01 - What We Do

Eight capabilities. One TSA.

Drapes & Accessories→ Soft goods, FR treatment, hire fleet. Sets, Scenery & Props→ Scenic builds, props, set hardware. Lifting & Rigging→ Chain, pile & drum hoists, controllers, consumables. Production Engineering→ Production management, design, custom kit. Venue Engineering & Installation→ Fit-outs, integration, upgrades. Dance & Studio Equipment→ Sprung floors, barres, mirrors, vinyl. Compliance & Service→ Inspections, certificates, callouts. Hire & Touring→ Calendar-driven kit. National coverage.
Products
Services
Drapes & Accessories Soft goods, supplied and supported. Drapes, tracks, FR treatment and hire fleet from our in-house workshop. Theatre-grade soft goods, engineered, FR-treated and serviced under TSA.
Services
Sets, Scenery & Props Built in-house. Toured nationally. Set construction, prop fabrication, museum and gallery fit-out and exhibition builds from our dedicated workshop. Concept to strike, with the engineering paperwork to back it.
Products
Services
Lifting & Rigging Rated gear. Stocked and serviced here. EXE Rise and Ace chain hoists, TSA pile and Hercules drum hoists, Atlas controllers, full consumables range. Design, supply, install, service, recertify.
Services
Production Engineering When off-the-shelf stops working. Production management, technical design and drafting, custom fabrication and cue-driven motion control. The technical side of your show - managed, designed, built and run.
Services
Venue Engineering & Installation Fit-out to commission, one team. Venue fit-outs, system installation, integration and safety upgrades. From new-build PACs to retrofit refurbishments. Engineered, documented, signed off.
Products
Dance & Studio Equipment Made for the joints that depend on it. Sprung floors, Tarkett performance vinyl, ballet barres, studio mirrors, tap and sports flooring. Measured, manufactured and installed to the room.
Inspections & programmes
Specialist inspections
Compliance & Service The paperwork your insurer asks for. Service & Inspection Programme, Venue Systems Health Check, electrical testing, emergency callouts. Defensible documentation, on schedule.
Services
Hire & Touring Calendar-driven kit. National coverage. Drape hire, hoist hire, touring packages. The same kit you'd buy, available on a calendar. Picked, prepped, shipped, collected.
02 - Industries

Eleven industries. One TSA.

Theatres & Performing Arts Centres Lyric houses, regional PACs, repertory venues. Long-cycle compliance, dark-week installs. Schools & Education Term-break windows, school-budget cycles, training programmes. Worship Venues Acoustic-sensitive spaces, AV-led production, multi-purpose halls. Stadiums, Convention Centres & Live Events Arena rigging, convention fit-outs, large-format event delivery. AV & Production Hire Companies Trade supply, cross-hire inventory, servicing and specialist support. Touring Productions Tour-ready packages, on-the-road servicing, certified gear. Film, TV & Studios Studio rigging, broadcast support, motion-controlled scenic. Museums & Galleries Permanent galleries, touring exhibitions, heritage recreations, display fabrication. Dance Studios & Companies Sprung floors, ballet barres and studio mirrors, made to the room. Corporate & Conference Venues Conference stages, auditorium AV, corporate event rigging and staging. Government & Civic Venues Council-owned PACs, civic centres, town halls and public venues.
Proof of work Recent Projects Lyric theatres, arenas, museums, schools and studios. The jobs behind the capability, and what we specified, built and signed off on each one.
Article · Drapes & Make Updated 5 Jun 2026
Drapes Fullness & Finish

Fullness and pleating, explained.

Flat, 50%, 75% or 100% - and box, knife or pinch pleat. Fullness and the header decide how a drape hangs, how it reads under light, and what it weighs on the bar.

Topic
Drapes · Fullness & pleating
Reading
7 minutes
Audience
Venue & technical managers
Scroll
At a glance Scannable in five seconds
01 The question

Why does the same fabric look flat on one stage and rich and deep on another? Fullness.

02 What it is

Fullness is the extra fabric sewn in over the finished width. 50% means half as much fabric again, gathered into folds.

03 The trade

More fullness reads richer and masks better - and weighs more on the bar and the track. A spec decision, not a default.

04 The fix

Pick fullness for the job, the pleat for the look, and a header that hangs true. We make it to measure.

Fullness is the difference between a bedsheet and a stage curtain. Same cloth, different spec.
TSA technical team- from the workshop Voice from the workshop
01 Fullness

What fullness actually is.

Fullness is the extra fabric gathered in across a finished width. A flat drape uses fabric equal to its finished width - that is 1.0 times the fabric. Add 50% fullness and you sew in half as much again - 1.5 times the fabric - gathered into folds. 75% is 1.75 times; 100% is 2.0 times, the deepest standard pleat.

