Over the Thanksgiving holiday I finished the duct-tap fitters model project. WOW! this is something that every person planning to do any amount of sewing for themselves should do. It's probibly also a project every art student should do. So much fun I'd almost volunteer to do it again.
Here is how to make your own
-1 more roll of duct tape than you think you'll need. I'm about a size 8 & used 1 1/2 rolls total, only about 1 roll for the body and the rest for finishing.
-sizzors. My worn out fabric sizzors worked great.
-oversized t-shirt that you don't care about
-the sleeve off another t-shirt for a make-shift turtleneck
-Black Sharpey marker
-yard stick
-At least 1 helper. Someone who you trust with duct tape, sizzors & who you won't mind having touch you in some pretty personal places. In my case I had 4 "helpers". My Mom did the taping, My Omi sat on the couch and kept me talking, My Partner took terrible pictures for black mail later & my Daughter fell asleep on the couch (big bonus!)
The basic steps:Start by putting on the oversized t-shirt. We taped it under my crouch to keep it from riding up while we taped. Take the extra sleeve and wrap it around your neck in a mock turtleneck fashion. Use duct tape to hold it in place. This is where it's
very important to have your hair tied back. I had several little hairs catch in the duct tape and it's not pleasant.
Start the first layer of tape under your bust, wrapping horizontally down to at least 3" past the widest part of your hip. You'll need that extra distance later when finishing, trust me. Use rather long strips for this being sure not to pull the tape tight enough to "smoosh" in any of your rounder parts. This is where you get to find out how much you've been slacking on doing those daily sit ups! Oi!
For the bust area use mid length strips to create a cross your heart pattern over one breast, through the center & under the other side. This was particularly hard for us thanks to my larger bust. I don't think we got nearly as much space between breasts as I actually have but since most shirts form a line over the bust, I don't think it's going to be a problem.
Once the cross your heart section is done continue to wrap a few layers in that same pattern to create the shape of the bust. We had to fiddle with strip length and placement a lot here to maintain the right curve.
For the shoulders we did one layer around the upper arm at this point and added shorter strips radiating out from the neck with the second layer.
Once you are all covered in one layer of Duct tape, it's time for the second layer. This time vertically. We found that for the front, in order not to loose the curves (which I have plenty of apparently) it was easier to use slightly shorter strips of tape. we started by covering the bust down and then moved to the bust and finally the shoulders.
Before removal measure a consistant distance from the ground to your hip, marking with the Sharpey. We measured 31" inches. This is a leveling point especailly helpful if one hip is higher than the other & for later finishing. Also mark the waistline (bend a little and it will show), the center & underneith each bust.
Now you're ready for the removal! Have your trusted helper slip their hand up the center back of the tape layers, cutting carefully along your back until the form is completely split in two. This is where that trust thing comes in handy! Once the form is split, slip yourself out of it and get ready to finish it off.
FinishingGather your supplies:
-the rest of your duct tape
-every plastic shopping bag for at least 3 households. Start collecting and asking your friends and family now, you will need a lot!
-cheap christmas tree stand from Good Will
-cardboard carpet tube
-wooden hanger
-shoulder pads
-discarded cardboard box
-sizzors
-Stick for getting plastic bags in those tight places
Start by padding out the shoulders of the wooden hanger with shoulder pads, plastic bags & duct tape. It helps to have your helper hold the hanger up against your real shoulders to get the curve as close to matching as possible. Keep tweeking it till it's perfect.
Cut your cardboard tube to the length from your shoulders to the ground. Cut 2 slits in it on either side to hold the bar of the hanger.
At this point it's easiest to cut a random round of cardboard, slightly bigger than your hips. This will form the bottom of the model and keep all the bags from falling out. Cut a hole for the cardboard tub in the cardboard base, slipping it over the tube and leaving it to sit at the base until it's needed.
Now stand the tub up in the christmas tree base and slip the hanger into the slits you cut earlier. use duct tape to secure the hanger to the base making sure to match the slope of your shoulders as closely as possible.
Now comes the real fun. Put the duct tape model over the hanger. Adjust it so that it hangs well in the shoulders. Use more duct tape to secure the model to the hanger. We found going through the arm holes helped a lot here.
Now you are ready to begin stuffing. We taped up the entire back opening before stuffing, but this made it very hard to stuff the upper back because of my small waist. There wasn't enough room between the stand and the form for our hands. It might be easier to tape only from the waist up first, Stuff that area and then close up the lower portion of the split.
We also found a few tricks while working with the bags. It's easier to stuff them individually for most areas. For the wider section across my hips and stomach we laid several bags together in a larger bag, creating a sort of pillow that wrapped around the stand. We also found that after a certain point, the bags would fall out the bottom every time we added new ones to a different area. We ended up creating non sticky "slings" by making a long strip of tape with another strip over lapped in the middle and taping them across the bottom of the form. This helped keep the bags from falling out while we worked on the more open areas at the bottom of the form.
While stuffing stop to take measurements on occassion, adding or removing bags as needed to get as close to your actual measurements as possible. This is where that helper really comes in handy again. My mother frequently had me stand next to the model and would eye ball use together to see if the shape was correct.
Once the majority of the form is stuffed slip the cordboard round up to your hip level. With the sharpy marker trace the conture of your hip onto the cardboard then cut out. Remove the tape "slings" if you've used them at this point, the cardboard will take their place. Stretching the tape just slightly, fit the cardboard round into the bottom of the form. This is where those extra inches taped at the bottom help. Fold the extra inches around the cardboard, using more tape to secure it. Before taping the last of the base, make sure that the very bottom is stuffed fully, adding more bags as needed.
Step back and marvel at your Duct Tape Double!
(these are terrible photos. I'm not really that lopsided although one breast is higher than the other, a fact I hadn't realized until seeing myself in silver.)
(these are terrible photos. I'm not really that lopsided although one breast is higher than the other, a fact I hadn't realized until seeing myself in silver.)
