| TYPE |
DESCRIPTION |
SHADES |
FABRIC
WIDTH |
ROLL LENGTH |
| Gauzes |
|
|
Approx. |
Approx. |
| Sharkstooth
|
All purpose gauze, good for dissolves and transformations. The white gauze is often scenically painted and the easiest to fog. 8 point is the most common, 6 point less so. The number of points refers to the number of horizontal lines per vertical inch, 6 point being slightly more open than 8 point. |
White, grey and black. Plus full bales of custom shades. |
9.14m/
10.97m |
50 - 60m |
| Square
|
Much more open than Sharkstooth gauze. This makes for much better transparency but of course is more difficult to fog. Good for scenes that have a permanent gauze or where there is limited light available upstage of the gauze. |
White, grey and black. Plus full bales of custom shades. |
10.97m |
50 - 60m |
| Scenic
|
A lightweight honeycomb style gauze. Black is very often used as a supporting fabric in a cut cloth, enabling leaves to be held in place without the fabric showing. Also used to be stapled in window flats to add a bit if depth before the arrival of polycarbonate. Can also be used immediately downstage of cycloramas to add a little depth. Not suitable for fogging. |
White, grey and black. |
9.14m |
50 - 60m |
| Bobbin Net
|
A honeycomb style gauze. Very tricky to fog completely, often has a set of masking tabs just upstage prior to any dissolve. Can be scenically painted with soft scenes / washes. Also good for heavier weight cut cloths and stylised drapery. Is also used downstage of cycloramas to add distance. |
White, grey and black. |
9.50m |
50 - 60m |
Floorcloths
(Druggets) |
|
|
|
|
| PVC Backed Canvas
|
This canvas' main advantage is it's ability to lie very flat to the stage floor without the need for kicking out or tacking. Meaning that a floorcloth can be laid / removed in view, making for much faster scene changes. 'Carpets' can be created for scenes, with minimum fuss. The canvas is also very strong and will weather a lot of wear. |
Mid brown and black. |
1.95m |
50m |
| Cotton Duck
|
The most common fabric for floorcloths. The fabric is fairly strong and copes with light trucks as well as wear and tear from actors. It is liable to shrinkage whilst painting and should always be tacked down at 10cm pitch to minimise scalloping at the edges. Always prime the whole cloth even if just wanting to create a 'puddle' in the centre. |
Available in ecru (natural). |
1.83m |
50m |
| Silks |
Surprisingly, silks can make for very effective floorcloths whether flat and tensioned or strips creating a textured floor. |
|
|
|
| Cycloramas |
|
|
|
|
| Filled Cloth
|
A world wide tradition of being the cyclorama fabric of choice. Filled cloth, although 'knitted' on similar machines to Sharkstooth gauze is hardly translucent. It's structure offers a soft surface with minimal sheen. As a fabric it has good crease recovery and although often stored folded, filled cloth cycloramas will hang out wrinkle free in a matter of hours. This fabric is increasingly being used as a painted backcloth media. Skilled and clever work by scenic artists render filled cloth into painted cycloramas and backdrops, whilst retaining the fabrics crease recovery. This has enabled painted scenes to not only be stored folded instead of rolled on the batten but also brought onto stage as kabukis or tracked into view. |
Available in white, black and pale blue. |
9.14m |
42 - 45m |
| Masking |
|
|
|
|
Super Quality Black Serge
(SQBS)
|
Virtually synonymous in the UK with masking, SQBS is the first choice for masking in nearly all British professional theatres. This woollen fabric has a matt appearance with excellent crease recovery. Although only 1.53m wide, seams are not normally a problem. Whether for borders, legs or half tabs SQBS provides a very good masking surface. Legs and tabs are often made with fullness sewn in to add soft folds and enhance the appearance of depth. Physically hard wearing it is also used widely for starcloths whether pea bulb or fibre optic. |
Available in black and 22 shades. |
1.53m |
45m |
| Canvas |
|
|
|
|
| Cotton Canvas
|
The term cotton canvas covers a great many different fabrics from 150g/m2 calico or sheeting through 200g/m2 light canvas to 300g/m2 heavy canvas and heavier still. Fabric or roll width is another large variable. As one would expect from a large fabric range the usage is equally broad; from seamless backdrops to flat coverings, to shadow cloths & cycloramas. |
Available in ecru (natural) and bleached white. |
2.73m /
3.10m/
4.15m/
10m |
60m |
| Flax Canvas
|
Linen or flax canvas has a long history of scenic uses. Flax Canvas is often the first choice of professionals for superb looking backcloths. The fabric has a greater strength than cotton cloths and accepts paint very well after priming. Flax backcloths can often be painted more than once, making them more economical than cotton. The bleached fabric is not quite white but is more often used than it's equivalent ecru (natural) which is also stronger . Heavy flax canvas is mostly used as floorcloth (drugget) where it excels as it's very strong and yet paints very nicely. |
Available in ecru (natural) and bleached. |
1.83m/
2.44m |
50m |
