This is a tough one, but maybe cotton batting would work better because cotton breathes, polyester does not. If you "build" your shape using a cotton T-shirt as a base, layering your batting,to get the proper shape, it won't shift much and you can make it look very realistic. It will be flexible, also. Then tack all the together with large running stitches through all the layers. Then put another (larger ) T shirt over all the layers . tack again, and also stitch around arms, hem, neck to keep everything closed-- and you have a 1 piece garment that she can put on over her head. You could also split the back and add ties or hooks or velcro for closures...
Just a thought. Monica Spence -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Behalf Of Diana Habra Sent: Monday, April 10, 2006 11:15 PM To: Historical Costume Subject: Re: [h-cost] ideas on making body-shape suit or adding weight to an actress > Recently we costumed for the play "A Little Princess." One of the > characters is a young girl with a bit of a weight problem. She was > superbly portrayed by a rather thin young girl. We stuffed a bodystocking > with fiberfill at first during rehearsals but it was so hot she nearly > passed out and became very flushed. So we tried having her wear three > cotton teeshirts but that didn't work too well either. We finally just > used the fiberfill & stuffed her blouse, a fitted Victorian high-collared > style, after she put it on to fill out the necessary areas. That didn't > work really either, because after every scene we had to readjust the > fiberfill because it kept shifting & even falling out below the skirt. > She left puff-bunnies all over backstage but fortunately none fell out on > stage --although in one of the final scenes she suddenly developed a > "hernia" on her left side. > > Please --we may do this play again for the lower schools. Can anyone > give us any ideas on making a Mrs. Doubtfire-type removable bodyshape > suit on a low budget that won't cause the young actress to expire with > heat? > > Thanks for any & all suggestions. > > Blessings, > Susannah > > > --------------------------------- > Love cheap thrills? Enjoy PC-to-Phone calls to 30+ countries for just > 2ยข/min with Yahoo! Messenger with Voice. > _______________________________________________ > h-costume mailing list > h-costume@mail.indra.com > http://mail.indra.com/mailman/listinfo/h-costume > www.RenaissanceFabrics.net "Everything for the Costumer" "Become the change you want to see in the world." --Ghandi _______________________________________________ h-costume mailing list h-costume@mail.indra.com http://mail.indra.com/mailman/listinfo/h-costume _______________________________________________ h-costume mailing list h-costume@mail.indra.com http://mail.indra.com/mailman/listinfo/h-costume
