DIY DUCT TAPE BODY FORM

[navajo6000]

I wanted to share this great idea for people who sew or re-purpose clothing. It is a body form made of YOU. Watch the video and make one. Also the helpful hints and ideas found on this site are fantastic.
http://www.threadbanger.com/thread-heads/episode/THR_20070608
I am in the process of re-purposing some clothing for a friend and we made a body-double and had a blast.

[SecondhandSophisticate]

I think this is a great idea. One of my sorrows is that I don't know how to sew. If I did, clothes and shopping for them would not be the nightmare that it is...

I do reuse/repurpose within my meager skills, though.  It certainly takes a good deal of creativity to do so, which is a good thing!

I learned of this site (below) from our own Scott's site, (thanks, Scott! ) which speaks to the value of re-designing/re-purposing clothes:


http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/10/21/LVQ0SQ96N.DTL

Navajo, what re-designing/repurposing have you done?

Ciao,
SeSo

[Scott]

(thanks, Scott! )

You are more than welcome! Its a great article.

[Other People s Junk]

I so want to make myself one of these duct tape forms!  I found out about it through this site:

http://nikkishell.typepad.com/wardroberefashion/

The concept of the site is neat- you sign up for a pledge (2, 4 or 6 months) to only refashion your clothes, or buy used (ie thrifted!) or sew them new.  While I like concept, at this point I wouldn't want to actually do the pledge (I'd need better thrift stores around for that!).  It is fun to see what the people who did sign up come up with.  Amazing transformations on some of them!

Back to the duct tape form- I am excited about it making one, as I have always wanted a form and haven't ever found one for cheap.  When I was at an estate sale awhile ago, I found a neat old stand that has "Made in the USA" on it and it was $1!  It will be perfect to hold up the form.

[Vintage Soul]

Thanks for sharing that link! I'm learning how to sew mostly so I can tailor my clothes to fit me better. I'd been wanting a dress form, but not wanting to spend the money on one.

Best part about the duct tape form? If your body changes size/shape, you can always make a new one! Fantastic! 

[genuineimitation]

the duct tape vid is awesome - i've got to do that.

the sfGate article is good as well. i have trouble with the concept that because someone else designed it, i should be happy to pay $300 for it. i used to be in the fashion industry - still boggles my mind how people are happy to pay ridiculous amounts of money for clothes just because it's the latest/greatest item to own (don't get me started - the stories i could tell!)

[navajo6000]

For the past 3 years I have been helping out with our high school musicals and when you 20-30 girls to make costumes for you get real creative plus the guys.
I try to hit the bag sales and grab all formal wear so i have various sizes and styles
Also, i have been re-doing t-shirts,(my 17 y/o daughter) always needs a new look and the girls at school are constantly coming up with cute things to do (cutting out neck sleeves and making tabs and tie them to gether)
Also, I do a good bit of sewing for invalids and bed ridden/wheelchair bound ladies to make a change from nightgowns

[SecondhandSophisticate]

You sound very talented and gifted, navajo. I have always had great admiration for folk who are crafty/artisan, since I am so lacking in those gifts.

I would love to see some of the work you do as well as the work of your daughter...such creativity! Does she want to be a fashion designer?

Ciao,
SeSo

[navajo6000]

Thanks for the compliments, but a mom has to do what a mom has to do
Polly (my daughter just got accepted to Carlow University in Pittsburgh to start in the fall of '08 on an acdemic scholarship for nursing)
I did a pair of jeans for her so she could be a hippie. i cut the side seams to the knees on both in/outseams added triangle of a filmy/gauzy mod-flower about 16" on the bottom{32"total} to make wild bell bottoms we found mod fabric with big flowers and cut about 16 out and fabric glued in all the right places and finisfed off with wispy lengths tied to belt loops. She looked like a real flower child. Her vest was ties die material very loud. I bought daisy trim and made head band.

[Big Daddy Audio]

What blows me away, though, is the number of sewing machines I've been seeing in thrift stores lately.  I still think it is a dying art, that needs to be preserved somehow.

