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Hooks, rivets, and links for binding the tiles

[Above] Two gallons of dragon skin. Once mixed, it will take 16 hours to dry. My current setup allows me to make 35 tiles a day.

ITP’s Winter Show is approaching fast (20th and 21st) and the word is in—or, more to the point, the Life Dress is in. Of course, now that it is official, I am horrified by the name and desperately trying to conceive of a better one. Suggestions would be welcomed gratefully. I am singularly uninspired.

Nevertheless, this is one of those few projects that thrives on deadlines. Today I finished assembling the materials of the dress. I have already written a fair bit on the work that went into making the molds and pouring dragon skin. Now I have been facing the challenge of assembling the tiles into a dress.

The tiles vary in thickness according to their function and positioning on the dress. The skirt portion of the dress and center of the waist is made from the thinnest tile, allowing for flexibility. While the hips and abdomen are mostly constructed with middle weight tiles to increase strength and support. Finally, the collar is constructed from half inch thick tiles of dragon skin to have the stiffness to stand vertically.

Rather than simply assembling a tube of tiles, the dress is fitted around the waist and then rises in a high collar. Thus, all the tiles around the waist have been individually cut for fit. For those familiar with my sewing, I am obsessive when it comes to fitting. Even though I am not using any fabric, this piece follows my style. I cut each tile with a razor blade along a metal ruler. Scissors did not cut cleanly for such a thick piece of material.

Hooked / linked tiles

I resorted to two methods of binding the tiles. The majority of tiles are connected with staple-shaped links. I found these to be acceptably inconspicuous while adding an intriguing flair. These staple shapes will then be hold each other in place by binding the corners together.

The back of the dress is connected together with altered hooks and eyes to allow the dress to be taken off. Rather than sewing them on, the hooks and eyes are riveted into place with matte silver rivets hammered together.

The the dress has yet to be wired up so that the leds turn on and off. The next step is to cast a final set of tiles which are wired for TLC 5940 LED drivers and a master tile with the arduino. The power supply will be a separate piece so that it can be easily removed in case anything may go wrong.

Once the tiles are cast and integrated into the dress, the next project will be to wire the leds to the drivers and arduino.

My next deadline will be Thursday night when I wear the dress for a photoshoot with Jonathan Ystad.

Close up of waist of dress. Individual tiles were cut to shape around the body for a fitted waist.

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