Costume Construction
Abbie Hagen currently works in Kent State University's costume shop as a graduate student. Prior to this, Abbie worked for four years in Westminster's college-level costume shop, advancing from Stitcher to Shop Forman to Assistant Costume Shop Manager, the highest student-level costuming position at Westminster College. She has also worked for three years in Idaho Shakespeare Festival's professional-level costume shop, first as an Intern and then as a Stitcher.
Elizabethan Construction Project
In the absence of production assignments due to the current pandemic, Westminster College costume students were each given the opportunity to design and construct a large-scale Elizabethan costume for use in future productions.
This process involved numerous steps, taking place over the semester as students constructed the many pieces required to create a single full costume from this period.
The following images are intended to illustrate the work done by Abbie Hagen over the course of the project. First is her watercolor design rendering, from which the costume was created. This is followed by an image of the final product, for side-by-side comparison. Then comes a chronological series of images illustrating the many layers of the costume, each of which was sewn and constructed by Abbie Hagen. These images go in the order that they would be put on, starting with base-layer garments and working up to the outer pieces of the gown. This garment’s pieces required many different skills including boning (skirt and bodice), handstitching pearl embellishments, cartridge pleating, gathering, dying, and piping. The underskirt was hand-dyed to match the bodice fabric, creating the most cohesive look possible. This dress will likely be used in Shakespearean productions in the future.
Additional Stitching Work
