Process makes perfect

Randy always makes a point of telling people how much of our jobs are research and development.

With permission from the delightful Designer (Annie Cody), here's an example of what we mean.

The design (for the innovative get-into the-action version of 20000 Leagues Under the Sea)

Most of this rendering will be made by the main costume shop, but we, here in Craftlandia, are tasked with the wonderfully 3D looking epaulettes.

The designer wanted them to have this sort of feel to them

This vintage tinsel was perfect!......and unfindable.

But we had zero luck finding any, since it appears to be some sort of vintage tinsel product that is no longer manufactured, and is not even available on eBay.

He made a paper mockup, complete with curly dangly bits.

The mockup established that we really do need something awesome and dimensional. 

So naturally, Randy set about figuring out how to manufacture something that has he same feel to it.

He tried a number of things.



Here are all the initial tries, with their raw materials beside the finished product.



this was cool, but would bend out of shape easily. We also need the Wardrobe folks to not, yannow, HATE us for making them re-curl the epaulette fringies between every show.

 

But we really wanted that cool twisty look that the tinsel had.

The technique that came the closest was this:

Looks curly, dimensional, is squishable, is maintenance free!
All we need is some coppery yarn, and this will do the trick nicely!

 Here's how he made it:


He made a sortof hairpin out of extra heavy millinery wire



and he wrapped yard around it.



and around and around.



Then he took it to the machine. See video below:

pretty cool, no?