Flash promises she will write at least one non-explicit entry very soon
Taping party planned for this coming Saturday
7 months ago
Looks like I’ll be the taper, not the tapee, for this round. Will post photos.
How to make a duct tape dress form
It made me
a better seamstress 
"We used paper-tape instead of duct tape, and my friend's dress form turned out great. We were both delighted."
How I did it: I covered my friend, dressed only in her underwear and a plastic garbage bag, in water-activated packing tape. The tape was really easy to work with and dried really fast. I tried to tape carefully to match the contours of her body, as if I were doing paper mache.
Less than three hours after we started, I cut up the back of the tape and pulled it off her. We resealed it with tape and put on another layer for good measure, and the worst was over. We're still experimenting with ideas for a stand; the diagram pictured is one option we're considering.
Lessons & tips: Do the torso first, and the tops of the shoulders afterwards. We did the tops of the shoulders first, and then my friend couldn't move her arms and it was harder to tape her sides.
Wear whatever you plan to wear under the clothes you sew; no more, no less. Do wear a bra if you usually wear one. Don't wear anything else bulky. My friend didn't take her jeans skirt off until later in the process, after the top of her torso was done; but this resulted in a bit of a bulge at the waist that we wished wasn't there.
Do use smaller pieces of tape over rounder areas (breasts, shoulders, belly, behind) to make a more accurate curves.
Resources: We basically followed this Threadbanger video tutorial:
http://www.threadbanger.com/episode/THR_20090403
This is the tape we used: http://www.staples.com/office/supplies/p1_Staples-Standard-Grade-Paper-Packaging-Tape-2.8-x-125-yards-Each_15488_Business_Supplies_10051_SEARCH
People doing this are also doing these things:
Entries
Flash promises she will write at least one non-explicit entry very soon
Maybe it doesn't need to be duct tape...
7 months ago
http://www.threadbanger.com/episode/THR_20090403
I just posted this link to my Facebook page, and found a volunteer to be my taping buddy. Yay!
Flash promises she will write at least one non-explicit entry very soon
And SHE has a friend who is also interested in making a duct tape dress form. I think I’ll propose that we be duct tape buddies: I tape her, she tapes me.
Flash promises she will write at least one non-explicit entry very soon
Having a dress form might help my next sewing project NOT be a disaster like the last one...
7 months ago
But I just haven’t gotten into sewing enough to know if it will be worth such a large financial investment to buy a new one. I have looked on Craigslist and Ebay for used ones, but there hasn’t been much and what there was was still pretty expensive. Best idea so far: make my own out of duct tape! You might say that this would be even BETTER than a store bought one, because it will mimic my shape exactly.
I have seen some darn ugly duct tape dress forms, but Mimi Goodwin posted this instructional video on her blog and you’d swear the finished product was something she bought at the store! Check it out: http://www.box.net/shared/static/o4q3so8ow4.mov
Now I just need to find a patient and willing friend to do all the taping. Someone who doesn’t mind touching me all over.
Lindsay is exhausted and in withdrawal
dress form
13 months ago
i’ve got the duct tape at home (purple, green, and blue haha)...i think i’m going to fill mine with plaster or something so it’s weighty and strong
but i’m waiting until after i lose some more weight to make mine :)
better than my used ones?
19 months ago
I bought 2 used adustable dress forms for peanuts – but the hardware is all rusty and they don’t even look like human shapes! If I dress them up, it feels like I have quiet companions in my sewing attic, though
Untitled
1 year ago
So I ended up getting a real dress form. I still want to try the duct tape thing someday!
Duct Tape Dress Form
2 years ago
Hey.. where did everyone find good directions?? I’d like to do this but need help finding directions
Completed!
2 years ago
I stuffed it with insullation cellulose. It was time consuming, and i spent alot of time reinforcing, but it is my exact size. I will be sewing up a dress soon with it!
The fun part is over...
2 years ago
Last night my friend and I taped me up. I think it turned out well, but now it is time to engineer.
