The Compendium of Rubber Making reviewed
Catasta Charisma
(Self-published, 668 pages, PDF, £60)
Reviewed by Heidi Patterson
There is some overlap between the Compendium and the author’s previous book, the The Hood, such as the basics of handling rubber sheeting, and cutting and preparing garments for production.
But one major difference between the two is the Compendium is intended to provide a comprehensive look at various types of garments, as opposed to dealing with single topics such as hoods or — next on the agenda —trousers.
The new manual is divided into three main sections —Rubber Garment Making Practices and Techniques, Pattern Making, and A Complete Project — plus six appendices and a garment index.
I like the Compendium a lot, because it combines lots of inspiring photos with advice and instructions that are easily relatable, thanks to a tone that is much chattier than the other latex crafting guides out there adopt.
While a Castasta Charisma creation is an advanced piece of engineering and technique, the author is remarkably down-to-earth about the unique problems latex possesses, and his trials when creating them.
I wouldn’t recommend jumping into either publication if you’re an utter newcomer to latex construction, however, as the knowledge and skills outlined in them would probably be too daunting to someone unaccustomed to sewing, crafting or drafting.
However, I’d definitely suggest it to anyone who has made at least a garment or two in latex — and even to those who’ve designed and produced latex commercially!
What sets this manual apart from other guides and blogs out there is how the information is presented.
ULTIMATE MANUAL: Everything you need to know about latex-making in just 668 pages
Special mention should be made of Part III of the book, which sets out an entire project for the reader, from its inception via drawings you’ll learn how to create yourself, through a breakdown of the requisite patterns (and blocks from which they start out), to the actual process of cutting, gluing, and embellishing.
And mind you, this isn’t a typical basic miniskirt project, but a unique patterned jumpsuit, with every element shown in detail!
The first of six appendices contains very useful measuring guides, the likes of which, I’ve only seen before in comprehensive pattern-making books. The key points are patiently explained, letting the reader in on the whole thinking behind the process, and the reasons for such precision in the first place.
A further aspect that sets the Compendium apart from earlier latex crafting guides (such as Latex Jim‘s How to Make Latex Clothes and Sian-Kate Mooney’s out-of-print Making Latex Clothes) is its inclusion of what Catasta Charisma calls Intermission sections.
In these, he writes at length about the nature of fetishes, and in particular, his own journeys towards self-acceptance and rebirth.
Obviously, these sections aren’t essential to studying the craft, but their inclusion gives the reader a much greater insight into the history behind the clothes, and personalises the learning experience.
For anyone familiar with what are considered the immutable laws of latex garment construction, the Compendium also contains a revelation that may come as a shock.
I’m referring to Catasta’s seemingly heretical confession that he rarely preps his seams, other than by applying glue to them — from which I initially inferred that he avoids the potentially carcinogenic thinners normally used for prepping. He writes:
“I confess that I don’t always clean my rubber sections unless the rubber has been overly powdered by the manufacturer to prevent it from sticking to itself during storage, or the rubber has obtained grease marks.
“I have simply never found it necessary. Not a single garment of mine has ever become undone at the seams because of not cleaning the rubber down prior to glue application.
“However, if you wish or do actually need to clean your rubber, only wipe down with water those areas in which glue is to be applied.
“To wash the entire surface of any section down can make working with the rubber more difficult as, should it fold upon itself as it inevitably will do at some stage, it can grip to itself and just make working with rubber a frustrating and unhappy experience.
“Before applying any glue,” he adds for those who might not have considered this precaution, “you naturally want the rubber to be dry.”
Well — this reviewer’s mind was fairly blown by that revelation! But further interrogation of the author indicates that his approach isn’t quite as revolutionary as I at first thought.
It turns out that Catasta Charisma does still use thinners in preparing his solvent-based glue. And he does almost always use solvent glues, even though he has suggested to me that water-based glue (eg Copydex) is fine for thinner latex gauges.
And when he does consider that wiping-down the seam areas is necessary, his answer to me is that he might do that with “solvent, water or just a dry cloth”.
Furthermore, he reveals that he has had a number of designers come for workshops and they too have admitted to this approach. One long-established name he has workshopped with “doesn’t even apply glue to the underside of her seams but just to the face side”.
