HOWTO Make a duct-tape corsage

Instructables user Thatkidwithayoyo has a fine formula for making a corsage out of the universal medium of exchange, duct tape:

I didn't want to buy in to the wasteful "buy, wear for a few hours, throw away" corsage culture, so I decided to make a more economical, longer lasting, and greener alternative.

This instructable will teach you how to make duct tape flowers and then use those flowers to make a corsage. The flowers and corsage will last forever and are waterproof, recyclable, hypo-allergenic, and just plain cool! They are also cheaper than a normal corsage and don't require a trip to the florist.

How to Make a Duct Tape Corsage and Flowers (via Craft)

[#1 posted by kengor , February 20, 2009 11:49 PM]

You ain't gettin' no pussy with a lump of duct tape.

[#2 posted by Keeper of the Lantern , February 21, 2009 12:50 AM]

My brother's a musician and back when he'd play Broadway shows-on-the-road, he'd occasionally forget a tie. So he'd just go to the stagehands and whip one up with duct tape.

[#3 posted by Pantograph , February 21, 2009 1:08 AM]

Imagine my disappointment when I realized this wasn't about a duct tape corset.

/me drinks his morning coffee

[#4 posted by flipper99 , February 21, 2009 2:42 AM]

Let me get this right ...

Searching for a GREENER alternative to flowers?

What can be more green that growing something and returning it to the earth ...

And you came up with duct tape? plastic tape and a chemical glue ..? since when is duct tape recyclable? they send trucks around to collect it in your area?

jeez.

[#5 posted by wakaman , February 21, 2009 3:39 AM]

+1 on Flipper's comments.

This is not green by any stretch of the imagination. And corsages/dried flowers last practically forever. I still have one from junior high kicking around somewhere.

Even if you buy a plastic corsage, it'd still be greener than all the tape that goes into this one.

I never really understood the duct tape fetish that some people have. Yes it is a great product for many tasks, but turning it into wearables is just silly

[#6 posted by Anonymous , February 21, 2009 3:46 AM]

Hey guys! I'm going to use a petroleum byproduct and call it "greener" than A FUCKING PLANT!

[#7 posted by Anonymous , February 21, 2009 4:00 AM]

Apparently there's a basic misunderstanding of teenage girls going on here (closely related to post #1, by the way.)

Girls *keep* corsages. We carefully lay them out to allow them to dry...I even know girls who disassemble the corsages, dry the flowers, and make lovely shadowbox bouquets with the reassembled materials. The rest of us generally don't throw them away until they crumble into dust (and there's not much that's more biodegradable than a flower that has already begun to biodegrade.)

I don't think there are too many girls who are going to do anything with a duct-tape corsage other than dropping it into the nearest garbage can (oooh, there's that throwing away a mass of chemicals and plastics thing) -- if you could even get her to wear it. (and hypoallergenic? Can I please tell you about allergies to chemicals? Now there's a nice memento of prom -- a seeping patch of blisters on her shoulder from a reaction to the duct tape.)

So...you won't get to first base, and she'll likely pitch it in the trash.

Your flowers are clever, but pony up the cash for real flowers, stud.

[#8 posted by Bekah , February 21, 2009 4:03 AM]

speaking as a girl born and raised on a flower farm.... may I just put in a promotion for real flowers - even if you pick them from the side of the road :)

[#9 posted by arkizzle , February 21, 2009 4:39 AM]

Surely it's greener than shipping orchids from tropical climes, or growing them hydroponically in milder places.

[#10 posted by Boeotian , February 21, 2009 5:24 AM]

http://www.ducttapefashion.com/

[#11 posted by Jeff , February 21, 2009 5:41 AM]

Just don't do it. She will not be impressed.

[#12 posted by Anonymous , February 21, 2009 7:05 AM]

Great idea! With this you will also not have to buy into the wasteful "buy, wear for a few minutes, throw away" condom culture either. The economic benefits do not end there. You will also avoid the cost of an additional date.

[#13 posted by Bekah , February 21, 2009 8:18 AM]

Duct tape is super amazing stuff - I once patched a hole in a canoe with it and it held for the rest of the journey (and that had some grade 3 rapids in it). But really I don't think this is greener - would have to look at the production cycle for duct tape and all its elements to see how it compares to shipping orchids etc. Maybe if you made a corsage out of a drink can or recycled electrical wire.

[#14 posted by drabheathen , February 21, 2009 9:40 AM]

"Wasteful"? "Economical"? "Greener"?

Considering all the freaking chemicals it takes to put together a roll of duct tape, I'd say you're better off sticking with a flower. At least a flower's biodegradable.

Or making it from found objects - beads and cloth.

[#15 posted by stuiethegod , February 21, 2009 10:12 AM]

dang, those look a lot better then the ones I made in high school. Why is everyone hating on duct tape?

Oh and Jeff, and the girls I made flowers for in high school loved them.

[#16 posted by Teller , February 21, 2009 12:07 PM]

Duct tape is the corsage you give to a man.

[#17 posted by ROSSINDETROIT , February 21, 2009 1:04 PM]

Waterproof. Because the first thing I want to know about any botanical decoration is what happens if I swim with it on.

[#18 posted by IamInnocent , February 21, 2009 2:05 PM]

http://www.ducttapeguys.com/fashion/prom/index.html

[#19 posted by kib , February 21, 2009 3:08 PM]

Perhaps this effort was from the same brilliance who wrote "Peece" on the desk?

[#20 posted by Bekah , February 21, 2009 3:38 PM]

#17 Rossindetroit and #19 Kib :D hehehe love it
#16 Teller absolutely - and it is a male corsage actually
#15 Stuiethegod No no not hating on duct tape at all just a teeencey wincey little eye raise at the green claim - now if it were in green duct tape that would be different ;)

[#21 posted by starfish and coffee , February 21, 2009 7:36 PM]

oh, and they "don't require a trip to the florist".

fuck yeah, I just hate entering a florist. why have we put up with this natural shit for so long?

[#22 posted by ricket , February 21, 2009 10:12 PM]

!(green) == green?

[#23 posted by Anonymous , February 22, 2009 10:15 AM]

any guy turning up in my driveway with that best back right back up and go right to the next girl's house cause they ain't gettin near me with that.

god forbid us girls want to adorn ourselves with actual real flowers and not remade office supplies. the duct tapers need to give up the reconstituting and find some leaky ducts already.

[#24 posted by theresamat , February 22, 2009 1:09 PM]

I agree with #15. Why is everyone hating on the Duct Tape accessories? Yes, there are not very enviro-friendly; I get that, but I would be honored if a guy took the time to create a corsage for me!

Of course, this is coming from a girl who made herself a duct tape hat...

[#25 posted by surreality , February 22, 2009 6:05 PM]

OK, so the green claim is just silly, and I can understand the not wanting to actually wear it claim. But I was expecting more duct tape love from people who read BoingBoing! My current boyfriend knows how to make roses out of duct tape and gave me one which I keep on my bookshelf. I don't make claims to its greenness and I'm not going to wear it, but it's awfully cute, looks very real, and I know he spent a lot of time and effort on it.

[#26 posted by owenblacker , March 14, 2009 4:31 AM]

My wife made her bouquet and our buttonholes from duct tape for our wedding. We all thought they were very cool! :o)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mojen/2685259670/ and http://www.flickr.com/photos/mojen/2684446571/ if you want to see the end-result.