Some of my readers asked me if there is a difference between latex and rubber. Most of you would probably think “no, latex and rubber refers to the same” – but that’s actually wrong.

Latex

Latex is the white sap there comes from the most commonly used Para rubber tree, Hevea brasiliensis (Euphorbiaceae).

The milky sap is a white dispersion of rubber, water, proteins, sugar, ash, dirt and other impurities. The tree uses the latex sap to close wounds in its bark.

The word latex is derived from the latin word lac lactis (milk) texo (weave, construct, build).

Rubber

Natural Rubber (NR) is a component of the latex sap.

The latex sap contains approx. 35-40% rubber. Which will be concentrated up to 60% and more depending on the methods (f.x. creaming which reaches even up to 80%, centrifugation or evaporation), before the sap will reach the compounding process.

The name rubber accured accidentally in the end of the 1700 century, as a stationer in New England discovered that you could rub out pencil marks with it. The British scientist, Joseph Priestley suggested to call it rubber, from “rub out”.

In Europe it was commonly known as Caoutchouc, which is the general term for elastomere.

Conclusion

Latex is the raw material, the white protective sap of the rubber tree and rubber is the product which will remain after the latex dried out. It is the basis for making rubber. But to most of us use the words latex and rubber to describe the material we are using.

First of all I want to thank you for all of your great comments and e-mails. I am happy to see that so many of you want to be a part of makinglatexclothing.com and contribute to it. The first week has been amazing!

I am still working my way through your e-mails and try to answer them, so please be patient if you havent heard from me yet.

Today I tried to create a inflatable rubber item for the very first time. I thought it was fun to experiment with something new and since it is Valentines Day, I decided it would be fun to make a big inflatable rubber heart.

As you can see on my Valentines Card I made it and I can tell you I had a lot of with it! I am already looking forward to many other fun inflatable projects in the future.

I hope you all had a great Valentines Day and spend some time with your loved one!

Latex Kitty

Rubber cement is a strong adhesive which is usually used to glue latex sheeting from 0.6 mm thickness and up. I use it as well for thinner latex sheeting, from 0.3mm and up.

The solvents in the rubber cement quickly evaporate what makes the gluing fast and easy, but it should also remind you of keeping your glue container closed, because it easily dries out.

If your glue gets by time to thick and makes it to difficult for you to apply it on the latex sheeting, than mix it up with a thinner until you got the right consistence.

While you apply the glue, the latex sheeting will start to crinkle what is normal! You will have to wait a few minutes until it straighten itself out again and then its ready to be glued together.

Rubber cement is of course online available or as well in a lot of latex stores. I bought my rubber cement on my last trip to Berlin in the local Blackstyle store.

Warning! The fumes of the rubber cement are harmful! Make sure to have enough ventilation while working with it! Avoid open fires and extreme heat (candles etc.) as it is a higly flammable subsance.

What pencils should I use to draw on the latex sheeting? You can use almost any kind! Just remember to remove everything after you cutted out the latex to avoid stains!

Example:
If I have to draw on black latex or any other dark colored Latex sheeting, I will use either a white or silver paintmarker or a regular ballpoint pen (which will of course make it more difficult for you to see it afterwards).

For light colors would I recommend to stay with the white or silver paintmarker or if you got good eyes to use a regular pencil (but please dont sharpen it to much).

White and transparent latex will stain very easily! Use the paintmarker or pencil and clean it immediately after cutting it out!

Everybody knows what a ruler is, a instrument with a straight edge, used for making precise drawings and measure certain distances.

To help you get your pattern perfect you need three types of rulers:

• Straight long rulers.
• Protractor (For the right angles on the Pattern).
• French curves (French curves are curved rulers in different sizes and shapes, which will help you to shape the pattern right when you connect lines etc. It is also known as Burmester set).

Hi, ich bin Latex Kitty, eine Frau die dem Latex und der Regenbekleidung verfallen ist. Geboren in Deutschland und nun seit 2007 im fantastischen Kopenhagen, Dänemark ansässig. Die Herstellung von Latexbekleidung erlernte ich erstmals im Jahr 2004, bei einer Maßschneiderei für Latexbekleidung in Berlin.

Ich finde es großartig meine eigene Latexbekleidung herstellen zu können, eigene Ideen umzusetzen und der kreativität freien lauf zu lassen.

Die Idee hinter diesem Weblog ist die Weitergabe des Wissen über die Herstellung von Latexbekleidung an die Gummi-Liebhaber Welt weit und um einen Einblick in die Handwerkliche Kunst zu verschaffen.