duct tape double

I was at work towards the middle of the afternoon when I got a call from the missus. "When are you coming home? I have a duct tape problem for you when you get here."

"A duct tape problem?"

"A duct tape project." I told her I would be home in an hour or so.

I got a call a little later telling me that I really needed to come home soon.

When opened the door, I saw her. She was standing with her hands on her hips, although that wasn't what immediately struck me. She was wearing what appeared to be a skin tight shirt made of duct tape. She had taken a shirt and wrapped it in duct tape like a mummy. I asked if this was the duct tape problem she had.

"I can't get the back, and I can't sit down. I can't even go to the bathroom! I need you to finish taping up the back and then cut the thing off."

"Wouldn't it have been easier to wait until I got home to do this?"

"Hury up! I have to pee!"

So I taped the rest of her up and cut it off. She explained to me that she had read about it on the internet as way to make a form of yourself to fit clothing to. She later closed it back up and stuffed it. It now hangs from a door frame and scares the crap out of me when I turn the corner.

A duct tape double is a budget tailor's dummy.

Sewing a closely fitted garment for yourself is really difficult. Stopping after every step to try the item on can be tedious. Seeing how the garment looks from the back is almost impossible without a hall of mirrors. A dummy, either store-bought or made from duct tape, solves this problem by giving a tailor a body double to fit the clothing on.

To make a duct tape double, you will need the following:

• cheap pajamas that fit. These will become the inner lining of the dummy.
• 2 - 3 rolls of duct tape
• A permanent marker pen
• scissors (the best kind are medical ones, with flat blades, as used to cut clothing off people in the emergency room)
• 10 to 15 pounds of stuffing - cotton or polyester wadding
• A very good friend
• A change of clothes

So here's what you do.

1. Put the pajamas on.
2. Get comfortable. Go to the bathroom, have a final stretch. You're going to be immobile very soon.
3. Stand still.

Here's what your friend does.

1. Tape around the openings to the pajamas: wrists, ankles and neck. The tape should be tight, but not constricting.
2. Start wrapping the rest of the subject. You'll want to put at least three layers on, going in different directions (vertical, horizontal and diagonal). It is kindest to leave the arms to last, for balance.
3. You now have a person wrapped in duct tape. Remember that they chose you because you're their friend, and proceed without any mischief.
4. Mark cut lines on the duct tape. You want to cut along the back of each limb and up the back.
   
   BACK VIEW:

           _____
     ______| | |_______
    |------------------|
    |_____   |   ______|
          |  |  |
          |  |  |
          / / \ \
         / / ^ \ \
        / / / \ \ \
       / / /   \ \ \
      /_/_/     \_\_\
   

5. Add witness marks across the cut marks. These will prevent the dummy components from twisting when they're reassembled.
6. Cut carefully along the cut marks. The scissors should go between the pajamas and your victim's subject's skin. Depending on how stiff the duct tape is, you may have to make additional cuts; ensure you add witness marks for them.
7. Peel the duct tape and pajamas off of the subject and help them into their other clothes.

Either, or both, of you can now finish the dummy.

1. Tape up the cuts, aligning witness marks to prevent twisting. Use a couple of layers of tape so the dummy doesn't bulge at the seams.
2. Start stuffing the dummy, limbs first. You'll want the stuffing fairly firm, but not so packed that you risk stretching the tape. Once each limb is full, tape over the end (at wrist and ankle). Stuff the torso and tape over the neck.

Congratulations, you now have a duct tape double.

Most difficult tailoring is centered on the torso. An abbreviated version of the duct tape double can be done on just the upper body and hips, using one roll of duct tape and 7 or 8 pounds of stuffing.

Pictures to illustrate the process can be found on numerous costuming websites, such as http://members.nbci.com/rsg0910/dtd.html and http://www.best.com/~nico/fursuit.cgi?dtd-demo.