I have stitched and created for a long time now. Since 1999 I have been a fully qualified Costume Interpreter. "A what" I hear you say, well when you watch any kind of theatrical production on the stage or screen, the costumes will have been designed by one soul, and their designs then interpreted by another team of souls. The costume Designer is the person who gets a credit at the end of a programme/film/brochure. The Interpreters or Makers do not usually get any credit, just the satisfaction of making someone look like their character and hopefully aiding in their over all performance. Oh and we get paid...a bit...but that is another post, I could go into all the differences between working on film(big bucks) or in Theatre(sometimes not so big bucks), but I won't.
Interpreters or makers as we are more usually known sometimes work in a team, a duo or all by ourselves. If we work in a team the person in charge is called a "Cutter", because they draft and cut the garments, then the makers construct the garment and the cutter then fits the items on the actor and marks up the alterations and hands it back to the maker to finish. If we work solo we have to do all these tasks ourselves. In theatre we rarely use commercial stock size patterns, we work from a set of the persons measurements, and either flat draft a pattern (on paper using a set of slightly complicated instructions-if you are a maths whizz you would love this). Or you can cut "on the stand", this involves a tailors dummy, a piece of cloth, pins and some twiddling.
This is a dress I am currently cutting "on the stand".
Here is Flo modelling another Client's dress.
She is not merely a decorative prop, she has come in very handy and indeed invaluable when levelling hems and cutting a pattern, and as she is adjustable so I can even make her my size, meaning I no longer have to disrobe in my workroom(back corner where I won't scare the neighbours).
Isn't she lovely!!!