At Stretch Shapes, we know you use truss for everything; they’re an integral component in stage set design and event production. Covering your truss with a beautiful, wrinkle-free surfaces is becoming the new industry standard amongst top AV professionals, who regularly turn to Stretch Shapes’ collection of Truss Covers. Our Truss Covers are optimized for peak performance and create unique opportunities for lighting and design.

Since our stretch fabric Truss Covers are known for providing a smooth, wrinkle-free surface, the scrunching or ruching technique might not come to mind immediately. But the stretchiness in our fabric makes it easy to add texture and visual interest, and can help turn those trusses into an opportunity for beautification.

The steps below will help you master the scrunching technique so you can keep expanding your design toolbox.

1. Measure enough fabric so you have extra to scrunch with. Ideally we recommend using twice as much fabric, so if you’re covering a 10 foot truss, 20 feet of truss cover is recommended; you can use less, but we suggest a minimum 50% increase, so that same 10 foot truss could also be scrunched with a 15 foot truss cover, but the scrunching won’t be as dense.
2. Apply your Truss Cover as usual. The scrunching technique works best with Pull Over Truss Covers, in which case you would simply pull the cover over your truss, until it is covered from top to bottom.
   Pro Tip: Try using black truss covers with internal LED lighting for a modern, edgy look.
3. Start scrunching! Pull down the truss cover, bunching the fabric together so it creates layers of fabric that look like rippled edges. How dense the ruching is depends on how much additional fabric you have to work with. Adjust and repeat as needed!
   Pro Tip: Create different types of effects by stacking your scrunch level or mix it up by scrunching one side higher than the other and alternate to create an angular look.
4. Illuminate (optional). The opacity on all of our Truss Covers is set just right, so when there’s external light, you don’t see through, but if you illuminate from the inside, it creates a vibrant, beautiful color and lighting effect.
   Pro Tip: For additional intrigue, combine a scrunched Truss Cover with internal LED lighting at one or both ends of the truss, then control each LED fixture on a separate channel. Blend and mix the lighting to create lush textures and colors that can match the event’s theme or mood.

The great thing about working with Stretch Shapes’ Truss Covers is the fabric we use! All of our Truss Covers are manufactured using Premium IFR Stretch Fabric. The fabric is Inherently Flame Retardant, so it will never lose its flame certification, even after repeated deep cleaning. Its tight warp knit increases fabric strength and puncture resistance, while its high stretch memory allows the fabric to recover to its original size more accurately, making it easy to work with as you revise and refine your scrunched truss covers.

Our reliable Truss Covers are sold in precut segments, by the roll, and in both standard and metric sizes. We offer them to fit a variety of box truss sizes as well as an assortment of triangle truss sizes. Truss Covers are also available in rolls, which come in varying lengths and allow you to cut them down to size as needed. Keeping the rolls in stock ensures you have the product on hand whenever they’re needed, so you’re able to just cut the length you need and apply — even when those last-minute requests come up!

Have you tried the ruching technique? Please send us your pictures at [email protected]. Do you have other interesting techniques and designs you’ve used? We love learning and can’t wait to see what you’ve done!