Weaving Duct Tape

Weaving the flat strips was harder than I thought it was going to be.  I spent most of my time tightening each strip, making sure there were no spaces in between the strips.  I was worried about the pieces moving once I started weaving each strip through, but I had taped them to another piece of duct tape and was able to easily keep a square shape.

To begin, I cut a piece of duct tape that was the length of the side of the square shape I was making.  I then stuck one end of half the red and chrome duct tape strips onto it in a diagonal fashion.

Half of the red and chrome strips are attached to the duct tape at the top

I weaved the longest strip of black duct tape tole perpendicular to the already attached strips.  I used this diagonal as a reference point for all of the other black strips I eventually weaved through.

The long black diagonal strip is attached with another strip about to be weaved through below it

I began to weave through more black strips above the diagonal.  These strips attached to the stick part of the duct tape.  With every single black strip, I had to detach the ends of the red and chrome duct tape from the duct tape so I could weave the black duct tape underneath it.  While it was a tedious process, the black duct tape also had an opportunity to stick to the duct tape, held secure by the stickiness.

Some more black strips weaved through

Half of the black strips are weaved through; the side is completed

After I finished the first side, I folded the black tape over to lock the already weaved duct tape in.  Next, I rotated the base ninety degrees clockwise and attached a piece of duct tape underneath the ends of the strips that now were at the top.

Duct tape is underneath the red and chrome strips

I weaved through the rest of the black strips, using the same process as before.  I made sure, as I did in with the first weave-through, that the tops of the strands that were attached to the duct tape lined up with each other so folding down the duct tape would be easier and look nicer.

Second side: finished

For the third side, I had to trim the black duct tape strips before I could attach a piece of duct tape underneath.  I took the square I used as a reference and placed it on top.  I cut along the edge to create a nice straight edge on the square, and then proceeded to weave the rest of the red and chrome duct tape in the same manner as before.

The third side also produced a tightness issue.  While I was working on the first and second side, I could easily make the weaving really tight and minimize the space in between the strands.  With the third side, it was not as easy, and I spent a lot of time tightening the strands and pushing them closer to the previous strand to eliminate the cracks.

When I was done with the third side, the fourth and un taped edge was uneven and needed to be trimmed before I could tape it.

Almost there

In the same method I used to trim the third side, I placed the square on top of the duct tape square and trimmed the fourth edge.  After trimming, the square was easy to finish.  I folded duct tape over the edge, and the duct tape weaved square was done!

Finished product

The entire process took around two hours.  I stopped many times to tighten the weaving and to make sure that everything was lined up.  The square itself is very thick and hard to bend, but it is also very sturdy and cool-looking!