When working on a contemporary show, odds are you might have a couple of costume t-shirts. When tshirts are used in wardrobe, you might find yourself having to mend or repair these tshirts frequently. T-shirts can be tricky onstage for a couple of reasons. Typically, t-shirts aren’t worn with an undershirt. This means more times than not, these costume pieces will be worn right against the actor’s skin. In AEA (Actor’s Equity Association) rules, if a costume piece is worn as a “skin” (the first layer of clothing an actor is wearing against their body), the piece has to be washed after every show.)Because of this, if there is a…
-
-
Tutorial: How To Quick Rig a Dress Shirt
It happens every show. You have a limited amount of time and you need to help an actor change suits. You only have one minute to complete to change, and it feels impossible. What do you do? This is when you start considering quick rigging for the clothing! Especially in modern musicals, the changes are so fast and frequent that most pieces you see on stage are probably rigged in some way to make them easier to take off and put on. One of the most basic costume-rigging tricks in the book is quick rigging a dress shirt! In this tutorial, we will walk you through step by step the…
-
Sewing 101: How to Add Suspender Buttons to a Pair of Pants
If you are interested in stitching, one of the first tasks you might be given is stitching suspender buttons to dress pants. This is one of the simplest tasks in a costume shop, but it also requires more measurements than you would imagine getting the placement just right. An easy way to spot a novice stitcher is to observe their technique when they are applying suspender buttons. In this article, we will break down the basics of how to achieve the perfect placement for suspender buttons on a pair of men’s trousers. Once you learn these basics, you will be able to carry them with you for the rest of…
-
The Most Common Costume Quick Rigging Closures in Theatre
There are many different ways a wardrobe department might go about quick rigging a costume. The best way to talk through these techniques is to break them down to the basics and work them up from there. So first, let’s talk about the basic costume quick rigging closures that may be used to optimize a garment for a quick change. Click on each closure for a more in-depth look! (Coming Soon) Why Might You Quick Rig a Costume? While there are many reasons why someone might need to rig a costume, generally, quick rigging a costume has to do with the amount of time an actor has (or doesn’t have)…
-
The Most Important Tools for Basic Hand Sewing
So you’ve decided that you want (or maybe, more truthfully, need) to hand-sew something. Here are some of the most essential basic hand-sewing tools that you’ll want to gather before you get to work. We also included some optional notions as well that you may want with you, depending on the project. Why is Basic Hand Sewing Important? Some might argue that you don’t need to know how to stitch to be a dresser. However, we argue that you should know how to do at least some basic hand stitching to be a great dresser. We assume that if you are currently reading this at The Wardrobe Guide, you are…
