Anamorphism - a Victorian ICT activity

Anamorphoscopes such as this were popular nineteenth century toys. I first came across them on this TV programme (CR-8) and thought that this idea would make an interesting ICT club activity.

The software they are using is called Anamorph Me; it is simple to use and is free.

Mirror card is available in craft shops and works well for this activity but the best material I have found is sticky back mirror film. This is available on ebay in A4 sheets and also in rolls; more economical if you are working with a large group of children.

If you would like to try this either in an ICT club or at home then I have written the following anamorphoscope activity sheet which is aimed at children. To make the cylindrical mirrors I wrapped the sticky mirror film around empty kitchen and toilet rolls.

There is a commercially available craft kit aimed at children which explores the use of the anamorphoscope:

Morph-o-scopes by Ooz and Oz. The site includes a child friendly history of the technique.


And the following books are all worth a look:

“Victorian Kinetic Toys and How to Make Them” by Philip and Caroline Freeman Sayer includes a section on anamorphoscopes. The book is out of print; try amazon’s marketplace sellers for a copy.

“The Magic Mirror: An Antique Optical Toy” by the McLoughlin Bros has reproductions of Victorian images that can be used directly with your homemade anamorphoscope.

“The Magic Cylinder Book: Hidden Pictures to Colour and Discover” by Ivan Moscovich is aimed specifically at kids and includes a template to create your own images.

Egyptian Day - an easy costume

Themed days at school, don't you just love them?  I swear I had only just packed away the Victorian costume (cut up school trousers, checked shirt and charity shop jacket) and there we were again, Egyptian Day. A quick search on google and it became apparent that your average ancient Egyptian didn't actually wear a lot (well it was quite hot I suppose). Perfect dressing up idea for a cold day in January then.

My son doesn't particularly like dressing up, but equally he doesn't like turning up in his normal uniform on a themed day. I needed something that he could just fit in with but without being too over the top. So here's my simple (hardly any sewing) but effective outfit to suit your average Egyptian.

Instructions

Skirt
I started with a standard sized, white pillow case (measuring approximately 70cm by 45cm) and cut it into two pieces. The smaller part (length 21cm), was at the open end and included the flap that you tuck your pillow into - this became the head gear. The larger part was 49cm long and became the 'skirt'; I cut open the closed end.

Collar design from www.fashion-era.com

To make the skirt, I printed this lotus flower design onto iron on transfer paper. The design is from www.fashion-era.com, which has a very interesting section on Egyptian fashion and some great costume ideas.

I adjusted the size and lengthened the pattern in free image editing software (GIMP). The paper I used was from HP as I have found this to be very easy to peel the backing from.

I ironed the transfer paper onto one end of the pillow case, removed the backing paper and then cut carefully along the bottom so that the design formed the 'hem'. The iron on paper had the added advantage of stopping the material from fraying and so there was no need to make a proper hem.

At the other end I made a simple waistband by sewing over a flap of material and threading a piece of elastic through. All done.

The hem of the skirt. Some of the paper backing still needed to be removed; I had used some older, cheaper paper  for that part. I have never had this problem with paper from HP.

Top

This was a cheap white t-shirt with the addition of some iron on lotus flowers, as for the skirt. Around the collar required some manipulation in GIMP to curve the image.

Head Gear
I wasn't originally going to bother with this, but by cutting the top off the pillow case I noticed that it lent itself perfectly to the job. I cut through the non flap side (straight through the middle) to form the two side pieces. I then stuck my son's head in the original flap and fashioned it into the head gear you see in the picture. It required securing with a few stitches. And finally some more iron on transfers were added.

Final Touches
I added an old belt of mine which required cutting to length. The cut piece was fashioned into a wrist band. And my daughter insisted on adding some eyeliner, which lasted long enough for the photo!

This is not the first time I have used t-shirt transfer paper for a kids' project. Check out details of making felt boards for very young children at my website.