Create Your Own Dress Form

A dress form, or a "dressmaker's dummy," is a very useful tool for anyone who enjoys sewing. They can be rather expensive, particularly the ones that you customise yourself. However, it's fairly inexpensive to make your own, unique dress form that is the same shape as you and won't gum up your pins.

Steps

  1. Strip to your undergarments, wearing a bra that you normally wear.
  2. Put on an old t-shirt that won't be missed, since it will become part of the dress form.
  3. Begin wetting some of the packing tape.
  4. Start wrapping the tape with your friend's assistance, making an X over your chest and continue wrapping horizontally, preserving the shape of breasts for female shapes, until you have a few layers of tape.
  5. Remain still while the shell around you dries, usually about an hour, perhaps watching some TV or something so you don't get too bored.
  6. Cut the shell beginning at the bottom of the middle of the back, cutting upwards all the way to the neck.
  7. Remove the shell carefully, bending it no more than necessary, to avoid damaging it.
  8. Seal the cut in the back with packing tape.
  9. Set the shell in a place where it won't be disturbed while it dries completely.
  10. Hang your dress form securely, so it will not fall.
  11. Use two poles, one small enough to fit inside your dress form the long way yet doesn't extend through the neck hole, to make a lowercase T, with the crossbar at approximately your shoulder level when it's standing up, and tape the poles together.
  12. Place pole securely into a Christmas tree stand so it stands upright.
  13. Place your dress form over the top of the pole, resting on the crossbar of the T.



Tips

  • Use a different color of duct tape for the second layer, so you can easily see what still needs to be covered.
    1. Cutting some strips beforehand will help quicken part of form making.

Warnings

  • Be careful that your friend doesn't accidentally cut you, or your undergarments!, instead of the dress form shell.
  • Make sure your tape is the kind with the envelope glue, and isn't covered with plastic. Sometimes it won't say on the package, and the kind that's already sticky and plastic covered really doesn't work nearly as well.
  • Uline carries a really great packing tape that can be used to do this, and you don't have to wait for it to dry. You will also want to use a plastic garbage bag instead of a t-shirt (the bigger the better). You will also want to cut across one shoulder and down the back to the left of center, and stuff the form with cotton batting.

Things You'll Need

  • Paper packing tape, the kind with envelope glue that needs to be dampened. It can be found in a paper supply store alongside packing materials.
  • Water.
  • Sponge (optional, but it will help in wetting)
  • A long t-shirt that you don't particularly care for, one that reaches to about mid-thigh.
  • A close friend to help you.
  • Scissors.
  • Pins.
  • Something to hang the dress form with
  • A couple of free hours

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