“The seams still hold just the same whether cleaned beforehand or not and whether one is making loose-fitting or skintight-fitting garments,” Heath insists.
Although for skintight garments, he adds, he does apply glue to both face and underside because “a stronger bond is produced by applying the glue to both sides”.
Then, he says, “Wait to cure, for the rubber to settle back down after curling, join the seams and press, then clean down any marks or excess glue.”
Naturally, any latex clothing maker reading this will be bound to ask: which brands of latex sheeting does Catasta Charisma claim this approach is good for?
Well, for his creations he has used latex from small-scale producers including Rubear in Russia and Yummy Gummy in Hitchin, as well as from the two major international brands, Radical Rubber and 4D, and appears to consider them all equally suitable. In the Compendium he even mentions US-based MJ Trends as a source.
The Compendium has so much to recommend it, whether you’re a latex dabbler or a well-established maker. But my biggest concern when I first looked at the PDF of this book remains a concern now.
I want a physical hard copy of the Compendium, similar to other reference books I use, such as Helen Armstrong‘s pattern drafting guides (or indeed the print version of The Hood, which features an open-flat comb binding).
Armstrong’s books, which are available in different bindings, including a three-ring binder, are simply my preferred way of accessing such content, as I like to add Post-It stickies and bookmarks for repeated referencing.
So far, costs have prohibited Catasta Charisma from offering the Compendium as a hard copy. As a self-publisher, it’s obviously much easier to offer a download link, as it allows the possibility of updates and corrections to be made without costly reprinting.
And of course, an electronic version can be made available worldwide through a single link, with none of the shipping problems such as waiting time and cost (shipping a printed book of this pagination could easily double its cover price).
Advised of my concerns about the lack of a hard-copy version, Heath responds:
“It is a tricky decision to make, for while I do get asked for hard-copy versions of the Compendium, I know through sales of The Hood that most sales come through the pdf format.
“I am personally torn when working in the studio and I need some information on a pattern for example, that I have to go back in the house and print off the pages I need while all the time thinking it would be so much easier if the book was in front of me!”
Printing off sections is something I’d do too — perhaps even going to the trouble and expense of printing out the whole book.
“Or maybe,” he muses, “I just need some fancy tablet thing that I could take down into the studio with me.” [Yes, if only someone would invent something like that! — Ed]
“However,” he points out, “one benefit of a digital download over a physical copy, apart from cost, is that, as I update the book — when coming across the odd silly mistake or adding extra features — anyone who has bought the Compendium in the past will receive a free updated version.”
The effectiveness of this has already been demonstrated: earlier versions of the Compendium did not have hyperlinked pages, making it a pain to navigate from the Table of Contents. Subsequently this was corrected, and has already been offered as a free update to earlier buyers.
And in the future, says Heath, he also plans is to make a series of videos while he’s making some garments — which only people with the Compendium will have the links to.
Ideally I would like to see both print and digital versions offered, perhaps with the insightful Intermission sections left out of the print version to cut down on page length, and offered as a bonus download or something.
I also believe more people than just me would pay a premium in order to possess the Compendium in an analog book, which (unlike a PDF viewed on a laptop or tablet) could be marked up to the user’s liking, and easily referenced in the middle of a project.
For the future, I’d also recommend that the guide be formatted to be available for a Kindle reader with bookmarking options and greater portability.
When I imported the Compendium into my reader, there were too many horizontal scrolling and pagination issues. Having the guide on a lighter tablet would go some considerable way towards solving the portability issues the author acknowledges. — HP
FREE to Fetishistas readers:
A SIMPLE WIMPLE PROJECT
Anyone who purchases the Compendium after reading this article can get, completely FREE, a simple Catasta Charisma design project for a latex nun’s wimple and veil, by quoting code FETINUN at time of ordering the manual. The wimple design would normally cost £12.
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STOP PRESS: NEW LINKS!
Since this article was originally published, Heidi Patterson has reviewed Heath’s first manual, The Hood, and the third in the series, Working with Latex. We’ve added links to both reviews below.
Tags: Artists, Book Releases, Designers, Heavy Rubber, Latex
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