Very Chic Girl: The Perfect Fit: Make Your Own Dress Form

Monday, September 28, 2015

The Perfect Fit: Make Your Own Dress Form

A designer at heart, you are super talented with frame, form, colour and are a complete wiz at design. You see fashion in the colors on that dew-laden leaf and in the fur on the dog who just walked by. You have arranged all the tools to create and sew yourself that perfect dress that has kept you from sleeping for days on end. But what's the perfect dress without the perfect fit? That's when you need your very own dress form!

Consider making a dummy of yourself (nah, that's not what I am trying to get at, read the whole thing!), that can help make your dress fit like a dream…sounds tough eh? But, here is an ingenious way that you can go about doing it, nice and easy. You'll need to ask a friend to help you with this one!

Checklist:
– some loose cotton or pillow filling;
– scissors (the tongue ain't enough!);
– some rolls of broad width tape;
– a metal base (yeah, that lamp needed to be discarded anyway, so cut the shade out and lo and behold!);
– cardboard;
– a long tee-shirt (make sure it's your least favourite, as this is the last time you'd be wearing it!);
– some foil.

Get, set and roll:
1. Wear the t-shirt and cover the exposed parts of the neck with a foil
2. Ask your friend to start covering the entire length and breadth of the t-shirt with the tape. Make sure that the entire t-shirt, along with neck area with the foil protection is fully covered. You could start with taking the tape around the waist and then criss-crossing it over the body. You should ideally look like a mummy.
3. Cut the 'mummy-case' from the back, from end-to-end all the way from the hip up till the neck.
4. After removing from the body, tape the cut end back up, so that you have a hollow shell of yourself (spooky!)
5. Stuff this shell with the cotton and pillow stuffing.
6. Push the metal base through it.
7. And….drums rolling…..Voila! You've got your very own dress form!

So now, enjoy making your dress, and don't forget to pitch in one for your dear helpful friend!