Duct-tape session rolls into creative handcrafts

A small group of young people found themselves in a sticky situation at the East Side branch library when they attended the Advanced Duct Tape Workshop last week.The workshop is part of the Spokane Public Library’s Summer Reading Program. Sally Chilson, youth services coordinator, said the duct-tape event was added to provide activities for older kids and teens.

Apparently, the handyman’s friend is not just for patching leaky pipes anymore.

“It’s so much fun to play with duct tape,” said librarian Chris Lemieux.

Brightly colored rolls of red, green, yellow and teal tape covered the tables, along with a roll or two of the trademark silver tape. Pictures of prom dresses made from the adhesive were hanging on the walls to offer the kids inspiration.

But Lemieux had simpler projects in mind.

She told the group, “First, I’ll show you how to make duct-tape fabric.”

Twelve-year-old Brianna Hallett eyed the demonstration warily. “I’m not very crafty,” she said.

Others had had more experience. Katy Timm, 17, showed off her blue duct-tape wallet. “I made it two years ago,” she said.

The wallet still looks great and functions well. Duct tape is nothing but durable.

Lemieux showed the kids the basics of creating a rose and a wallet, which seem to be the most popular duct-tape crafts. She also provided the youths with patterns for more advanced projects such as flip-flops and lunch bags.

Soon, the distinct sound of tape-ripping filled the room. Timm and her friend Rocky Botner used teamwork to tear long strips of tape in half. Botner worked at creating a wallet, while Timm used her experience to craft a rainbow-striped lunch bag.

Across the room, 13-year-old Abi Peterson made a magnificent pair of purple and teal flip-flops. “I already have a duct-tape wallet at home,” she said.

Meanwhile, the “non-crafty” Hallett completed a rose. “I attempted,” she said.

According to her friend Cheyenne Johnson, attending the workshop was Hallett’s idea. Hallett agreed, saying, “I told her, ‘We gotta go do duct tape.’ “

Johnson created a beautiful multicolored rose on leaf-laden stem. “They were supposed to be thorns,” she said with a grimace. “Duct tape isn’t easy.”

At another table, a young girl worked with quiet concentration on a purple and green checkerboard wallet.

Lemieux said that at the South Hill branch library workshop, a group of kids had taken the wallet pattern and extended it to create purses with shoulder straps and fasteners.

In other workshops, kids brought elaborate masks they had created, and one enterprising young man made a welder’s helmet.

“What they come up with,” Chilson said, “is way cooler than what we could do.”

Correspondent Cindy Hval can be reached at dchval@juno.com.