6 replies to this topic

[M-Pompadour]

Has anyone made a latex outfit?

Im starting to look into it but i wanted to read and see other peoples projects. Any problems they may have had, pointers in making clothing etc...

I posted this under Fantasy but could have gone under any group I guess except Historical

[El Presidente]

Hi Liz,

There's a really good book by Sian-Kate Mooney called "Making Latex Clothes" but it's hard to get these days. I've not used Latex as such, just PVC. I'll check what recommendations shes makes but my pointers would be:

Definitely make a mock up. You can't unpick without leaving a series of holes where you've sewn.
On a similar point, don't use pins (or only pin within the seam allowance), use foldback clips instead. I've also heard of a glue you can use, similar to the stuff on Post-it notes, that you can use to temporarly hold the seam, but I've not found any.
Using a walking foot (or teflon) helps stop fabric creep (just like when sewing velvet).
Use a larger stitch - to avoid the tendecy to fabric tear on the perforations.
If the fabric has stretch, sew with a slight zigzag (rather than the sort of stretch stitch that goes back and forth - too many holes)

Otherwise I didn't find it much more difficult than any other sewing.

[mdb]

Oh no sewing at all! You can't sew latex in any way. Good tips for PVC but latex is a whole different kettle of fish It's glue for everything including putting in zips

There is a great site online:
http://makinglatexclothing.com/
Love this site so much, it inspires me as it just makes the material look so interesting to work with.


I have only worked with casting latex but the basics are the same for care and sticking together MJ Trends sells latex and adhesives:
http://www.mjtrends.com/categories-Adhesive,Notions
And has tutorials for working with their product.
I'm a big fan of theirs and love their PVC so I'll be buying from them when I decide to delve into latex

[El Presidente]

Oops, yes I agree with mdb, having just checked the book I mentioned above. The comment I made above were for PVC, not latex. (I have edited my post above).

Great websites too mdb, thanks for posting them!

[M-Pompadour]

[attachment=409:nge2001.jpg]Thanks for all the tips. Looks like it would be a great medium to use for costume making.

Evangelion flight suits would be great to make using latex or some other super hero or sci-fi character. Just need to find some other characters options.

[Kat]

I have been looking at their PVC material but it says that their postage for international is about $148! I only want about 5 yds of material. I have sent them an email to ask re postage/delivery...
What sort of prices did they charge for PVC delivery to NZ???
Kat.

mdb, on 19 September 2010 - 03:31 PM, said:

I have only worked with casting latex but the basics are the same for care and sticking together <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/wink.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid="" border="0" alt="wink.gif" /> MJ Trends sells latex and adhesives:
<a href="http://www.mjtrends.com/categories-Adhesive,Notions" target="_blank">http://www.mjtrends.com/categories-Adhesive,Notions</a>
And has tutorials for working with their product.
I'm a big fan of theirs and love their PVC so I'll be buying from them when I decide to delve into latex <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid="" border="0" alt="smile.gif" />

Edited by Kat, 01 December 2010 - 11:03 PM.

[mdb]

Sorry for the delay, had a bit of not being able to post for a while

Wow! I got about that much and all up with postage it worked out at $NZ25/m. I took the USPS Intl option rather than fedex which is the default. It came in plenty of time

Oh and a small side note I've been testing liquid latex on stretch fabric, still debating between using matte PVC or latex over lycra, and it gives the best of both worlds Aside from the smell.... Testing in regards to maybe making a Siren costume from Tron

it does require a set up of equipment though that I personally do not have...