Aurum
Download

Mas Costume Making and Wire Bending

A path from a first wire headpiece to king and queen costumes: tools and safety, mas camp routines, wire bending, feathers and stoning, costing and selling sections, and the deadlines for the road.

Free · Mac (Apple silicon) and Windows · v1.0.0 · Other platforms

Then open the Marketplace in the app, search for Mas Costume Making and Wire Bending, and click Install. It goes into your own files, and works offline from then on.

What it installs.

1

Pillar

1

Area

50

Projects

201

Starter tasks

🌴 Caribbean Life & Diaspora

Mas Costume Making and Wire Bending

Making carnival costumes: design, wire bending, fabric and beading, working in a mas camp, deadlines for the road and selling sections.

  1. Mas costume toolkit and workbench
  2. Workshop safety for glue, fumes and wire
  3. Parts of a carnival costume glossary
  4. Wire, rod and frame material sample board
  5. Masquerader measurement sheet and sizing chart
  6. Mas design sketchbook and reference file
  7. Supplier list for feathers, stones and fabric
  8. Finding a mas camp that takes volunteers
  9. First wire-bent headpiece practice piece
  10. Carnival season production calendar
  11. Weekly mas camp work session
  12. Materials inventory and reorder log
  13. Build log and staged photo record
  14. Tool care and glue gun safety check
  15. Off-season costume storage and frame salvage
  16. Year-round wire bending practice hour
  17. Mas camp volunteer roster and shift plan
  18. Section production line and quality check
  19. Wire bending joins, binding and curves
  20. Mirror-image wings with full-size drawings and jigs
  21. Covering frames with fabric, foam and paper
  22. Beading and stoning bras and belts
  23. Feather work from stripping to mounting
  24. Sewing bikini, trunks and monokini adjustments
  25. Headpiece fit that lasts two days on the road
  26. Backpiece harness and weight distribution
  27. Traditional mas characters and their costumes
  28. Line-by-line costing of a costume
  29. Lightweight frame materials comparison
  30. Adhesive and fixing test panel
  31. Wearer test of a prototype costume
  32. Batch cutting and jigs for repeat pieces
  33. Colour matching across a section
  34. Pricing and selling a costume section
  35. Band launch prototypes ready on time
  36. Final fortnight finishing push before the road
  37. Costume collection day for a section
  38. Post-carnival costume exhibition
  39. Beginner wire bending workshop
  40. Kiddies carnival costume for your child
  41. Sourcing mas materials abroad and import rules
  42. Costume season alongside a full-time job
  43. Designing your first section for a band
  44. School or youth group costume build
  45. Commissioned costume for a private client
  46. King or queen costume frame on wheels
  47. Kings and queens competition entry
  48. Large puppet and mobile sculpture mas
  49. Costume designer and maker portfolio
  50. Training an apprentice wire bender

Where it starts.

Each project arrives with its purpose, milestones and first tasks written out. Here is how the first three read.

Mas costume toolkit and workbench

Half the frustration of a first costume season comes from the wrong tools: cutters that will not bite through galvanised wire, pliers that scar it, a glue gun that drips on everything. Putting together a proper kit and a workbench at a comfortable height before the first frame is bent saves materials and spares your hands through long camp nights.

First tasks

  • List the tools you already own and the ones still missing
  • Ask an experienced wire bender which cutters they rely on
  • Set a budget and buy the cutters and pliers first
  • Set up a workbench at elbow height with a lamp and cutting mat

Workshop safety for glue, fumes and wire

Hot glue burns, solvent and spray paint fumes, and cut wire ends that catch an eye are the everyday injuries of mas camps, and they rise sharply in the tired final weeks. A short safety set-up with ventilation, eye protection, a burn kit and a rule for wire ends costs little and takes one afternoon.

First tasks

  • Read the warnings on every glue and paint you use
  • Buy safety glasses, cut-resistant gloves and burn gel
  • Post the safety checklist where everyone working can see it
  • Check the extinguisher, first aid kit and burn gel are in date @recurring(quarterly)

Parts of a carnival costume glossary

Bandleaders, designers and wire benders talk about headpieces, collars, backpieces, standards, gauntlets and leg pieces as if everyone knows the words, and new camp volunteers often build the wrong piece as a result. Learning the anatomy of a modern pretty mas costume (the bikini, beads and feathers style) and of the larger frontline pieces means you can follow a design sheet and ask useful questions.

First tasks

  • Collect five clear costume photos from recent band launches
  • Label each part of one costume on a printed photo
  • Ask a mas camp regular to check your glossary
  • Add the camp's own words that are missing from the glossary

Make it yours.

Install Mas Costume Making and Wire Bending, then tell Aurum the date you're aiming for. It checks whether the plan fits the weeks you actually have.

Free · Mac (Apple silicon) and Windows · v1.0.0 · Other platforms

Blueprints are general information to help you organise your own work. They are not medical, financial, legal or other professional advice. See the Terms.