Those folds are the whole point. They are what catches the light and what blocks it. More fullness reads deeper and richer, masks more reliably, and absorbs more sound - and it adds weight on the bar and the track. So fullness is a spec decision tied to the job, not a number to default to.

Four drape panels finished to the same width, shaded to show fabric gathered into deeper folds from left to right. A flat panel uses x1.0 the fabric; 50, 75 and 100 percent fullness sew in x1.5, x1.75 and x2.0. FLAT finished width x1.0 fabric 50% finished width x1.5 fabric 75% finished width x1.75 fabric 100% finished width x2.0 fabric
The same finished width every time - what changes is how much fabric is gathered into folds. Flat is x1.0; 50%, 75% and 100% sew in x1.5, x1.75 and x2.0, for a deeper fold and a richer, more masking hang.
02 The pleats

The pleat families.

Fullness is how much fabric. The pleat is how it is folded - and that sets the look and the structure of the hang.

01

Box

Crisp, even, formal

Symmetrical folds facing each other for a clean, repeating face.

Best for

House curtains and valances.

02

Knife

Tailored, regular

Folds all turned the same way for a structured, even drape.

Best for

Legs and structured masking.

03

Pinch

Classic theatre fullness

Gathered and pinched at the header so the fold falls deep and even.

Best for

House and feature drapes.

04

Gathered

Simple, adjustable

A drawstring tape gathers the fabric - quick to make and easy to adjust.

Best for

Masking and hire stock.

03 The header

How a drape hangs from the top.

The top finish decides how the drape attaches and how fast you can rig it and strike it. Sewn ties are traditional and adjustable. Eyelets suit permanent installs. Track gliders are for drapes that move. And Option D is the TSA finish: a sewn-in hook-and-loop strip with a D-ring, where the loop feeds around the crossbar and back through the D-ring to fasten flush - fast to hang, consistent, and no tools.

Four header finishes drawn on one baseline: sewn ties, eyelets, track gliders, and the TSA Option D hook-and-loop header fastened through a D-ring. Option D sits in a highlighted card matched to the other three. Sewn ties Traditional, adjustable Eyelets Permanent installs Track gliders For drapes that move Option D Hook-and-loop + D-ring
Four ways a drape meets the bar. Sewn ties, eyelets and gliders each suit a job - and Option D, the TSA header, wraps a hook-and-loop strip through a D-ring for a flush, fast, no-tools hang.
04 By the job

How much fullness, by the job.

There is a right amount of fullness for what the drape is doing. These are the defaults we work from.

The fullness defaults we work from, by what the drape is doing.
Fullness Typical job What it gives you
Flat (×1.0) Cycloramas, projection surfaces, painted cloths No folds to cast a shadow or break the image
50% (×1.5) Masking: legs, borders, blacks Reads solid, stays light to handle and rig - the theatre standard
75% (×1.75) House curtains, feature drapes A richer fold with more presence front of house
100% (×2.0) Statement main curtain The fullest, deepest pleat, and the heaviest on the bar

More fullness means more fabric, and more fabric means more weight - so the deeper the pleat, the more it matters that the track and the rig are sized to carry it.

05 Before you order

Five questions before you order.

Answer these and a made-to-measure drape comes back right the first time.

01

What is the finished width and drop?

Fullness is added on top of this, not instead of it.

02

How much fullness?

Match the percentage to the job, not to habit.

03

Which pleat?

Look and structure follow the pleat and header.

04

Which top finish?

Sewn ties, eyelets, gliders, or Option D for a fast rig.

05

What will it weigh?

Fullness drives weight, and weight drives the track and rig.

06 Where TSA fits

We've got the make. You set the scene.

Close-up of track carriers supporting the pleated tops of black wool drapes.
Cut, sewn and finished to measure - fullness, pleat and header set to the job, including Option D for fast touring and hire rigs.

Our drapes are made to measure in-house, with the fullness, pleat and top finish set to the job rather than to a catalogue default - including Option D for the fast hang touring and hire rigs need.

Not sure what your stage wants? The Drape Selector walks fullness, fabric and finish with you and gives you a weight to plan around.

And because deeper fullness means more weight, a Venue Systems Health Check confirms the track and rig can carry it before the drape goes up.

Reveal Productions, the drape manufacturing arm of the TSA group, holds the make-side detail on how each drape type is cut and finished.

We've got the make. You set the scene.

Take it further Two ways forward

Ready to spec a drape that hangs right?

Free download

Get the drapes catalogue.

Every fabric, finish and fullness option in one PDF - emailed straight to you.

Explore the range

Stage drapes & soft goods.

House curtains, masking, cycs and scrims - made to measure, with the fullness and finish set to the job.

Browse drapes at TSA
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