Making a Clasp on Bracelets

Some bracelets just need a clasp in order to take it on and off.  The duct tape bracelets that I make generally do not have a clasp because they are a bit difficult to make and are not easy to unclasp.  However, I have devised a way to make a clasp out of duct tape to replace any broken clasps or to add one to a duct tape bracelet.

To show how to make a clasp, I will use a bracelet called a two-chain bracelet as an example.  A two-chain bracelet is essentially two loops (or chains) connected together.  To make the two loops, I cut two pieces of duct tape that were the length of my wrist, and I rolled them up.

Rolled pieces of duct tape

To make the clasp, I took one of the rolls and folded it in half.  I made a circle with the roll by wrapping the same piece of duct tape around both ends.

One chain done

For the other roll, I wrapped one end with the same color duct tape I used to connect the two ends of the first chain.  On the other end, I needed a keeper, like the one I made for a watch.  However, I made it with a slightly different process.  I first cut a section of the duct tape and folded it over.

I then trimmed the piece of duct tape so the height matched the height of the piece of duct tape folded over.

I attached the strip to the other end of the rolled up duct tape.

To finish the bracelet, I looped the two chains together and then tied a piece of thin duct tape around the two strands of the second chain so that when the bracelet was unclasped, it did not fall apart.

Finished!

The clasp works really well and looks stylish, especially with the silver duct tape, which, at a very quick glance, looks like real silver.

On human

Fixing a Book with Duct Tape

As many know, duct tape is used for more than just pencil cases, which is what I have mostly used duct tape for.  Duct tape serves a useful purpose, such as fixing car windows, which I see all the time on the road.  It can also be used to fix the binding on a book and to reattach the covers to the book.

The big dictionary in the house has had a ripped cover and binding for years.  Nobody has sought to fix it, but since I had red duct tape that matched the color of the dictionary, I thought that this was a perfect opportunity to reconstruct the spine.

Starting condition

I first needed to fix the spine, which, as seen in the pictures, was ripped and half-missing.  I removed the front and back covers from the dictionary and began working on the back cover.

I taped what was left of the spine and the back cover together on the back and the front.

To recreate the missing part of the spine, I alternated between putting pieces of duct tape on the inside of the spine and on the outside of the spine until I reached the end.  I also taped up the rip on the top of the spine between the two remaining pieces of the spine.

To connect the front cover with the spine, I just taped them together, both on the inside and the outside.

Two covers attached together

Inside view in between the two covers

I put a piece of tape horizontally along the bottom edge of the spine, which is the portion of the spine that I reconstructed with duct tape.

Bottom half

Front and back cover with no pages

To reattach the pages, I placed the back cover underneath the bound pages and taped them together.

Starting to bind the pages to the cover

I repeated the same process at the front of the book, binding the insides together.  I placed a piece of duct tape on the other side of the where I joined the pages and the cover together at both the front and the back of the dictionary.

Tape between the pages and the cover to hold them together

After attaching the cover to the spine, I finished the reconstruction of a book spine and the attachment of the hardcovers to the pages.  The dictionary, I must say, looks so much better than before.

Adding a Zipper

My weaved pencil case had loops and hooks to keep it closed.  I did not like this design, as it was aesthetically unappealing, and it was a little hard to get it closed every time.  I decided to attach a zipper to my pouch instead.

I cut the side walls a little bit so that the tops did not touch the top of the case itself.  This is not a necessary step; it only makes it easier to attach the zipper later on.

Side walls are shorter

When I bought the zipper, the package came with instructions on how to attach a zipper to clothes with an iron or a needle.  I promptly disregarded these instructions and threw them out, as they did not apply at all to attaching it to duct tape.  In order to attach the zipper to duct tape, the zipper first needs to have "handles" made from duct tape that make it easier to attach to the sides of the pencil case.  To make the "handles", I placed a piece of duct tape underneath the zipper.  The edge of the tape paralleled the zipper but did not touch it.

Length of the tape needs to match the length of the zipper

I folded the piece of tape over in half onto the other side to create the first "handle."  I repeated the process on the other side of the zipper to create the two "handles."

Folded piece of duct tape

Both "handles" added

To attach the zipper to the case, I split a piece of duct tape in half to create two long, thin strips.

Length of the tape needs to match the length of the case

I added one of the strips to the "handles" of the zipper, placing only half of the sticky side on the "handle."  I placed the zipper along the edge of the case in the inside and pressed down on the tape, securing it into place.

Make sure the zipper is not upside-down!

I repeated the process on the other side, but I undid the zipper first to separate the already attached side from the side I was about to attach.  Not only did this make the entire process easier, but I also was able to see where I placed the tape inside.

With the zipper completely attached, I thought I was done.  However, the zipper, because of the added duct tape "handles", was really wide and would flatten, exposing some sticky side of the tape.

Not done yet!

To fix this problem, I cut another strip of duct tape in half to make two long, thin strips.  I placed the case flat on the table and placed a strip of duct tape onto the edge of the case and onto the zipper.  By doing this, I eliminated the little crevice between the the zipper and wall.  I taped the other side up as well.

Problem solved!

With zipper completely attached, I tested it out.  I was very happy with the results.  The zipper is easy to use and looks better than the loops and hooks I had implemented before.

Tape the ends of the zipper in

To finish the case, all I had to do was tape the ends of the zipper in.  The zipper itself is only nine inches, a perfect length for the case, but the cloth ends hung out over the edge, as seen in the pictures.  Once I tape the ends in, the case looked awesome!

