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Mixed Materials Introduction- Pattern Making

Updated: Oct 28, 2022

As part of my skills passport, I chose to study the routeway of mixed materials. In our first session, we studied a range of plastics which have very different uses throughout the film and television pathway. These set of materials included:


  • Plastazote- Is a foam based thermoplastic. It is lightweight and relatively comfortable. It is a sheet material that needs to be glued with contact adhesive and primed before painting.

  • Worbla- Is a thermoplastic which can be used as a sheet material or modelled when heated e.g. armour and is very durable. It is good for costume jewellery and is reusable. Don't leave in the sun.

  • Varaform- Is a cotton and thermoplastic mesh. It is heated with hot water and solidifies as it cools. It can be moulded over objects to shape and stick itself and other things well. Excellent breathability and can be used for visibility over the eye area.

  • Fosshape- Is a flexible felt-like material which shrinks and hardens when heated or steamed. Use a steamer to mould it over hat blocks or shapes or pattern it and stitch it with a machine.

From this we then went on to pattern making where we chose a desired fruit/vegetable and had to wrap the entire object in cling film. From this I used masking tape to cover the entire pumpkin making sure the tape was tight and visibly pressed into all the grooves so that the shape was clear. I then drew on lines of where I would cut making sure they are clearly labelled. From this, I cut each segment out and used them as a stencil to replicate the shape on a bit of card. I then stuck the card together to replicate the pumpkin shape.


This is a technique they use throughout Film and Television as well as costume making to make realistic object quickly and cost effectively which can have several purposes. It is particularly useful if these objects have to be destroyed throughout filming or if there needs to be multiple copies of the same items.


I found this technique fairly difficult as I chose a complicated shape of a pumpkin however I wanted to challenge myself. Moving forwards I may try this process/technique again using a more simplified shape such as a banana.


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