Tag: sticky side

Duct Tape Flowers- Thrifty Valentine’s Day

Duct tape flowers are a fun and easy project especially considering the varied colors of duct tape available these days.   In WalMart last night I found everything from bright pink to animal print duct tape!  Perfect for a flower project.
Duct tape was invented by Johnson and Johnson Company during WWII to keep moisture out of ammo cases.  Originally it was known as “duck” tape because it was made from cotton duck and was waterproof.  It first came out in Army green but after the war the color was changed to silver since most builders were using it to connect electrical ducts. Because of this, the name gradually changed to “duct” tape.Making A Duct Tape Flower:
  1. Measure the width of the duct tape. Straighten out the wire, and cut 10 pieces of wire that are 1/2 inch longer than the duct tape’s width.
  2. Measure and cut off a 12 inch long strip of the duct tape and place it sticky side up on a flat work surface
  3. Making sure each piece of wire is as straight as possible, place a piece of wire about 3/4 inch from the end of the duct tape. The wire should just touch the edge of the duct tape and stick out about 1/2 inch over the other. Then place the rest of the wire pieces about 1 1/2 inches apart down the rest of the length of the duct tape.
  4. Cut another 12 inch piece of duct tape and place it, sticky side down, on top of the first piece of tape, being sure to match up the edges as close as possible
  5. Measuring about 3/4 from each side of the first piece of wire, cut the tape so that each wire has 3/4 of tape on either side of it. (It will look like a square duct tape lollipop.) These will be your petals.
  6. With your scissors, trim the duct tape squares into the shape of the petals you want. You can make them long and skinny, heart-shaped, or rose petal shaped. Make sure, however, that the thickest end of your petal is on the end where the wire sticks out
  7. Make a stamen or two by cutting off strips of wire a little longer than the petals. You can leave them straight, or curl the ends around a pen or pencil.
  8. If you want to make leaves for your flower, make them now using the same steps as above, but using green duct tape. Do not make as many leaves as petals and make sure you cut the leaves in a different shape than the petals.
Putting the Flower Together:
Gather all of the petals together, making sure that the bottom of the petals are evenly lined up. Place the stamen in the middle of the petals.

Using the floral wire, begin wrapping the bundle near the bottom of the petals. Wrap tightly, overlapping the wire a little closest to the petals to make it look authentic. Continue wrapping the bundle until you get to the end and cut off the floral wire.

Using the floral tape, begin wrapping the tape around the floral wire, overlapping the tape slightly to make sure all the wire is covered.

Add one or two leaves, either staggered or directly opposite each other, starting about 3/4 inch down from the petals and add as many as you like, taping each one to the main bundle with floral tape.

Begin carefully spreading the petals out, bending them slightly and arrange them in the way you want them. Arrange the appearance of the leaves the same way. Each flower can be used alone or make a number of them, the same or different, and use as a bouquet.

Make a Thrifty Fashion Statement With A Duct Tape Dress

Could a duct tape dress really be considered a “trend”? I like to think of duct tape style as innovative and inexpensive fashion.  A good way to be creative on a budget. For sure no one at the party will be wearing the same thing.

Duct tapes are being used for dresses, wallets, caps, purses, ties, etc. When it comes to creativity, there is no boundary. The biggest advantage of duct tape is that it is affordable and easy to find. Obviously, you can “waste” as much material as you want. Make a dress, try a pattern– and if you don’t like the outcome, scrap it. Best of all– duct tape is available in a variety of colors and shades. That gives you all the choice you want. Here is how to make a duct tape dress:
Materials Needed:

Six rolls of duct tape

Scissors, Measuring tape

Steps to Make a Duct Tape Dress:

First of all, decide the color of your dress and get the duct tapes.

Sketch the dress design. It can be body fitting or can have frills and flares.Take your measurements accurately. You can take help from a friend while doing so.Make a sheet of duct tape to be used as a fabric to cut the dress. For this, place a long strip of duct tape, sticky side up. Place another same length strip overlapping the previous one by about one inch. Do this until the sheet is large enough to cut a pattern piece.

For covering the sticky side, you can either use another similar sheet of duct tape by placing both the sticky sides together, or you can use a fabric. The fabric is preferable and should be thin. While sticking it to the duct tape sheet, make sure that there are no creases on the fabric.

Now cut the sheet according to your pattern keeping at least 2 inch margin on all sides. You may have to fold the sheet to cut the skirt or the bodice. Here, it is important to keep in mind the direction of the duct tape before you cut the pattern piece. It is preferable to keep the running same for the skirt and the bodice.  For sticking the pieces together, remove the inner lining about 2/3rd inch at the joint and stick the two pieces. Cover it up with a strip of tape from above and fold the tape at the sides.

To make the hem, remove an inch of backing fabric and fold in the edges. For the top edges of the bodice, fold strips of tape around it to cover the raw edges.  To finish it, you can either stick a zipper or a stick-on Velcro.

A few things should be kept in mind while making a duct tape dress. Since the tape does not allow air to pass through, keeping a margin is very important. It is better to use a thin cotton fabric lining since it absorbs the sweat and is more comfortable.

Now get ready to strut your stuff in that trendy duct tape dress!