Bulbrite and other companies/mostly Amazon have "Starry Lights" which are really cool for a concept for both battery and
line voltage but not dimmable.
https://products.bulbrite.com/810066 as example. Something perhaps to look into . Believe TMB also has something similar.
Dependent on drape size, you could poke
thru the drape/
drop and silicone in many circuits of control for such lighting. The Bulbrite version has a few strings with very small nodes which would be easier to work with in punching the
node thru the fabric. (Other similar products on Amazon.) There is larger
bulb versions also which while there would be larger holes, be easier to work with especially for the tangled micro
wire tangle which will follow with the Bulbrite version, be easier to use or
roll up to save or transport. The little micro wires on the Bulbrite version might not
roll or fold well without
wire fatague
etc. & the nodes are more like bubbles in the
wire than X-Mass like light actual nodes sticking out perpendicular to the wiring. The larger bulbs and wiring will while able to
roll or fold
etc, but be harder to mount to the fabric. You might need to apply a secondary to the fabric disc of heavier cloth - say
Duck or or thicker
Muslin discs around the nodes so as to get a
base to glue to.
For this project, I’m not recommending the Bulbrite - (or many similar small
node "Starry Effect" Amazon products.)
https://products.bulbrite.com/81006
It’s nodes are more like bubbles on the fine stranded and easily tangled strings. Cutting oval holes and mounting the lights might be easy to say a solder gun burn
thru an oval hole and
hot glue/
epoxy gun/silicone + tape to hold the nodes for dry time and support if
duck or
Muslin drop.
Don’t tape the rear of
Duvetyne - ever, it will pull out the front fibers from the drape if that tape is removed in leaving a bald spot. Short of taping to hold the
node in place, it’s not feasible to use such nodes and hold them to dry. Plus the glue might bleed
thru the drape in making it less black around the
node or where
wire is glued.
Main reason not to use small
node starry
effect lights on a
drop is in transport, folding/rolling or storage. I don’t believe the small wires feeding the nodes are flexible enough to sustain application to other than a rigid install such as a prop or set piece. Cool concept but not for a
drop.
There are other "starry
effect" lights on the market with larger nodes & more flexible wiring more like X-Mass lights, and indeed
LED X-Mass lights are an option. Multi-circuits run all over the drape will give control over stars in groups. Some
dimmer, some twinkling
etc. The bigger nodes especially if perpendicular to the
cord or a X-Mass light will be easier to stick
thru the drape or attach to the net, and it is using a little more rugged wiring. You might need to glue say a
duck disc to the back of the hole for a more solid double layer of support of fabric to the hole to glue to, but rollable it would be more so. Years ago, I remember weeks long
incandescent X-Mass lamp net projects in fixing them.... long days in finding the bad lamp without even
shunt.
Most Starry
Effect or X-Mass lights are low
voltage if
LED. If the case, one can get rid of the wall wort
adaptor and go to low
voltage transformers and
DMX decoders if run off DC low
voltage. (If using DC
power in the
line) Possible they are than dimmable, or if not, there is universal decoders on the market which will also dim many types of nodes which are not normally dimmable
thru other means. Or if not even than, your electronics department might be smart enough to figure out how - ours has made such lights dimmable for past projects and even converted
RGB neon 24v tape to 12v
RGB sign nodes. (We made a lower case cursive "dot" to a "i" given a little work on their part electronically and my part in a lot more work in fabricating a
lens assembly.) Electronics experts have many options in making non-dimmable
LED stuff dimmable - its normally possible to do.
If not dimmable, there is normally a small
dimmer curve anyway which could be helpful for as much as you need in making some strands of stars
dimmer than the others, or ways you can add perhaps a
resistor to make one
line of stars
dimmer when mixed up on the drape
dimmer. + that when dimming down a
non-dim LED circuit to it’s
threshold, that flickering
level is a
cue say for a
circuit in adding to
effect.
Lots more details, but possible if you have time to make such a thing. R&D in some budget will take time but save hours in final product.
That all said,
gobo rotators, actual starlight drops, projection onto... I cannot think it more expensive to at least rent a multi-channel fiber optic fiber drape than it would cost in labor + parts & R&D to make your own. That plus one drape or
drop that can never be used for anything else. 20 years ago, I might have attempted this and given today’s knowledge and what’s available today, I could probably do it in a great way per the old style of doing it. Where I work, my department maintains some scenic effects
LED stuff for some shows in using nodes attached to drape, and some nodes for twinkle. They are fairly high maintenance in keeping the old way to do it going. Just as Rons idea will also work as a limited or somewhat flexible concept, but one that would take time to make. Ron's advantage however is if you carefully remove the reflectors from the drape once done, the drape might be salvageable especially if sent in for cleaning and fire proofing as wil probably be the time for anyway, for a fully ready to go and safe drape afterwards.
Still, why not just rent?