Duct Tape Skirt

To determine the dimensions of the sheets for your skirt, first measure around your hips and divide in half. This will be the width of your skirt (A). Also decide on the length of your skirt (B) (usually about halfway down your thigh). Keep in mind that you will be adding a ruffle to the skirt and this will increase the length (about ⅓ of the skirt’s length). Make two sheets to these specifications for the front and the back.

Measure your waist and divide by two (C). Subtract this measurement from the width of your sheets. Divide the result by two. Mark this measurement in from both top corners of your front sheet. Stack the front and back sheets and, holding them together with fold-back clips or tape, cut from the top marks to the bottom corners of the sheets.

Tape each side of the skirt inside and out (see “Taping Flat Surfaces” on page 11).

At the back of your skirt in the middle, use scissors to make a vertical cut down from the top, a little less then half the length of your skirt. Sandwich one edge of your cut between two pieces of tape, creating a tab the length of your cut with an overhang of about 1". (You may want to double this up with tape for strength.) Following the instructions included, add self-adhesive Velcro to the top of this tab and to the other side of the cut on the inside, and align.

You may need to pull in the waist of your skirt if it does not fit as tightly as you like. To do this, cut an even number of small slits down the front and back. Measure out evenly from the center outwards. The number of slits will depend on how much tighter you want your skirt to be. Bring the slits ¼" on top of one another and tape down the length, inside and out.

The dimensions of the sheet for the ruffle will depend on your skirt size, but its height (Y) should be around ⅓ of the skirt’s length. To help figure out the length (X) of the sheet, account for 1" to 2" for each ruffle fold times the number of folds you want to make. You can make the ruffle in separate sheets and tape them together as you go. (This way you don’t have to worry about making it too short.) Tape the ruffle to the inside of the skirt first, making 1" folds all going in the same direction. Tape each fold of your sheet separately. Run a larger piece of tape over all the smaller ones to secure them in place.

On the outside, run long pieces of tape around the seam between the ruffle and top portion of the skirt.

Cut the tape along the pleats to allow the tape to lay flat. Decorate!

This project is reprinted with permission from The Duct Tape Book by Jolie Dobson and published by Firefly Books.