of high fashion importance and change regularly.

Beanie Hat (Skullies)

The beanie hat, a knitted, head-hugging, wool or acrylic hat came from America in the early 1900s. It has been worn for warmth by everyone for winter sports and outside work. It has changed little and is sometimes lined for extra warmth. It can either be designer branded or made by hand at home.

WOMEN’S FASHIONS

Again, at the start of the century, women might wear smaller versions of the men’s hats; in particular, a small trilby or homburg might be worn. However, once hairstyles became large, so the hats followed suit.

The Driving Cap

With the use of the car being more commonplace, a large crowned, peaked cap, resembling the tam o’shanter hat of the Scottish fashions became popular. It was worn with a large, silk chiffon scarf covering the hair and face for protection from the elements.

Feathers and Birds

Before the First World War, brimmed hats became more lavish and they had wide crowns to accommodate the wide hair fashions. Towards the 1910s, they became more shaped and the decorations became more amazing. Sometimes whole stuffed birds were perched on the hat or huge ribbon decorations.

Torque and Cloche

The war brought a major change and large torques, taken from nurses’ uniforms, were sometimes worn, pulled down over the ears. The cloche was introduced and worn throughout the 1920s. It could be worn tight to the head or pulled out to a small brim. A cloche with a brim made wider at the sides, shaped downward round the sides of the face, was also worn.

1930s to the 1960s

The hat was extremely popular during this time and a very wide range was available from the ‘Florentine’, which had a high, tapered crown, to the sailor’s hat and also wide-brimmed hats for summer days and holidays. The Second World War brought more sombre looks and the 1940s brought a more tailored look with many felt hats, shaped to the head with folds and stiff shapes, including a matador hat. The 1950s were a little more frivolous, with feathers and flowers adorning the headwear, and were worn almost as part of the hairstyles of the day. In the 1960s, hats had a last blast of popularity with loud colours, large multi-sectioned hats, rain hats and, for formal wear, the netted pillbox hat.

Fascinators

The fascinator, a small hat or hair decoration, often made from sinemay or crinoline, became popular in the 1960s for occasional wear. Sinemay is very malleable and many outrageous shapes can be formed from it. The fascinator continues to be seen at weddings and formal occasions.

Hats since this have changed little, for any style, slightly changed by fashion or one’s personal taste, can be worn as a personal expression.

PROJECT 1 THE STRAW RIBBON BONNET

Straw was a very popular way of making hats in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, both for men and women. Straw can be woven into many widths and densities and can be stiffened, as in the case of the straw boater, or be left soft, as in the case of many bonnets. You can buy straight braids of straw or lace edging, both of which are used in this example. Straw ribbon also comes in many colours or can be dyed.

There are dedicated sewing-machines for stitching straw braid, which, of course, would be quicker and easier to use; however, this demonstration shows that, with care, it is quite achievable to make one on a domestic machine with the minimum of equipment. It is not a long process and it is quite possible to make the main part of the bonnet with a few hours’ work.

These bonnets can be lined with silk and the possibilities are endless when it comes to decorations, but this example demonstrates the main skills required to make the hat.

Materials Required

•20m of green 10mm straw ribbon.

•50cm of 30mm natural colour, lace straw ribbon.

•Ribbon or braid to decorate.

•A former or hat block on which to mould the bonnet into shape.

•A braiding machine foot (it is possible to sew the bonnet without this but it is very helpful to keep the ribbon evenly sewn).

The Pattern

In this case, the pattern is made by eye and to the hat block or former that has been chosen.

•First, measure the head of the person for whom the hat is intended. Measurement should be taken round the head in the position and angle that the hat will sit.

•Find a hat block for this size. If the block is too small, it can be bound with fabric to increase the size. This former can equally be a kitchen bowl or anything that is the desired shape. If the former is porous, first cover it in cling film or thin plastic.

•Draw out the design so you have something to refer to when making the bonnet.

Order of Work

The bonnet will be started from the centre back and worked outwards. The ribbon will be sewn under the preceding row.

1.Take the main braid, carefully roll it up and soak it in lukewarm water for approximately 10min; this will make it more malleable, both for stretching and bending the ribbon, as shown in Fig. 1.3.

Fig. 1.1 Straight straw braid and lace braid.

Fig. 1.2 Soak the braid in warm water.

Fig. 1.3 Note how much more malleable the braid is.

2.To start the stitching, turn over the end of the ribbon and gently curl the ribbon round and under the end.

3.Adjust the slider on the machine foot to ensure that the ribbon will be caught by the stitching on the way round (only 7–8mm of the braid should be seen from the right side of the bonnet).

4.Work your way round in a spiral, pushing the ribbon towards the machine foot and carefully bending it round to ensure you get a flat piece of work.

5.Measure the plate (ribbon already worked) against your former and continue until it reaches the point when it should curve round.

Fig. 1.4 Sew the braid under the previous row.

Fig. 1.5 Turn the plate up and stretch the braid slightly to curve the crown.

6.Now angle the plate upwards (see Fig. 1.5) and pull the braid as it enters the machine; this will bring the crown of the bonnet round.

7.Once you have the desired depth of the crown, turn the hat so that the side you have been stitching is on the outside and start pushing the braid again and angling the crown up to allow the form to straighten out again.

Fig. 1.6 Tuck the braid under the previous row.

8.At this point, decide the back of the bonnet and start taking the ribbon under the previous line and cut, as shown in Fig. 1.6.

9.Resume the stitching by bringing the ribbon from under the previous row and around the crown. This will form a cut-out in the back of the bonnet to allow for a bun, or comfort round the neck.

Fig. 1.7 Start the row again 2cm further on.

Fig. 1.8 The finished crown.

Fig. 1.9 The graduated back.

Fig. 1.10 Neaten the inside.

Fig. 1.11 Start tipping the bonnet and ease the braid in to flatten the brim.

Fig. 1.12 Build on the brim.

TIP

Using a large stitch with a very slight zigzag will limit the chance of cutting through the straw and allow a slight stretching of the hat, if it is necessary. The zigzag stitch should not be enough to show as a zigzag.

ADDING IN MORE RIBBON

If you run out of braid, finish off the end in the same way as shown in Fig. 1.6, then start a new piece of braid front under this end.

10.Again, finish the row by tipping the ribbon under the previous row, matching up with the previously finished row.

11.Continue like this for eight rows, creating an arch in the back to allow for a bun or ringlets of the wearer.

Fig. 1.13 Begin the lappet sides of the bonnet.

Fig. 1.14 Continue the brim, ensuring it is sitting flat.