Silver Scrim for Yusuf Islam

This past October, we were selected by Marc Brickman, Set and Lighting Designer for the “Guess I’ll Take My Time” tour of Yusuf Islam (formerly Cat Stevens) to make an interesting piece for the tour, which took place in the UK in late Fall 2009. 

Finding the right material was crucial, and so we sourced a  number of different scrims, nets, and similar fabrics in shades of grey, silver and black, and sent samples out to the tour for lighting tests. 

Ultimately, the material chosen was a metallic silver fabric similar to Sharkstooth Scrim.  From that material, we created a dramatic 35′ h x 57′ w piece, to be used by the tour as a projection surface.  This material was chosen for the combination of its reflective qualities and its tourability.

We were really pleased to be mentioned by Dietrich Juengling, the tour’s video content designer, in regards to this project, in a piece in Total Production International.  It is so rewarding to not only make a drape that we are ourselves proud of, but to also be recognized by the client in such a way!

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Scrims in Schools

Recently, we got an e-mail from Leslie at Rutherford High School in Pennsylvania.  The school had purchased a custom scrim from us last month, and Leslie was raving about it – not just about the scrim itself, but about its use as a teaching tool.  As Leslie said, “Talk about a teachable moment–the day we installed it, my stagecraft students spent about 30 minutes just marvelling about how ’seriously cool’ it was!”

I hadn’t really thought about this aspect of Sharkstooth Scrim before.  Most of the time, scrims are purchased by professional theatres and music tours – those places with professional lighting technicians on staff who know how to effectively light the scrim so that its “magical” properties appear.  But the truth is, these techniques can be learned and utilized in any theatre or auditorium environment – including schools such as Ringgold High School.  It just takes a little study, practice, and the right lights.

And what a great thing to teach stagecraft students!  I remember way back when in my own high school theatre days.  While my focus was on acting rather than on stage crew, I know that I would have loved to have learned about how scrims work.  As it is, I spent the next 25 years or so marvelling at the magic on stage until I started working at Sew What? and learned the secret behind the magic.

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Crossword Clue

Just got a fun Google alert…the word “scrim” was used in the LA Times Crossword Puzzle on December 7th, and information on it was posted on the blog “L.A. Crossword Confidential.”  A number of people left comments asking what scrim is, and one blogger, JOHNSNEVERHOME, gave a brief explanation and then posted a link to “Description of Stage Curtains” page of the Sew What? Inc. website.

Anyway, I really enjoyed this unexpected reference to us.  If you’d like to check it out, go here and scroll down through the comments a bit.

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The Future of Scrim

You may not realize it, but if you have gone to the theatre, you have probably experienced the magic of sharkstooth scrim (the material used to make scrims).  A scrim is a commonly used piece of stage curtain magic. Due to the scrim fabric’s unique capabilities, when lit correctly from the front, a scrim appears opaque. When the front light is turned off, however, and objects behind the scrim are lit, the fabric appears transparent.   So, from the audience’s perspective, it appears as if the stage is completely empty and then suddenly, like magic, the scene behind the scrim gradually appears into view.

In addition, sharkstooth scrim fabric, with its rectangular weave, is dense enough to provide a dye-painting surface and still become transparent when back-lit, therefore making it an extremely versatile piece of stage scenery.

My concern is, how long will sharkstooth scrim remain available?  Scrims are typically sewn as seamless, so that there are no seams in the fabric to interfere with the “trick of the light.”  The most common way to utilize sharkstooth scrim is to sew it “railroaded,” meaning that the width of the fabric becomes the height of the finished scrim (allowing for top and bottom finishes). As a result, in order to make a scrim that is, for example, 30′ high by 50′ wide, you would use about 17 yards of 31′ wide Sharkstooth Scrim.

The problem is, very specialized wide looms are required to weave Sharkstooth Scrim, especially the wider widths such as 31′ and 35′.  Most of the looms are in Europe and are 100 or more years old.  From what I understand, these looms aren’t being made any more, and the mills can’t even buy parts.  I have heard of mills buying old (sometimes broken) looms just to cannibalize them for parts for the looms they already have.

I worry – what happens when all of the looms stop working and there are no more broken looms from which to get parts?  Will there come a point in which we have to say goodbye to the magic of scrim because the fabric just can’t be made anymore?

I have heard of new producers of sharkstooth scrim, in Asia.  Perhaps they are making new looms?  I would love to find out if this is true, because it really saddens me to think that we might one day lose this terrific fabric.

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Textile mills moving to Mexico? Here’s an alternative

As you can imagine, the primary raw material that we use in our business is fabric.  We buy velours to make custom stage curtains.  We buy sharkstooth scrim to make theatrical scrims.  We buy printable fabric to make custom band backdrops.  All of these fabrics originate at the textile mill.

In general, those mills are located in the US or, in the case of certain specialty fabrics, in Europe (primarily the UK and Germany).  However, I have been hearing more and more about US textile mills opening new manufacturing locations in Mexico (especially since the adoption of NAFTA), with the primary workforce of these locations made up of local workers (though supervised by U.S. managers).  What does this mean for the future of the textile industry in the US?  I found an interesting article offering an alternative – Texas.

I have never been one of those people who is adamant on buying American goods, but I do worry about the future of the US textile industry and how it will affect companies like Sew What?

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Sew What? Travels the World

We’ve gotten some fun photos back from clients from time to time, usually of our drapes used in theatres or concert arenas or special event venues.  I always love to see our custom stage curtains, theatre scrims, and band backdrops in use.  But the photos below are different and gave me a chuckle, so I thought my readers might enjoy seeing them as well…

These Sew What bags are usually used for holding drapery – but here on a luggage carousel in Germany, it is apparent that someone ran short on space in their suitcase and decided to try out a Sew What? bag as checked luggage.

Each year we print a new Sew What? tee-shirt.  This is last year’s shirt hanging on a washing line in Italy.

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Cycs, Scrims, and Painters Backdrops

Because the terms “backdrop,” “cyc” and “scrim” are often used interchangeably, it can get confusing to understand what each term really refers to in the theatre.  Even I still get confused occasionally and have to stop and think for a minute (it’s been a long time since my days as a high school theatre nerd)  - and so I thought there are probably a lot of folks out there who would like a quick rundown on the differences between these pieces.

A Cyclorama (or “cyc”) refers to a white or natural seamless flat muslin panel.  It is always the piece that is hung furthest upstage (aka at the very back of the stage) and is usually used for sky effects (often through frontlit projection).

A Scrim is made from a very specific type of netting called Sharkstooth Scrim.  Depending on lighting techniques used, its appearance varies from opaque to translucent.  It is nearly always seamless and can be hung in various locations on stage.

A Painter’s Backdrop is a white or natural flat muslin panel (seamed or seamless) that is used in various locations onstage to help create the scene.  Often the scene is painted on (hence the name) – either by the stage crew or by a professional scenic painter.  Other times, the scene is projected onto the painter’s backdrop.  Alternatively, to create a similar effect, a digitally printed backdrop can be used rather than a painter’s backdrop.

And ”backdrop”?  Well, it is just a generic term for something (usually a drape of some sort) that is behind something else – such as behind the orchestra at the Philharmonic or behind the President during a press conference.  It could be muslin, it could be velour, it could be another material.  It could be flat, it could be pleated.  Pretty much, the sky’s the limit. 

Hope this helps.  And keep in mind, if you aren’t sure of what to call something – not to worry.  You can always call us and describe what you need – we can help you out.

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