Modelling on a Drawing Mannequin -

We started the new project by working on the drawing mannequins. Using our costume designs from The Beggar's Opera project in the first half of the term we are now developing one of our costume designs and making them into a 3D design.

I have chosen to recreate and model into a 3 dimensional costume my design for Miss Peachum. I think I wanted to do this particular costume because I thought that I could best represent the comedic aspect that I wanted to do for my concept.


With the mannequin, wrap cling film around the body and limbs to protect the wood from getting glue or paint on it. The Cling film will also be useful at the end when it comes to cutting off the tissue paper costume.

- Wrap mannequin in cling film to protect the mannequin.
- Start building up the shape of the costume that you are wanting to recreate.
       - Women - make sure to include the under garments too illustrate the time period.
- Build up the tissue paper with glue and get the desired shape and silhouette of the time period.
- Colour the costume - either with coloured tissue paper or paint.
- Leave to dry
- Once dry cut a straight line down the back of you costume, this will make it easier to remove later.
- Leave to stand - perhaps create a structure that you could use to help the tissue paper costume keeps its shape whilst its not on the mannequin.

Repeat again doing a Man if you have already done a Woman, or vis versa.

Skills Week | 18th Century Corset Making

This week we have been learning how to fit and construct an 18th century corset. After working on a set design for an 18th century play, I found this skills week to be very useful and rewarding. Having the skills week, a week before our Beggar's Opera project finished, it gave us time to see one to one how the silhouette of the time period was made.

I have really enjoyed this skills week as it allowed me to go back to the sewing machine, something I am comfortable using but also pushed me to learn new things, such as pattern laying, amending the basic pattern to fit me and seeing how the panels and boning channels work together to form shape and support for the wearer.

My corset fitted well and given another day I would have been able to finish it entirely. At the end of the week the only section I had left to do was the bias binding around the neck of the corset. Unfortunately with the number of people and number of machines there wasn't enough time to finish the corset entirely so this I finished off in my own time.

Making the Set - Picture Frames.

I liked the idea of comedy in a show, I also thought that social class was important in The Beggar's Opera To combine the two on stage I decided to use large (over sized) picture frames, painted in gold and bronze. 

The frames are to represent the quality and hierarchy of those with power over those without. I chose to link two of the frames, one gold and one bronze to demonstrate that the social classes will always intertwine and be around each other. 

I made the frames from black card because I thought that it would give the best surface to stick clay to.