Reassurance required.

[Hissing Sid]

Hi,

I know there's lots of information on this forum but I just thought some of the more adept members could rubber stamp (pun intended) my ideas.

I was planning on making (after not being able to buy) a couple of simple latex chemises for my missus.

My plan is to buy a cheap nylon one by main order, pull it to bits and use it as a pattern for the latex one.
Is this a viable method or should I do something different?

What about joints?
Should I be gluing seams or stitching them (yes, I can use a sewing machine) or both?

Any advice or suggestions would be appreciated.

[Jemitch]

If I'm right in supposing the latex to be very thin, you can't sew it - it will tear all over the place. I'm quoting June Kastley on that. Didn't she sort something out for you?

[Glaftex]

Hi Hissing Sid,

Basically you are on the right track. However, you would be better off buying a cotton or similar one in a local store that your wife had tried on for size, and most importantly, fit. The mail order one is likely to be rather shapeless so that it can fit just about any shaped person that remotely "fits" the designated size.
My recommendation is that you make it in thinner rather than thicker gauge - suggest you try .15/.18mm or .18/.25 from 4D [now designated .16mm and .20mm by 4D]. The thinner the gauge the better the drape and feel of the finished garment.
You can theoretically sew any gauge latex, but most domestic sewing machines will not handle the thinnest gauges. Partly it is the grip between the foot of the machine and the plates that move the material past the needle, but other factors such as plate pressure, tension and a host of other things affect the sewing of latex. The only person I know who had no trouble with .16mm latex was a local manufacturer who used an industrial sewing machine designed for leather garments. She told me that she could get a normal domestic sewing machine to work, and she was a professional seamstress. My wife sews latex garments, but the only sewing she does on the two thinnest gauges is where I have glued two thicknesses together eg where the line of button holes are on a shirt.
If you do sew latex successfully, then from my experience it is a good idea to glue a .16mm thick strip about 2cm wide over the back of the sewn seam, especially if the garment is subject to much stretching.
If you have had no experience sewing or glueing latex, especially the thinner grades, then be prepared for some practice. Its not a difficult skill to learn, but you can't expect things to go well the first few times, as I think others posting will attest.

Best of luck

Glaftex

[Glaftex]

Hi again Sid,

I forgot to mention that Sian-Kate Mooney has a very attractive full length T-shirt dress in her book on Making Latex Clothes which you might like to look at. She has a pattern for the top part in her book.

Glaftex

[Famous_Moose]

Hi again Sid,

I forgot to mention that Sian-Kate Mooney has a very attractive full length T-shirt dress in her book on Making Latex Clothes which you might like to look at. She has a pattern for the top part in her book.

Glaftex

Be warned though, her patterns are really more construction guides and the book has no sizing information. The book is a good introduction to the basic skills you'll need to do the construction though.

An alternative would be to get hold of a commercial pattern in the style you like, and adapt that. For something that you don't mind being loose and flowing you'll probably just need to tweak the seam and hem allowances depending on the joining technique you chose to use.

I'd probably suggest gluing, if you don't mind the appearance of the lapped seams. The choice of glues is up to you, but I'm working with copydex for now, as it's easy to get hold of and fairly forgiving of mistakes.

Moose

[Wired]

Thinner stuff (.20 or below) is ideal for a chemise but as Glaftex points out ,dont expect immediate results, best to try something simple and basic first than something you've set your heart on owning.

.20mm can be a testing guage to use if your just starting out and can be difficult to purchase in small amounts in the UK and for these reasons I'd suggest .33 mm latex. Its easier to handle and seam , controlling stretch on lighter guages can be difficult until you develop a feel for what your doing.

Buying a pre maid garment that fits your wife is probably the best idea and deconstructing it using the Glaftex method will yield you good results, my first ever leggings were made this way and still rank as one of the best fitting garments I've made.

Be sure to let us know how you get on,
regards,
Wired.