USITT 2017 Tech Expo Guide - Public - 8

Tech EXPO 2017
Exhibit No. 1 Flexible Iron: Fabrication of an "Iron" Corset from an Unlikely

Source

By Erin Carignan
Weber State University
my budget in academic theatre was not going to
accommodate the use of these materials. This
led me to create "metal" samples using a felted
sweater in place of the other more costly items.
I love this project because it combines timetested techniques I learned from designers like
Lewis Brown with new-school and much less
toxic materials. I use a combination of coatings
like NovaColor Tintable Texture Paste, Rosco
FlexBond, and FoamCoat. I used untraditional
costume materials such as a felted sweater, poprivets, and metal cable in the piping to create this
corset.

Figure 1 - Padded dress form

Background
In professional theatre I would be asked at least
two to three times a year to make a piece of armor, helmet, or other large metallic accessory for
stage. I found myself always searching for new
materials to make a lighter, more comfortable,
and stronger piece that would withhold the use
and abuse of multiple performances. I tried numerous materials, at every price point, coupled
with coatings/treatments that were water-based,
low-voc, and as low-toxicity as possible. In my
first year in academia, l taught a costume crafts
class where we made theatrical armor. In professional theatre, I would have ordered some pricey
thermal plastic or industrial felt that ranged in
price from $125-150/yard. I quickly realized that

United States Institute for Theatre Technology, Inc.

Step-By-Step Process
1. Felting: I chose a lightweight sweater that is
100% wool. After felting, often sweaters shrink
in length so, to keep the materials consistent
throughout, I cut the arms off and seamed
them to the bottom of the sweater. Any other
scraps that were trimmed off were saved for
other purposes (to follow...). To felt the sweater: wash it on HOT with about a cup of detergent (I use free and clear for actor allergies) in
the washer (with a spindle if you can) then dry
it on high in a dryer repeatedly until it is felted
to desired thickness.
2. I padded out a dress-form to the desired finished shape of my piece. I made a positive mold
and added all dimensional elements I wanted
to see in my finished piece. I used silk pins so
they would be invisible. I layered towels and
batting, wrapped it in ace bandages, and then
covered the form with 2 layers of old leggings.
I defined the waist with elastic to get a "nipped
in" look (Figure 1).
3. I wet the felted sweater so it was damp and
stretched the sweater over my form and pinned
it with long ball headed pins (for easier extraction later) so the sweater stayed in place as it
dried.
4. I layered on my first coat using Foam Coat
with a chip brush to really push the medium
into the felt (I would NOT use this again: see
later comments in step 11). When dried I sanded the whole piece with a power sander using
300 grit sandpaper, which was enough grit to
knock down any undesired texture but not

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