Armor: Bracers for Nym
Jan. 14th, 2012 10:31 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
labricoleuseI've mentioned the HUGE number of armor pieces we've rented for our repertory shows, Henry IV and V by Shakespeare. They're plays about war, and armor abounds--much of my job has been fitting and repair, and reversible alterations like the one i described in an earlier post.
Today's post though is about a case where it was actually quicker and easier for me to just make a new item than to try to make a rented one work: in this case, a pair of bracers (forearm guards) for the character of Nym. We had rented a huge lot of bracers, something like 17 pairs, sight unseen, and most of them were in fine condition to use. However, one pair was in, well, a truly sorry state.
How do i not love thee? Let me count the ways.
I can only assume that these bracers were the result of some panicked last-minute addition where the crafters were short on time and skilled labor, and that an intern chunked these out with no guidance. It happens, sometimes even at the big renowned Shakespeare companies. And, sometimes someone fulfills a rental request by just dumping the bracers stock whole-hog into a box and mailing it off perhaps.
To enumerate the structural problems with these bracers, here's a list:
However, damaged and badly-made as they are, our designer really liked the concept of them aesthetically, and they fit well on the actor. Could I repair them to make them usable?
Well, i could, yes. I'd be expending my labor to repair the rental property of another company (property that is of dubious value, given the construction flaws), and sending them back some bracers that were in a far better condition than we received them, thus improving their stock. Often, i take pride in doing that--i believe it is one of the responsibilities of professional production artists, in fact.
It's a "pay it forward" kind of deal, and I don't resent that use of my labor at all. You are contractually obligated to return things in at least the same condition in which you received them, but i try to teach my students that if you can, send back something better than you got. Your company will benefit from the positive reputation it cultivates among the rental houses, "We love to rent to PlayMakers because they treat our stuff so well," you know? Plus, I often learn a lot by seeing how something else was originally made, the ways in which it succeeded or failed, and how i might improve it. So, i did not just throw away the idea of repairing these from the get-go.
In this case though, when i made a mental survey of what i'd have to do to repair these in such a way that they would stand up to our run, i realized that it would actually save me time if i just made a completely new pair using the original rented pair as an aesthetic guide. Paying it forward is a great guideline, but what i don't have much of on this show is time, so if it saves me time to make something new rather than repair something, i'm making new. We like the lacing ornamentation and basic aesthetic concept, we like the fit of the original, and our designer picked out leather from some hides i had in stock. So, all things considered, i decided to go the make-new route; the pair pictured above will be returned in the exact condition in which it was received, unused, and we'll have a new pair based on the idea of them that will go into our own stock.
The first thing i did was to make a pattern for the base structure from the measurements of the original and cut it out in the desired leather, adding 1" on each end. The extra 1" is to fold over for grommet/lacing reinforcement. I applied rubber cement to the back side, fold it over, press the fold sharp using a brayer (a rubber roller also used in printmaking) or rolling pin, then reinforce the fold with stitching. I have an excellent Consew industrial walking foot machine in my shop that sews leather like a dream. Then my assistant Whitney grommeted them up. (Incidentally, about a week ago, Whitney aged several dozen grommets with black and brown French Enamel Varnish (FEV), in preparation for repairing a lot of this rental armor and for making these. So glad she did, because we've almost used them all!)
Base bracer, grommeted, with lacing ornamentation getting clipped into position.
One thing that bothered me about the construction of the original was the use of many tiny pieces of leather lacing for the ornamentation. I have no idea what informed that choice--maybe all they had on-hand was tiny scraps and necessity demanded it. However, by using a continuous piece, you minimize the likelihood that it will pull out and become some dangly aesthetic liability.
In the image above, i'm laying out the ornamental lacing pattern using one single long length of leather lace, and clipping it into place with alligator clips. If i cared about scarring this piece, i'd consider a different clamp, but these are supposed to wind up battle-scarred anyway so the toothy alligator clips aren't a problem. Once i finished laying it into place, i used the walking foot to stitch the lacing to the base piece down the top, bottom, and center of each bracer. This gives it one point of anchor. But, noting how the original bracers really failed structurally, perhaps as a result of that lacing ornamentation, i wanted to provide more sturdy anchorage for mine than just a single stitching line. Besides, there are bands of leather on the original that cover the ends and centerline.
"Are you using leather as bias tape?"
That caption is a direct quote from my assistant, who walked into the room at this point in the process, and yes, that is exactly what i am doing! Chrome-tanned and brain-tanned leather have excellent stretch--not like, say, rubber or something, but you can totally get it to take curves. Practice and experimentation will give you a better idea of exactly what you can ask it to do, but point being, i knew i could bind my edges with the thin leather you see in the image, to create that banded look and also to smooth the rougher edges at top and bottom where the bracer might rub against the performer's skin or costume.
The finished bracer, a La Bricoleuse!
I did run out of the leather i was using to bind the ends, hence the contrast "reptile" band down the center of these. These were a fun problem to think about and troubleshoot, and on an enormous pair of repertory shows in which i expected i'd make literally nothing from scratch, a cool little project for an afternoon.
Today's post though is about a case where it was actually quicker and easier for me to just make a new item than to try to make a rented one work: in this case, a pair of bracers (forearm guards) for the character of Nym. We had rented a huge lot of bracers, something like 17 pairs, sight unseen, and most of them were in fine condition to use. However, one pair was in, well, a truly sorry state.
