Using the Laser Cutter, I made the wooden plates written “CHINATOWN” and “公共” with balsawood. I originally intended to print out 10 (5 CHINATOWN, 5 公共), but only could make 8 (4 each) due to time constraints.
I started to braid the ropes because I thought it would be more sturdy holding the plates and more stylistic than just a single strand. After making 3 long parts, I braided them again to make a final thick rope around the waist.
I mainly used the mailing tubes from Blick to make the terracotta roof tiles. After measuring the circumferene and the length of the original tube, I concluded that an approx 3 x 2 inch dimension would be perfect for one tile, of which I could make 4 from each section, and in total, around 32 from a full tube.
I measured the dimension of my model’s head to make the base roof on top of which the tiles will decorate, and made a trapezoidal prism out of foam board.
After cutting a numerous amount of roof tiles, I placed them on the sticky side of the foam board to prevent from flying away an spray painted them with a blueish green color.
I worked on the chest piece that will be the center of the garment after, and decided to make it look rigid and stiff with few scoring and large pieces in between. To make wearing and taking off easier, I decided to buy a bra (the most awkward moment of my life) and cut the straps to attach to the back so we could use the clips. While waiting for the paint to dry, I worked on the “columns” part of the head piece that will extend from the head roof.
After spray painting the interior base with red, I finally covered the exterior top with the roof tiles. But it the pieces seemed to be missing something, a little incomplete, so I decided to cut a few longer pieces of the mailing tubes and attach them on the top to finish them off.
The final result of my garment construction turned out really well, and I was surprised that I could make the appearance so akin to the illustration, except for a few minor color changes. Overall I was very pleased with the result, and I think the garment turned out exactly how I envisioned it.
