If it stretches, zigzag sew it, or in this case, glue it!   

Drafting patterns for latex garments is just the same as drafting patterns for any other stretch fabric garments. You can use “scaling factor” calculations to work out the amount of negative ease / latex sheet you need. If you have been following the corselet pattern drafting / making article you will know how to test the stretch of your chosen fabric and to work out the scaling factor number to use in the negative ease calculations. You can test a sample of latex sheet in the same way as Powernet or other stretch fabric (please see corselet article).

Hear is a latex “corselet dress” that I made a while ago. I used negative ease calculations to draft a pattern for the latex. The dress is made from 0.40mm thick black and silver coloured latex; 0.40mm is a good thickness for most garments.

Obviously I am breaking the golden rule about making bra cups from non-stretch fabrics, but the amount that the latex cups stretch is very little. I could have used inner lining cups in a non-stretch fabric, but this would have defeated one of the main modern reasons to make a garment out of latex, the “tactile” feel of latex against the body.

As with Sannie Kralt’s latex corset, the bone cases plus bones are glued in place. You can use the same technique to fix bra cup underwires in place under the cups. Coat the wires in glue first and allow the glue to go tacky, and then stick them in place on the “cup seams” and cover with strips of pre-glued latex. Please note the small pieces of latex that I have glued over the ends of the underwires to give some extra cushioning, as the latex is quite thin. The extra layer of latex reduces the possibility of the ends of the underwires causing irritation. Playtex does a similar thing in some of their underwire bras - they put small “cushions” over the ends of the underwires. I have used ordinary bra straps for the straps on the dress because to get the same stretch characteristics and support as ordinary bra straps I would have to make the straps from several layers of latex glued together.

On the centre front panel of the dress I have stencilled on a pattern using liquid latex coloured with a small amount of acrylic paint.

First I cleaned the latex sheet to remove any French chalk that is put on latex sheet by the manufacturer, and then I used a small sponge painting roller to apply the liquid latex through the stencil onto the latex sheet. You have to work quickly as the liquid latex starts to “set” in no time at all. After the liquid latex had dried completely with the help of a hair dryer I cut out the centre front panel shape and glued it to the rest of the dress.

Yes, you can print or paint on latex, but I wanted a more thick textured finish, similar to a Jacquard weave fabric. So I used liquid latex, which you can get from art and crafts suppliers.

To “glue” all the seams of the dress I used a pre-vulcanised rubber solution. This rubber solution glue is usually used for bicycle inner tube puncture repair. To call it a glue is misleading as the rubber solution causes a chemical reaction that fuses the two latex parts together rather than becoming a layer between the latex parts. In the UK you can get tubes of the rubber solution from a well-known car and bicycle accessories chain, go to the bicycle accessories part of the shop. The rubber solution causes a chemical reaction try not to get any of the solution on a part of the garment that will show as it will leave a permanent mark.
Latex sheet comes coated in French chalk. Do not clean the sheets until the garment is complete, or it will stick to itself while you are handling it. You do, however, need to clean thoroughly the edges that you are going to glue. Giving them a wipe over with surgical spirit (rubbing alcohol) helps to completely clean the latex. You can get surgical spirit (rubbing alcohol) from most chemists (pharmacies) as it is used for removing the sticky gum that is used on sticking plasters for cuts and grazes. When you have cleaned the “seam” area you can use masking tape to mask off the seam area before applying the rubber solution glue. This will give you a neat edge to the seam glue line.
When you apply the rubber solution glue the latex will curl up, but don't worry, as it will gradually uncurl when it begins to dry.

When the seam edges have uncurled, the seam is ready to press together.

When your garment is all glued together, leave it to dry for at least 24 hours, then wash it in lukewarm water with a little hand soap to remove the French chalk. Allow to dry naturally in the air before trying on.

As this corselet dress is a “step in & pull on” garment, a liberal dusting of talcum powder inside the garment and on the body is recommended to help the garment slide on.

By the way,  you can glue an ordinary zip into a latex garment: just rub some rubber solution glue into the fabric strips either side of the teeth of the zip (the fabric parts of the zip that you would normally sew) and allow to dry. Then glue the latex to the zip and sandwich the zip fabric strips with strips of latex on the inside of the garment.

And finally, here is a garment I have been meaning to have a go at making for ages. It's the classic Latex girdle without seams from the 1940’s, see United States Patent No 2360736 for details and shape of girdle form for dipping.

Girdles like this were made by repeatedly dipping a “form” into a tank of liquid latex. It’s the same process that is used to make latex household “washing up” gloves today. To make a dipped girdle I would need to first make a thin girdle shaped form, possibly from painted wood, then make a dipping tank just big enough to take the girdle shaped form. Put the form in to the tank and fill the tank up with liquid latex, pull out the form and allow the latex to go tacky then dip the form back into the tank, pull out and repeat until the desired thickness of latex as built up on the form. Allow to completely dry, and then peel the latex girdle off the form.