Technique: Creating fabric pockets to extend pneumatic hinges

Overview – Please read

These video instructions show a basic way to add fabric pockets onto your plastic pneumatic hinges so you can add rigid elements to your hinges. These rigid elements can then be used to manipulate additional fabric. There are two types of hinges demonstrated: small and large. There are three kinds of extensions demonstrated: cardboard, thick wire, and dowels.

These basic instructions are only a suggestion. You are welcome to elaborate upon, alter, edit, or reinvent a process for adding pockets onto your pneumatic hinges to hold rigid extensions.

These videos are very practical – they do not show how to add creative or expressive fabric on to the ends of the rigid elements.

View the “Testing the Small Hinge” and the “Testing the Large Hinge” videos to see the hinges demonstrated.