See you next time
bye for now.

[Jay2TheRescue]

What blows me away, though, is the number of sewing machines I've been seeing in thrift stores lately.  I still think it is a dying art, that needs to be preserved somehow.

See you next time
bye for now.

I often see old sewing machines in thrifts.  The value of a machine depends more on the brand and model, than the actual age of the machine.  Most often I'll see one for $200, and when I ask why its priced that high I'm told "We saw one just like it on Ebay for that much."  The problem is this:  Singer made some very good machines in the first part of the 20th century, and after WWII the Japanese copied and reverse engineered the designs making cheap knockoffs.  It is most often a Japanese knockoff that I see these outrageous prices on, and they don't seem to understand that they don't have one just like they saw on Ebay, they just have one that merely LOOKS like the one they saw on Ebay.  In other cases when they actually have a valuable Singer machine, they are asking top dollar for a machine in poor condition.

-Jay

[genuineimitation]

my mom has a Pfaff sewing machine that weighs about 50 lbs (well, maybe not, but it's really heavyjavascript:void(0) that she bought in the early 50's. It is in perfect condition, and can still out-maneuver my Viking. You can't beat an older machine for quality. I was talking to someone who sells machines and she told me that so many of the machines are made with inferior quality parts now. I once had a singer that i traded in (for my viking!) and the guy wouldn't give me much for it since he could tell by the markings it was made in the phillipines and at that time they made the cheaper version of singers. It's no different than going to Costco and getting a Costco brand product that looks really great - and finding it really is inferior to it's (more expensive) name brand look-alike.

i thought sewing was a dying are too.. have you seen Craft magazine? it will restore your faith in sewing! It's becoming hip again - like thrifting!

[Jay2TheRescue]

my mom has a Pfaff sewing machine that weighs about 50 lbs (well, maybe not, but it's really heavyjavascript:void(0) that she bought in the early 50's. It is in perfect condition, and can still out-maneuver my Viking. You can't beat an older machine for quality. I was talking to someone who sells machines and she told me that so many of the machines are made with inferior quality parts now. I once had a singer that i traded in (for my viking!) and the guy wouldn't give me much for it since he could tell by the markings it was made in the phillipines and at that time they made the cheaper version of singers. It's no different than going to Costco and getting a Costco brand product that looks really great - and finding it really is inferior to it's (more expensive) name brand look-alike.

i thought sewing was a dying are too.. have you seen Craft magazine? it will restore your faith in sewing! It's becoming hip again - like thrifting!

My mom has one of the last of the really good Singer machines.  I remember her friend had what appeared to be the exact same machine, but Mom's was all metal gears inside, and her friend's machine had plastic gears.

-Jay

[Big Daddy Audio]

So...

Now that we've opened this can o' worms - What are the brands of sewing machine to look for?  Which are the ones to avoid?  What are some of the pitfalls that should be avoided?

My wife still has and uses her Singer Genie that she got for Christmas in 5th grade.  I don't want to replace it, just update a little (after seeing that THREADBANGERS video, I want to "re-fit" a couple of my shirts).  I know that Singer used to have these "Athena" machines back in the late 1970's - maybe "Athena 2000" or something like that?  I was always dumbfounded by the computer controlled select-a-stitch.

Anyway - are the Husqvarna machines we see in Jo Ann's really worth the dough?

See you next time
bye for now.

[genuineimitation]

according to this saleslady she said the machine to buy now is a janome. have you ever heard of it? i hadn't! i guess the quality of their parts is very good for the price and functions available. and i think they are actually the manufacturers of the parts for all the other machines! i have a friend that bought janome after researching it quite a bit, and she is pleased. that being said, she is also a quilter and i know they often want specialized features. don't know what model she got, so i don't know how specialized it is.

i still love my old viking classica 100. i can do everything but serge, and it's very portable. it even has a decent buttonhole feature, though i know that newer models have much more precision buttonhole ability (they've computer chipped this function).