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Duct Tape Dummy Alternatives

Duct tape Dummy or a Duct tape mannequin is a quick way to create a replica of your body for all kinds of projects. From being a dress form to creating a pattern, Duct tape dummies (DTD) are incredibly useful for all kinds of costume projects. 

However, if you are trying to make a full body DTD, you'll need assistance to make it. It may also destroy some of your clothing in some methods. And you may not feel comfortable making one as it is restrictive. 

The primary reasons for making a DTD are to make patterns for clothes or armor. Because it is easy to translate the 3D form into a 2D pattern. 

Puppet head covering pattern.
Personally, for things like gloves or boot covers, I have no trouble making a DTD of an arm or a leg. But full body I need a different approach. 

Method 1: Silhouette Tracing

As a kid, I remember having a criminal outline done on banner paper of myself. It is still a viable approach although now I may need to tape pieces of banner paper side by side. You can kind of do this yourself, but it's easier with assistance. 

Now this will only give you 1 dimension. So it only works with either sketching out a design that will go onto a body suit or sewing with very stretchy fabric. 

Method 2: Masking Tape Measurements

Something that I've commonly used in my armor making is the Masking Tape Method. I haven't seen others use this so maybe I'm kind of one of the developers. Anyway, the idea is to get the BOX dimensions or BLOCKING to make a piece. I made a video demo of how this works. 
For some more fitted pieces I may use multiple vertical and horizontal tape pieces to get a better shape. So for my leg armor I would have 1 piece of vertical tape. One horizontal tape piece around my calf and another horizontal tape piece around my ankle. I would then create a quadrilateral shape that has a wider side and narrower side. 

I have tried this method on another person to make a swimsuit but the thing is with spandex is for it to be form fitting and comfortable you actually need slightly smaller measurements. So this method needs some alteration if you are sewing stretch fabric. 

Otherwise, it gives you a quick method to go from a 3D shape of your body to a flat measurement. It does not account for things like darts and other form fitting things. Which is why I think it's best for things like armor pieces and non-stretch fabric. It IS pretty good for blocking though. 

Method 3: Make Your Own Dress Form

There are so many benefits to having a dress form on hand. However, the standard dress form size may not meet your body shape or it may be out of your budget. There are a couple of ways to make your own dress form that range in expense. 

1. Wire Frame Form - Using wire you can wrap around your body vertically and horizontally at regular intervals to create the frame. It should be a wire gauge difficult to bed but you could start with easily bent wire to get the right shapes quickly. Chicken wire is also an option. 
Now because wire can easily be deformed this is not going to be the strongest dummy. 


2. Card Board Form - Sometimes these are used as mannequins, but I have seen cardboard displays that look like slices of a silhouette that are then placed together. It would probably quite a few measurements to be accurate but it's pretty good. 

You don't have to have AS many slices as the video above demonstrates but it is structurally sound AND you could wrap it in duct tape to make it more solid and pin friendly. However it would be best for a torso-only dress form or a head form. I don't think it works as well for full body. 

3. Sewn Form - You can make a pattern of your body and sew what amounts to a stuffed animal version of your body. There are patterns available but if you know how to tailor you can make your own pattern. 
The sewn dress form DOES have options for arms and legs so you could make a full body dummy! 

With these dress forms, you can make a duct tape dummy without having to ruin your clothes or have someone else cut you out. OR they're just helpful for various aspects of sewing and testing measurements. 

Some of the benefits of having a body double of yourself is taking measurements! Some measurements are tricky to take on yourself. For me leg measurements are tough. 

I have made DTD of my arm and leg that I can stick to my adjustable dress form. But remember, your body changes so give yourself wiggle room. 

That's all for this post. Hope it helps you with making patterns or sewing projects.  
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