Making clothing and costumes out of duct tape - http://www.octanecreative.com/ducttape/fashion/index.html

Duct tape bodysuits - Don't adjust anything. You read this right. Duct tape bodysuits. Stego was the first to create one of these rather ingenious, though *HOT*, methods of creation, and wearing.

From: Stego
Subject: Re: Duct tape suiting

At 06:44 PM 8/10/99 -0400, you wrote:

Hello… I'd like to try doing a bit of duct tape suiting, like you
have. Mind telling me how you went about doing this?



…or did I get the wrong person?

Hello there! :)
You got the right fursuiter :) I've got Three Duct-tape based creations under my belt thus far: a Wolf head, B*tch, and a Skunk head.

All of these creations started the same way: Taping up the appropriate part of the body of the person who will be wearing the suit (or a close facsimile of the person, say a Duct Tape Dummy or ideally a Plaster Cast). In fact, the process is nearly identical in the way a duct tape dummy is made, except for one significant difference, which is explained in the example below.

Quick lesson that I learned from the creation of B*tch, which was my first full-body duct-tape based fursuit:

* Wearing a Full-Body Duct-Suit is almost identical to walking around in a Sauna!

Duct tape is Almost the same consistency as Latex: Imagine what you'd be like after wearing a full-body latex suit around for a few hours… Quite really, I was Sloshing around during further confusion with a lake of water in my feet.

Duct-tape Can be hand sewn, which is the ideal way to put Zippers on.

Duct tape is also a Helluvalot cheaper than latex!

The Best application for using the duct-tape is in the creation of the Head, Feet, Claws, Tail, and other “Accessories” that cannot be easily washed, where you can use the duct-tape as a base to glue foam onto, while for the rest of the body you can use a classic Muscle suit to shape and sculpt the details under the fur (You can use the Duct-tape to sweatproof the foam bits which will stick into the muscle suit. Then when it's time to wash the suit, you would remove all the foam capsules and throw the muscle suit into the wash). The insides of the head/feet can then be easily wiped down/sprayed from the inside using an antibacterial spray like End-Bac.

The example below will be a basic demonstration of how I build my Duct-Tape based parts.

Lets start off with making a Furry Foot, for example a Canine foot. (I chose the foot first because, for experimenting with, it requires you to sweat the least if you don't already have a plaster cast of your foot done. If I start off with the head, You're gonna Sweat like you've never sweated before while making this :)

- 1 Roll of Duct Tape (66 yards or better, about $3 at Wal-Mart)
- Plastic Bags: Either one large plastic Trash Bag, or three of the grocery-store variety (I prefer the grocery-store variety because its FREE!)
- 1 Strong pair of Scissors (The Scissors I used are one of the largest/strongest pair of scissors available on the market: 12“ Carpenters shears, which can be picked up at many Craft stores for around $20)
- 1 Sweat Sock (This will be worn during the taping process to account for wearing socks inside the foot, and wont be destroyed (Unless a wrong cut is made with the scissors))
- 1 Foot (Either Your foot, a Friends foot, a Duct-Tape Dummy foot, or a Plaster Cast will do)
- 1 Zipper (Plastic Coil-type will do fine, beware the molded type. Should be about the same length as from the base of your heel to the top of where the sock stops)
- 1 Glovers Needle (This is a type of needle that has a sharp tip that turns fat about 1/4 the way up, and then slims out again. Sewing Duct Tape is like Sewing Leather.)
- 1 Thimble (Like Leather, Duct-Tape is fairly tough and is hard to push a needle through)
- 1 Marker. (You'll use this to help you mark where you're going to cut the tape at)
- Small block of Foam (The yellow Furniture variety will work, Ideally the blue Electronics variety will work best, this is what you'll use to Shape the foot))
- Fur (Whatever color/pattern of fur you wish to use. This will be glued onto the Duct Tape.)
- Neoprene Cement. (This can be picked up at most Scuba shops for about $5 a half-pint. It may not seem like a lot but the stuff spreads! I've tried the 3M Foamfast products, they just plain don't hold as well, and they're twice as toxic.) Most Neoprene cans have their own brush in the lid.
- Old Newspaper. (Once you cut out of the duct-tape sock, you'll be using this to stuff the sock so that you can work on the outer details. If you're fortunate enough to have a footcast, then this is not needed.

