So I made a quick trip to a local sewing store, set up a little sewing table by the sound board, and during rehearsal I ran off some newer bags. And this time I recorded some of the process.
This wasn't the perfect fabric, but it worked. It's some sort of medium-weight cotton-poly blend. It stretches a little -- mostly on the bias -- and doesn't trap quite as much water as cotton, but it could have been more waterproof. Ah, well; that's what condoms are for.
The first step was folding over the fabric, hitting it with the iron (a trick you learn early!) and pinning it so it doesn't slip while I mark out the outline of the pack with blue chalk. There's about three quarters of an inch margin here on the sides, and the top is about two inches here.
Next step is to cut out the individual little bags. Notice I've pinned each in the center.
So now I've done the same ironing trick to those top hems, taking them down to give me about an inch to close the top of the bag, and I've pinned strips of 1/2" velcro to them.
The first trial pack, I ran the velcro full-length, but because velcro doesn't stretch it proved too difficult to get the microphone into the bag. So this works better; there's about a quarter inch space on either side when the bag is finished.
Now we get to play with machines. I had some crazy computerized home sewing machine available which really, really made me miss my old Bernina Industrial. But it did the job. Here I'm stitching the entire length of the top hem about 1/8" in, and down the length of the velcro. After pulling the pin I turn back and go entirely around the velcro and lock off the stitch there. There's no need to lock the start because that will be under a seam.
Pin again and stitch down the sides. Remember I had 3/4" margin? I'm splitting it here for 3/8" between mic pack and stitches. With the slightly stretchy fabric that worked out almost perfectly. You may need to experiment with yours to find the optimum measurements.
(I did one bag, tore it apart with seam ripper and re-did it, and only then did I start assembly-lining the eventual twelve bags I built this time around.)
The Elastic I used for most of these was recycled from the old bags. I eventually used some lighter-weight 1 1/2" I bought myself, measuring the first one right on one of my actors. For the elastic I made, I turned over the top a quarter inch and stitched the velcro over that. The cute home sewing machine with all the computerized stitches didn't have a manual, and it wasn't a proper serger anyhow. Same excuse for why everything is straight stitched, without any zig-zags...I could get the machine to make an outline of a fish on the fabric, but the ordinary zig-zag was hidden somewhere deep in its tiny electronic brain.
The mic packs are Sennheisers, and fairly short, plus the bags are just a little long. This is the position I needed to stitch it in to get it to sit with the center of gravity slightly below the centerline of the belt. Oh, and after making a half-dozen I finally realized it was easier to put them on the actor if you put the female velcro out!
And now we get old-fashioned. The simplest way to attach these is by hand-stitching. The key stitches are the four corners...you do them just like a buttonhole.
If you have the skill and patience, (and happen to be sitting at a sound board over a long rehearsal) you can make these stronger and nicer looking and much easier to work with by doing a running lock-stitch down the sides. This isn't a blind stitch...we aren't trying to hide it here. No need to work from the bottom and just pick out one or two threads! Just pinch the fabric and do a fast whip through it.
Stitch down to the corner, do the same button-hole stitch there, and lock it. Sure, with a decent machine you could do all of this on the machine. But this is almost as fast (if you are used to quick-and-dirty repairs with a hand sewing needle, as I am!)
And it is done. There is just enough space in the bag to tuck some of the slack of the element in there after you've taped it to the actor. My cast for this show is 'tweens, tho, so you won't be getting any pictures of the packs in use.
In this case, we kept the longer elastic and safety-pinned to make them shorter. Since we only had to do that once it didn't cost us much in dressing time. As with all bags, they are worn OVER that clothing that will never be removed during the show, and UNDER everything else. That helps keep the bag from flopping about, and also keeps the microphone cable from getting caught on anything.
The "Care and Feeding of Wireless Microphones" series:
The Basics of Mic'ing a Cast
The Basics of Mic'ing a Cast II
The Basics of Mic'ing a Cast III
The Basics of Mic'ing a Cast IV
A Few Simple Rules for Wireless
The Two Nations of Sound Reinforcement
Theatrical Sound Design series:
So What is Theatrical Sound?
The Basics of Sound Design
The Basics of Sound Design II
Six Simple Rules for Getting a Good Voice-Over
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