Fix the Keeper on a Watch

I wear a watch everyday, and the rubber keeper, from constant use and fiddling, broke a few days ago.  Instead of buying another keeper or a whole other watch, I used duct tape to solve the problem.  I made a duct tape keeper, which I think is even better than the rubber one that it came with.

To make the keeper, I cut off a small piece of duct tape and lay it horizontal, with the nice, even, smooth edges on the left and right.

About 1.5 inches in height

 I rolled up the piece of duct tape, starting from the bottom.  The piece I initially folded over was very thin so the keeper would not turn out very thick and ugly.

How thin the initial fold should be

Finished piece

To figure out how big the keeper needed to be, I made a loop around the watch strap with the rolled piece of duct tape.  The second strap was able to slide through with no problem.  I also made sure that the loop was tight enough so the second strap would not fall out, and the keeper would not slide down.

To join the two ends of the rolled piece of duct tape, I cut a very thin piece of duct tape and then cut it in half again.

About how thin the piece should be

I looped the piece of duct tape around the ends of the rolled tape to create the keeper.  Once I was finished, I put it on my watch.  It was a little hard to slide the keeper over the metal buckle since I made it very tight, but once I got it on, it worked great!

Finished keeper

The duct tape keeper, I think, is better than the rubber keeper I initially had on my watch.  The rubber one was very loose and would often slide down, leaving the second strap poking out.  Because I made the duct tape keeper really tight, it stays in place, and the second strap never falls out.  It is also flat, and when I put my wrist down on the table, I no longer feel a bump digging into my wrist as I did before with the rubber keeper.

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!

Flat Yarn for Weaving

I wanted to make a small zipper pencil case out of weaving duct tape strands for the upcoming school year.  To start, I made many flat strips of duct tape in the colors and pattern I wanted.  I knew that the basic premise for the case would be folding a square of duct tape in half, so I used used a rectangular piece of paper to make a square as a basis for my measurements.

I based my measurements off of the diagonal of the square and then moved outward from there.  The piece of duct tape below is about the length of the diagonal. To first make the flat strip, I folded over a portion of the tape.

Before the strip is completed

After the initial portion is folded over, I then folded that piece over until no more of the sticky side showed.

A finished flat piece of duct tape yarn

Each strip of flat yarn should be about the same height.  I always used the first piece as a comparison for height.

Make sure all pieces are around the same height

I made more and more strips of flat yarn until the entire square was covered.  The alternating colors of red and chrome actually created a nice effect that I did not expect.

Red and chrome duct tape

Since weaving, at the most basic level, requires two strings crossing over each other, I made another set of flat yarn for weaving.  This time, I only used black duct tape to neutralize the brighter colors of red and chrome, which is really shiny.

Entirely black duct tape

Weaving two strips together should not be too hard, and I hope it will turn out well.

The Essential Wallet

The duct tape wallet is the stepping stone for all duct tape fanatics.  Once one can make a wallet, he or she has learned all the basics for making things out of duct tape.  The base of the wallet can be used in any other creation, such as in the crochet hook case.  Today, I made a basic wallet for Cora, my friend.  While I have used alternating color stripes here, most of my wallets are a single color.

To create the base, I laid strips of duct tape on each other, with the sticky sides touching each other.  A strip should contact one-half of the previous strip.  I repeated this process until the base was the right length.

Half is attached to the previous strip

Final base of the wallet

After I finished the base, I taped the left and right sides and then folded it into fourths.  I taped again the edges, both on the inside and the outside.  The fortified edges prevent any chance of money falling out.

The cover of the wallet

Right now, the wallet is empty, containing only a place to put dollar bills.  I will be adding card slots and a coin pocket to the inside soon.

Duct Tape Yarn

Duct tape yarn is not as easy to make as it seems.  I had a full roll of red duct tape, so I decided to use some of it to make yarn, and it did not turn out the way I had expected it too.  The making of the yarn took longer than I expected, and actual yarn itself was not smooth and even as I had imagined it to be.  However, the yarn still turned out the way I needed it to be for my purposes.

Yarn that one can buy in the stores usually has a circle cross-section, so I tried to achieve that as much as possible.  The first time I embarked on my yarn-making adventure, the yarn turned out flat and unusable, with varying widths and thicknesses.

Visibly uneven and flat

Next, I decided to use a twirling technique to create a circular cross-section.  Using one hand to hold the roll of duct tape and the other hand to twirl the yarn, I managed to make the yarn roundish.

In the process of "spinning" the duct tape to create yarn

The other tip to keep in mind while making duct tape yarn is to not have a great amount of free duct tape.  By free duct tape, I mean duct tape that has been separated from the roll.  If too much duct tape is free, then it begins to stick together, and the yarn becomes flat and inconsistent in width.

The amount of free duct tape should be no larger than this

I only made about three yards of yarn, as it does take a lot of time to make sure the duct tape does not fold in on itself and to ensure the yarn remains consistent.  Duct tape yarn is very rigid and inflexible when it is first made, so I crumpled up my yarn to loosen it up and stretch it out.  Next, I created a ball the yarn and tied it with a rubberband, leaving it overnight to soften up.

A duct tape yarn ball

I have not used the yarn yet, but I will in the next few days.  I just need to wait for it to be flexible and easy to use in order to make a successful project.