How to Make a Duct Tape Dress in 10 Steps

Hi! My name is Hailey and I am so excited to share this instructable with you! I am a 15-year-old girl at Centaurus high school and this was an engineering project that I got to create! Hope you like it!

Step 1: Materials

This project is easier than it looks, you will need:

An old tank top that is your size and you are okay sacrificing
A slip or an old skirt you are okay sacrificing
Five rolls of solid colored duct tape (Your choice of colors)
- These are for the main color of your dress, flowers, and a couple ruffles on the skirt
Two rolls of patterned duct tape (Also your choice of patterns)
- These are used for the accessories on the dress including the ruffles and flowers
Sharp scissors to cut the duct tape and fabric
Velcro strips
Hard surface to work on
And if you want an extra pair of hands

Step 2: Draw Your Design

First off you need to draw out your design. It really can be anything you want! Be creative!
- For my dress, I did a very simple drawing and built off it. It also helps to look at other people’s duct tape dresses or even looking at real dresses.

Step 3: Cutting Your Tank Top

Now that you have custom designed dress drawn out, your next step is to cut your tank top.
- Make sure your tank top is your size and has thick straps.
Once you have chosen your tank top, put it on and make a mark where your bellybutton is.
- This should be around 15-16 inches long from the shoulder.

Step 4: Covering Your Shirt

This step is a very custom step. If you have a design much like mine, your pieces will go diagonally across your body. Use your solid base color duct tape to cover the shirt
- (Note: Make sure you are wearing your shirt while doing this step. This is very important because when making a women's dress you need to have an imprint for the chest area.)
Once you finish only the front of the shirt, remove the shirt and cut a straight line down the back.
Finish covering the rest of your shirt.

Step 5: Cutting Your Skirt/slip

Take the solid color duct tape that you used for the shirt and lay your skirt/slip flat. Cover the skirt/slip straight up and down. (Do not cover your skirt at an angle)

Step 6: Creating Ruffles

The ruffles are simple.

Take your base solid colored duct tape and measure out around a 40-inch piece.
Do this twice and overlap the pieces very slightly.
Now that you have two pieces face up repeat the previous step and stick the sticky sides together creating a strip of smooth duct tape.
Repeat this with every color you would like to make a ruffle in.(I made about four ruffles
Next, you take your strip and fold it only at the top to create a ruffle. Repeat this process until you have a finished ruffle.

Step 7: Taping the Ruffles On

After you have all your ruffles made layer them on top of each other on top of the covered skirt. Tap the ends of the ruffles to the covered skirt.

Step 8: Making a Belt

Do the same thing as the ruffles but instead of folding it leave it as a strip.

Step 9: Add Velcro

Simply tape the velcro to the shirt, skirt, and belt.
When you tape it on, on one side tape the loop velcro to the outside. On the other side tape the hook side to the inside of the skirt, shirt, and belt.
Repeat this on each piece