How do i not love thee? Let me count the ways.
I can only assume that these bracers were the result of some panicked last-minute addition where the crafters were short on time and skilled labor, and that an intern chunked these out with no guidance. It happens, sometimes even at the big renowned Shakespeare companies. And, sometimes someone fulfills a rental request by just dumping the bracers stock whole-hog into a box and mailing it off perhaps.
To enumerate the structural problems with these bracers, here's a list:
- The functional lacing holes (barely visible at the top, laced with black elastic) do not go all the way to the top and bottom. This will mean the bracer will flare open at the ends, which can be problematic in fight choreography.
- The functional lacing holes are punched through a single layer of leather and not reinforced with grommets. This means that--especially for a run like ours which lasts a month and a half--there's a possibility the lacing would deform or tear through. Since these are rented, i'd have to make a replacement pair or we'd have to pay for them if we damaged this pair like that by using them.
- The entire thing is put together with hot glue. Hot glue does not form a good bond with leather at all. This is why the ornamental leather lacing is popping up like in the above photo, and why the strips at top/center/bottom are coming away from the base. How this made it through a single run at any of the Shakespeare companies from which we rented, i don't know.
However, damaged and badly-made as they are, our designer really liked the concept of them aesthetically, and they fit well on the actor. Could I repair them to make them usable?
Well, i could, yes. I'd be expending my labor to repair the rental property of another company (property that is of dubious value, given the construction flaws), and sending them back some bracers that were in a far better condition than we received them, thus improving their stock. Often, i take pride in doing that--i believe it is one of the responsibilities of professional production artists, in fact.
It's a "pay it forward" kind of deal, and I don't resent that use of my labor at all. You are contractually obligated to return things in at least the same condition in which you received them, but i try to teach my students that if you can, send back something better than you got. Your company will benefit from the positive reputation it cultivates among the rental houses, "We love to rent to PlayMakers because they treat our stuff so well," you know? Plus, I often learn a lot by seeing how something else was originally made, the ways in which it succeeded or failed, and how i might improve it. So, i did not just throw away the idea of repairing these from the get-go.
In this case though, when i made a mental survey of what i'd have to do to repair these in such a way that they would stand up to our run, i realized that it would actually save me time if i just made a completely new pair using the original rented pair as an aesthetic guide. Paying it forward is a great guideline, but what i don't have much of on this show is time, so if it saves me time to make something new rather than repair something, i'm making new. We like the lacing ornamentation and basic aesthetic concept, we like the fit of the original, and our designer picked out leather from some hides i had in stock. So, all things considered, i decided to go the make-new route; the pair pictured above will be returned in the exact condition in which it was received, unused, and we'll have a new pair based on the idea of them that will go into our own stock.
The first thing i did was to make a pattern for the base structure from the measurements of the original and cut it out in the desired leather, adding 1" on each end. The extra 1" is to fold over for grommet/lacing reinforcement. I applied rubber cement to the back side, fold it over, press the fold sharp using a brayer (a rubber roller also used in printmaking) or rolling pin, then reinforce the fold with stitching. I have an excellent Consew industrial walking foot machine in my shop that sews leather like a dream. Then my assistant Whitney grommeted them up. (Incidentally, about a week ago, Whitney aged several dozen grommets with black and brown French Enamel Varnish (FEV), in preparation for repairing a lot of this rental armor and for making these. So glad she did, because we've almost used them all!)
Base bracer, grommeted, with lacing ornamentation getting clipped into position.
One thing that bothered me about the construction of the original was the use of many tiny pieces of leather lacing for the ornamentation. I have no idea what informed that choice--maybe all they had on-hand was tiny scraps and necessity demanded it. However, by using a continuous piece, you minimize the likelihood that it will pull out and become some dangly aesthetic liability.
In the image above, i'm laying out the ornamental lacing pattern using one single long length of leather lace, and clipping it into place with alligator clips. If i cared about scarring this piece, i'd consider a different clamp, but these are supposed to wind up battle-scarred anyway so the toothy alligator clips aren't a problem. Once i finished laying it into place, i used the walking foot to stitch the lacing to the base piece down the top, bottom, and center of each bracer. This gives it one point of anchor. But, noting how the original bracers really failed structurally, perhaps as a result of that lacing ornamentation, i wanted to provide more sturdy anchorage for mine than just a single stitching line. Besides, there are bands of leather on the original that cover the ends and centerline.
"Are you using leather as bias tape?"
That caption is a direct quote from my assistant, who walked into the room at this point in the process, and yes, that is exactly what i am doing! Chrome-tanned and brain-tanned leather have excellent stretch--not like, say, rubber or something, but you can totally get it to take curves. Practice and experimentation will give you a better idea of exactly what you can ask it to do, but point being, i knew i could bind my edges with the thin leather you see in the image, to create that banded look and also to smooth the rougher edges at top and bottom where the bracer might rub against the performer's skin or costume.
The finished bracer, a La Bricoleuse!
I did run out of the leather i was using to bind the ends, hence the contrast "reptile" band down the center of these. These were a fun problem to think about and troubleshoot, and on an enormous pair of repertory shows in which i expected i'd make literally nothing from scratch, a cool little project for an afternoon.
