A lot of people have heard of the idea of using duct tape to make a dress form that perfectly matches the model’s shape. It involves wrapping the model tightly in duct tape, cutting him/her out and then stuffing this hollow shell with foam or newspaper or fiberfill.
I have also heard of using duct tape to draft patterns for close fitting garments such as bodices or corsets. What I wanted to know is, how would it look if I just made the whole corset out of duct tape!?
Corsets are feminine,
traditional, timeless, modern, risque, conservative, and fun! I really like them; I think they are absolutely gorgeous, and I’ve always wanted one made to fit me perfectly.
Corsets are expensive though, and even though they are made to make the waist smaller, I cannot find any small enough for my waist under $100 dollars. I don’t know about all the other college students out there, but I really don’t feel like I can afford to spend that much money on a corset right now. I know that well made corsets will last for years and so it may be a good thing to invest in for the future–especially because I am so frequently in costume and corsets make great costume pieces, but right now I feel more like playing around a bit. Trying some inexpensive fashion corsets to see what I like. Frankly, I want a collection, but because every fashion corset under $40 is made for women with a 26″+ waist, I am out of luck. I need a smaller corset than I can find for the money that I am willing to spend.
Now of course the obvious solution to this for me, a costume-maker, would be to make my own corsets. But corsets, like tutus, take a lot of experience and a lot of time (sometimes a lot of money) just to make. Could I do it? Probably. Would it come out perfect the first time? No. I feel like I need a little practice first before jumping into making my own steel-boned-and-busked corset. I have made bodices that lace up like corsets. The only thing missing from them to make them real corsets is really the boning. The more I think about it, the more I think that I probably could make my own corset for real with fabric and steel and all that jazz. But that’s not the point of this post!
This post is about making a corset out of practically nothing. And for practically no money. Duct tape comes in lots of fancy colors and if you can find it in the right places, won’t cost very much for a 10 yard roll. By not very much, I mean $1 – $5 dollars. Not bad at all. Duct tape also involves no sewing. It’s more like sculpting, which, I am in the mood for right now.
Lots of people make garments out of duct-tape. I’m sure everyone has heard of the duct-tape prom dress. I have a friend who made a large portion of her cosplay out of duct tape. (Image to the right) And this was a rush job, but I think it came out pretty good. With a little more time spent, I bet I could get a pretty flat, nicely finished garment made almost entirely of duct tape.
This woman made a duct-tape corset –> http://jaggy732.blogspot.com/2007/11/duct-tape-corset.html
And she described her process: http://elainemiller.com/writing/sex-bdsm/2008/how-to-make-a-re-wearable-duct-tape-corset/
Here is a tutorial for it on ehow. http://www.ehow.com/how_5081665_make-duct-tape-corset.html
My plan is to, first of all, do this over the summer. I don’t have time this semester. But summer will bring me lots of free time! I will get a tight-fitting t-shirt that I do not care about, and I will wrap myself in duct-tape over this t-shirt. I will probably have a friend help me. I will wrap nice and tight, and as smooth as possible. Then i will have my friend cut me out, going straight up the spine. Then I will true trim a little extra off the back, round up my edges, straighten everything out and then cover this first wrapping with a finishing layer of colored tape and perhaps some decorative notions. Then I will punch holes along the back opening, and set some grommets in there and lace it up! Sounds pretty easy and quick. But what I hope will set this duct-tape creation apart, and make it worth wearing will be the decorative details. Hopefully, I can shape some really interesting stuff. Maybe mimicking lace or pin-stripes. Something to distract from the fact that this thing is made of tape.I may even put make-shift bones into the corset. I’ve read of people using plastic kitchenware, cutting it up into strips as boning. I’ve also heard of people using vinyl siding and oak tag. I’m not sure what I will be using just yet, but I’ll keep my eyes open. I guess for now, I will continue to look up styles of corsets to find something I want to make. 🙂
