Turn extra duct tape into artwork.
Duct tape is no longer just a sturdy, convenient replacement for glue. Manufacturers and enterprising hobbyists turned duct tape into a full-fledged art medium, complete with a wide array of colors and designs. Today, teens and young adults sport everything from duct tape wallets and bags to belts, hats, pants and jewelry. Lovers on a budget can make duct tape rose bouquets and crafty girls with lots of time can make duct tape prom dresses.
No matter what you're making, duct tape art follows the same basic rules. By following these rules, you can make virtually anything from this sturdy material.
Instructions
1. Decide what you want to make from duct tape. This may be anything from a simple belt to a suit jacket. Novices should begin with things like wallets and neck ties; experts may move on to clothing and purses.
2. Think about your project. Plan what you want it to look like when finished, whether it needs pockets and what shapes you'll need to mold from duct tape. Every project needs a foundation, so consider what your foundation will look like.
3. Tear off a piece of duct tape to start your foundation. Lay it sticky side up on your work surface. Add more duct tape strips to it, overlapping the edges a bit, until you have a sticky sheet. This serves as the basis for many projects.
4. Cover the sticky sheet with more strips of duct tape placed sticky side down. This gives you a non-sticky piece with which to work. Create all the pieces of your project this way. Create smaller sheets for pockets and large sheets for pieces of clothing.
5. Snip and shape your pieces as necessary. You may use a clothing pattern to make jackets and dresses. You may also simply need to remove ragged edges.
6. Butt the edges of each of your pieces together and apply long pieces of tape over the seams to connect them. Picture butting the pieces together as "pinning" them in sewing and applying tape to the seams as "stitching" them together. Keep the tape smooth and free of ripples. Use several pieces of overlapping tape to reinforce seams. All clothing items and most accessories, like bags and wallets, should come together this way.
7. Piece together small, three-dimensional items one section at a time. Many of these projects, like roses and other flowers, don't fit together like clothing does. For roses, the the petals wrap around and stick to a central stem. There are no seams for flowers, just the base of the flower that you wrap with tape to keep it together.
8. Fold pieces of tape around any ragged edges, giving the piece a smooth, finished look.
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