My favourite latex sheet manufacture – Radical Rubber has come out with 11 fantastic new latex colors in the last six month.

Some of the colors are already available on Radical Rubbers website, the others will soon follow.

But you can already check all of them out on Libidex new color chart.

I already found my favorite colors; translucent lilac, nigthshade blue, medical red, metallic black and the delicious chocolate.

It is so great with so many possibilities and combinations. I love it!

It is not latex clothing, but it is still fun and easy!

I love latex furniture, but unfortunately is it not very common and if you find something it is expensive!

So as I saw at a flee market this old chair for approx. $10, I thought I will give it a shoot and turn that into a nice modern piece!

And there you go, my result. It fits perfectly in my bedroom!

If you want to try it your self you will need:

• Piece of latex o.6mm
  (according to the size of the seat)
• Latex glue (rubber cement and latex milk)
• Fabric band (available in sewing shops)
• Staple gun
• Cutting tools

1. Remove old cover

Above you can see how the chair looked as I bought it.

I took it apart and removed the old covers. This one had an additional cover underneath which was made out of leather and had a weird pattern. This pressed itself over time into the seat cushion and shows now through. But that’s fine, it actually looks quite nice with the latex cover over it.

2. Paint

Since I like it black and shiny, I had to paint the wood frame. So I sanded the frame down until it was really nice and smooth. I painted the frame two times with a thin layer of shiny black water based paint. Looks great!

3. Prepare latex cover

Measure the size of the cushion, length, hight and width. And cut a piece of latex out, according to your cushion size. Remember that it has to be approx. 2″ longer on the ends, so that you can attach it later to the underside of you seat.

Then mark the areas which you will have to cut out, to make it possible to fold and glue the cover into a square or whatever shape your cushion might have. My cover looks like that now, after I measured everything and did the cut outs.
I made the cut outs so, that I have a little flap on one side of each cut out. This makes it easy to glue the pieces together. I just cutted 0.2″ further in on one side to create the flap.
See the picture.

4. Glue in fabric band

Now, before we start gluing the cover together, we will have to glue in the fabric band!
It will be glued on around all the edges of the cover. This is necessary if you don´t want your latex to rip later when you attach it to the chair with a staple gun!

To attach fabric to latex, you will of course need the latex milk (liquid latex). Apply the latex milk good to the fabric band and let it completely dry! It should not feel wet when you touch it! Then apply also some of the latex milk to the latex, let it dry. Now glue the cotton band on to the inner side of the latex cover. Check out the picture to see where you need to glue it on. If you want to, you can backlay the cotton strip with a thin gauge of latex.

5. Glue the edges together

Now we can glue the edges together. Apply the glue to the edges and let it dry, then attach it to each other. Remember, if you backlayed your cotton strip with latex, then you have to use the rubber cement which is stronger! If you didn’t do it and have to glue the blank fabric on to the latex then you have to use the latex milk, otherwise it wont work! The combination of rubber cement and cotton just works if it is rubberized cotton! Check out the picture to see how I glued it together.

6. Get it all together

Now its almost done! Just pull the cover over your cushion. Attach the cover with the staple gun to the wooden under plate. Therefore you just fold the overlapping Latex with the attached fabric band over, so that it lays on the wooden under plate. Done!

It might be that there is a thicker layer of material on the edges where you have to fold it to the side. If it gets to thick, then you can just cut some of the material out. There can´t happen anything, because you have the cotton band which protects the latex from ripping! But remember not to cut over the cotton band into the latex!

There are probably screws in your chair wich prevents the seat from sliding around or falling off, so remember also to put those holes in, using a hole puncher.

Enjoy!
Kitty

I received a lot of requests about making tutorials with latex clothing, which is easier to make. So I have chosen to make a latex Tank Top Tutorial this time.
It is really easy! It consists of just two pieces and four small seams.

On the pictures you will see that I am working on a latex tank top for guys, but there is no big difference to a Tank Top for girls. Because I have chosen a very simple cut. Like you will see in my drawings.

You need:

• Approx. 1 x 1 meter latex (depending on your size)
• Some rubber cement and a small brush
• 3 long latex strips
• Cutting material
• Cleaner

1. Pattern

The pattern is super easy! You need your chest, waist, hip and armpits measurements. If you really have problems making the pattern, get one of your tightest shirts to compare it with your pattern.

Take a look at the drawings to see the difference between guys and girls tank tops and get some tips.
You can easily change the look of your pattern, by changing the front cut out or by designing a special look in the front! See examples in the drawing.

2. Gluing the shoulder seams

O.K. here you can see the two latex pieces for the latex tank tops for guys and the latex strips.

The color I have chosen is “translucent smokey black” from Radical Rubber.

If we make a latex tank top or similar things like a T-shirt, will we start with the shoulder seams. That is really easy here, because they are so small. Start by cleaning the surface on the shoulder seams. Now apply a thin layer of glue and let it try! Put the shoulder seams together and apply a little pressure with your finger to it, before you roll over it with your seam roller.

3. Reinforcement and application

If you lie your latex Tank Top now flat on your workspace, it will be easy to glue the latex strips on. It is not a must to glue those on, but it will reinforce the cutting edge and if you chose another color it gives a nice contrast.

The latex strips don’t need to have a certain width, because you will glue them on, so that they will overlap the cutting edge of your latex tank top. After you are done gluing you just cut the overlapping part off. To keep the same width on the tank top, you can make some markings on the top or if you got a good eye measurement do it without it.

4. Glue the sideseam

Now we will glue the side seams together. We start in the armpit!
Clean the side seam and apply the glue. It is easier if you lie your latex tank top right away in position like you see it on the picture. So that you don’t need to move it a lot around after you applied the glue.

Glue now the side seams, beginning from the armpit down to the hip together. Done!

You can glue the finishing latex strip on the bottom of the latex tank top after you glued the side seams together or as well before. That depends on how good you meassured everything in first place. If you glue on the latex strip before you glued the side seams together and it doesn’t fit a 100% on the bottom afterward, your pre-work is gone. Because you have to cut the overlapping piece off and glue then again a latex strip on. Nobody is going to have a latex Tank Top where the front part might be 5 mm longer then the back part. That doesn’t look good!

I glue the finishing strip on the bottom of the latex tank top always at the latest point.
But you dont have to do it all if you dont like it.

Have fun gluing and designing!
Kitty