The “clean” room is designated for fabric lay-out, draping, and upholstery related tasks, paper goods and floral projects, graphics work, set-dressing modification, some crafts work and other activities that require a space free from air-born contaminants or dust. 

    The graphics area requires a computer with a scanner and wide frame printer for creation, alteration, and printing of photos, money, legal documents, etc. supplemented by a drafting/ light table for lay out work by hand.   Computers today are evolving so quickly and the software being developed that the level of ephemera able to be created is really only limited by the skill of the artisan with an understanding of programs such as Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Illustrator, to name just two in a field of many.

   

    Access to the Web allows for the downloading of images for easy manipulation and printing for stage use.  Document creation has been revolutionized and many prop items that used to require hours of hand work in past years are now completed with the click of a computer mouse.

   

    The upholstery and soft goods process utilizes much of the same equipment similar to the costume shop but requiring tools that can handle drapery and upholstery weight materials.  In addition to heavy-duty sewing machines, most shops have a serger or marrow machine, an ironing table with industrial steam iron, patterning tables with surfaces allowing fabric to be pinned down, and sewing hand tools such as scissors, measuring tapes, tack hammers, tufting needles, pattern weights, etc. For doing upholstery and other types of theatrical or heavy-weight fabrics a walking-foot machine is often used.  A walking-foot sewing machine has a special pressure foot that operates in two parts and pulls the fabric through the machine allowing multiple layers of fabric or heavy weight fabric to be more easily sewn. This is especially useful when doing stage draperies.  Having the machine inset into a large worktable assists in the handling of the material as it is walked through the machine.

 

   

    Upholstery and drapery supplies include cotton and polyester batting, muslin and cambric, foam rubber in various densities and thicknesses, spray adhesives, heavy-duty thread, tying twine, decorative gimp and fringes, drapery tape and webbing as well as various fasteners such as staples, webbing tacks, and decorative nail strips. Just as in the "dirty" shop, appropriate electrical and pneumatic outlets should be provided to minimize the use of extension cords.

Seattle Children’s Theatre “clean room”

The “Clean” Room