Have you always wondered about the many uses of duct tape? Making a backpack from this household item is one more unconventional use of this amazing product.
Tulika Nair
Originally called duck tape due to its waterproof quality, it is not surprising that the creative and innovative have devised means that will allow you to make a backpack which will protect your belongings in all kinds of weather.
Duct tapes were originally manufactured during the Second World War for use by the Allied forced to protect containers with warfare in them from water damage and effects of other natural forces.
From there onwards, the use of duct tape spread, with it being used for industrial and household purposes, from sealing boxes to fixing leaky faucets, duct tapes became a savior for most causes.
In 1995, two enterprising individuals released a book that listed such uses of duct tape which tells information unheard about it. The Duct Tape Book by Tim Nyberg and Jim Berg was educational to say the least, with crazy and unconventional uses for this mundane sticky piece of tape.
Since then, this type tape has been used for several arts and crafts projects from making purses and wallets to dresses made completely of duct tape.
Tutorial for Making the Backpack
The process can be slightly time-consuming because of the time you will need to spend on making duct tape fabric for the bag. This is a painstakingly slow process as you need to be exact when you are matching and sticking pieces of duct tape together.
Once you have your fabric ready, all you need to do is follow the duct tape backpack pattern that you have decided on and make your new accessory.
Materials Needed
Duct tape, 40 yards
A pair of scissors
Hook and Loop fasteners
Instructions
● Start by cutting a strip of duct tape that is a couple of inches longer than what you wish the width of your backpack should be. Now place it on a flat surface with its sticky side up.
● Now cut another strip of the duct tape and place it on top of the first strip with the sticky side down. Do this in such a manner that the second strip overlaps the first in the middle. Take the part of the first strip of duct tape which is exposed and fold it over so that you have a clean edge.
● Now flip this piece of duct tape over and continue adding strips to the piece that you have created by overlapping pieces of duct tape. This will create a sheet of duct tape or a duct tape fabric. Create a sheet that affords you enough fabric that is more than twice the length of the backpack you want to create and leave space for the desired depth.
● It may be a good idea to create a reinforced sheet of duct tape by adding a layer of tape. Do this by adding strips of duct tape perpendicular to the original strips and overlapping them.
● You will need to create duct tape sheets for the side of the bag, the flap of the bag and enough fabric to cover all parts of the backpack.
● Trim all those edges of the fabric which are rough.
● Now fold the first sheet of duct tape that you made to create three pieces; the outer two parts should be as long as the height of the backpack and the piece in the middle should be of the same dimensions as the depth. This will create the front, the back and the bottom of the backpack.
● Now make the side panels out of the second sheet of duct tape that you have made and attach it to the edges of the first sheet, that you have folded. Ensure that when you do this, it is along the folds that you have created on the first sheet. Reinforce the parts you are sticking with more duct tape.
● In order to create the straps of the backpack, it may be a good idea to cut out the straps of an old backpack and use them as the frame. Take the duct tape sheet you have created and stick it over the strap. Allow for a length that is double the length of the backpack strap. This will allow you to create straps that are durable.
● To attach the strap, cut two slits in the fold of the bottom of the backpack and the back of the backpack, slide the straps through these slits. Bring the end of the strap that is only duct tape inside the backpack and stick. Repeat this process for both straps.
● Finally, create the flap for the backpack. You can do so by taping one edge of the fabric sheet to the top of the back of the backpack. Attach hook and loop fasteners to the flap and front of the backpack.
If you want, instead of using normal gray colored tape, you can use differently colored duct tape for crafts like these so you can create designs that are aesthetically appealing as well.
The process of learning to make a backpack is very easy and once you have learned this, you can use the same methods to make other things. After all with a raw product as versatile as this, there are no limits to creativity.