Material

Dear Shaz,

There's more to making costumes than taking measurements. You must take measurements for garments that are listed in many sewing books. But you also need head measurements for hats, and foot measurements for shoes or other footwear. You can make up a form with the actor's name, the actor's character in the play, including whether the part is major or minor, or chorus.

If you are making costumes for a play, you need to read that play several times to accustom yourself to the characters; a long talk with the director to get the director's concept of the play is also vital.

If the play is active, it may be necessary to make two or everything, in case of damage during a performance. And find out who will be paying for the costumes--and you!

Teri

I agree with all of this! You need to know the era and how to make the costumes easy to get in and out of as well as hard wearing!

For a quick solution to the measurements, pop over to my web site and look in the Learning Zone for the Taking Measurements page: there's an essay on basic measurement taking and a printable chart with plenty of spaces for additional measurements like those Teri suggests as well as the standard ones.

snipped-for-privacy@yahoo.com wrote in news:1173796428.921390.140850 @n33g2000cwc.googlegroups.com:

I like to even go to auditions whenever possible. I've costumed a few plays and have made myself known to the cast throughout. I do things a little differently in that I ask what size folks wear and generally take it from there. I work primarily with a small community theater, but have done work with larger groups too. I always have a sewing kit on hand when I'm in the theater doing other things. With a license plate that says "I (heart) Sewing," people tend to ask me to help with costumes whether I want to or not ;)