Houdini Nation's blog/

I decided on a further specification of the Shirtain prototype:
It's going to be three shirts wide (XL-size).

I also figured it would be nice to have a clean and straight edge on either side, so the two shirts on the side will lose an arm. The structure in the top row will not be very fancy, but rather straight forward:

Other side of the shirtain's t…

One side of the shirtain's top…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now, the alignment of shirts depends on the motive they're printed with. The material I have kind of suggests this alignment. It also practical because it gives you room for three coat hangers, so the shirtain can be hung quite losely in my room. The fabric should fall nicely and curtain-like. We'll see.

I still owe you an explanation why certain coathangers are better to use than others. Bare with me.

I have tested a few different models for the shirtain. The outcome so far: flat coat hangers are not so good, slighty curved coat hangers are better. See for yourself:

The straight coat hanger.

The curved coat hanger

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Using a "straight" coat hanger

Using a "curved" coat hanger

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As you can see in the left picture, the straight coat hanger makes a really sharp edge at the shoulders while the curved one gives it a bit of depth and makes it a lot softer. Or you may think I have taken drugs. But let me assure you: It does make a difference! The coat hangers, I mean ...

Open or closed - that's the two incarnations of a curtain, plus the various stages in between.

So one night, while falling asleep, I thought: "Hang on, if I attach the shirts as intended and use coat hangers for hanging the shirtain, can it be opened at all?"

One side of the shirtain's top…

If you look at this image, you can see that the shoulders of the shirts are overlapping. So if I use regular coat hangers, the edges of the hangers come quite close together. So opening the shirtain might not be possible. At least not in the way one would expect from a curtain. This got me worried.

 

 

But it's fine, actually. As you can see in the images below, the shirtain opens and closes easily. At least with XL sized shirts. I assume that with smaller shirts, as in "S", it might not be possible. The problem can be solved by using modified or smaller coat hangers, or by using a different system. Since I'm using XL shirts, I don't care.

First tryouts Open Shirtain

First tryouts Closed Shirtain

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Actually, I got the usual use of open/closed reversed! As a user of a curtain, open means "pulled aside" while closed means "covering the window". I just realised I'm thinking from the point of view of the curtain. Open meaning "spread out" and closed meaning "pulled together". Never mind, you see what I mean.

 

The year 2000 was the last time, I actually touched a sewing machine. I had to make some stuff while studying Performance Design at the Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts (LIPA).

Since then, although involved in theatrical adventures, I never sew again. Until recently, for this project. Here are a few pictures of me working the works:

i Tailor

Sewing lesson 01

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It only took me 15 minutes to set up the sewing machine and have it working. But you should see the lines I am sewing. Don't drink and sew. You know what I mean. I sure hopes this gets better after a while. And it actually gave me some more ideas for the details of this prototype shirtain.