Prepare the plastic bag by cutting away handles, ties, etc, until you are left with one large plastic sheet.

1) Put the sock onto the bare foot.
2) Wrap one layer of the plastic bag around the entire sock. Trim away any excess, and use bits of tape to hold the bag in place. Allow a few inches to overlap. Basically, you're creating a plastic sock over the sock you are wearing.
3) Use the duct tape to *LIGHTLY* tape the complete outside of the plastic sock. Don't pull the tape too snugly around the foot, otherwise it will be too tight/uncomfortable to wear. Overlap by about 1/2 width of the tape. Be sure to extend your joints while you are taping over them, otherwise the resulting sock will not allow you to bend the joint! What you will end up with is a Duct-tape sock.
4) Use the Marker to mark where you would like to cut out of the Duct-Tape Sock. Typically, this will also be the place where you will sew on the zipper. I cut mine on the inside of the leg.
5) Use the scissor to cut along the lines that you drew. Be sure that you a) Don't cut the sock, and B) Don't move too fast!
6) Once your foot is out, reinforce the cut edges of the duct-sock with a layer or two of Duct tape. This will prevent the duct-sock from coming apart at the places where the duct-tape “seams” are perpendicular to your cut.
7) Align and Sew on the Zipper. You can use Duct-Tape to hold the zipper in place, then open the zipper and sew through the duct tape. (If you're lucky enough to have a STRONG sewing machine, USE IT!!!!) NOTE: Duct Tape Gums Up Needles!! Clean the needle Regularly!)
8) Stuff the resulting Duct-Boot with Newspaper (or put it back onto the cast/dummy). This will give it shape while you glue on the Foam bits which will give shape to the Canine Foot.)
9) Carve your foam bits to form the shape of a typical canine toe as it will sit on the foot. Next, you'll be gluing these toes onto the Foot. NOTE: Neoprene Cement is fast drying: Within one minute it will bond the foam to the Duct-Tape. Also, it is recommended that this be done Outside or in a well-ventilated area! Its not as nasty/toxic as FoamFast 77, but it Does have a piercing scent that'll fill the house otherwise.
10) Glue the Canine Foam Toe to the appropriate place on the Duct-Boot: Spread the Neoprene Cement onto the area where the toe will be attached. Allow the glue to become tacky (in about 30 seconds after you spread and blow). Then position the foam toe and hold in place for one minute. Repeat this with the other foam toes.
11) Once the toes are in place, proceed to use the Duct Tape to tape over the foam. This will be the base where the Fur will be glued onto. What you should end up with will be akin to an Anime Cyborg Canine Foot.
12) Use the Neoprene Cement to glue the fur on in patches. Use the same technique that you used above to apply the Foam Toes. Cut the fur to the shape of the seams you are making as necessary (I find that cutting 1×1' sections of Fur and then working with that is very manageable) Unlike FoamFast, the Neoprene Cement will allow you to apply the fur and then push it to butt up against another pre-glued patch of fur.

NOTE: If you're gluing White Fur, Don't put too thick of a coating of glue down! Neoprene Cement usually dries BLACK, and too much will show through the white fur!

Tada! Done! A Duct-Tape Canine foot in 12 steps! :)

The process is identical for any other body part that you may make (The head, for example).

I hope that the above example helps to give enough insight as to how I created my suits, should you wish we can probably meet up during the next FC or CF and I can demonstrate the process live.

Please feel free to send me any other questions you may have! :)

Just a bit o duct-tape related news which emphasizes the need for plenty of gatorade to be on hand for a ductsuiter: Apparently a high- school back east nearly lost their science teacher during a fundraiser: The Teacher volunteered to be the test subject in finding out if Duct tape can be used to tape a human to a wall. As the teacher was being taped up, “All I remember was that it was getting hotter and hotter”… The teacher fainted just as they were removing the stair on which he was standing. The duct tape did hold, 91 pieces of tape were used.

Here's the page about it - http://www.octanecreative.com/ducttape/walltapings/warning.html