Replies

1. 
   ConnieS_ | Nov 25, 2001 04:41am | #1

   *
   Stephanie,
   Some friends and I met one day and made duct tape dress forms. They are relatively easy and you will laugh alot while doing it! You can find instructions in a past Threads issue (not sure of the #). Also, visit http://www.sewingworld.com to find discussions about it and websites with instructions.
   Connie

1. 
   karen_morris_ | Nov 29, 2001 09:10am | #2

   *The duct tape dress form info is in Threads no. 75, pp. 37-41, along with some other ideas.

1. 
   jchicks | Dec 16, 2001 08:31pm | #3

   *Hello, new member here. Hope I'm not intruding.I purchased a form last year, You can find the adjustable type. Once I gave "her" the same shape I am, I made alot more summer dresses, and one piece outfits for my self. Just wish I could find one to adjust to my Hubbie's size. They even have an attachment for hems(for dresses and long pants. Hope this helps. I love mine.

1. 
   karen_morris_ | Dec 18, 2001 10:29am | #4

   *Hello, jchicks. Of course you're not intruding. Welcome! Do you mind telling us what brand and model of dress form you bought? This sounds like a good one, if it's truly adjustable to be like your body.I think that dress forms are most useful when they are as similar to your body shape as possible. Especially in the shoulder and neck areas, which greatly affect the hang of a garment. I have a foam dress forms that's an exact duplicate of my body. I use it, but not as much as I thought I would. It depends on the type of sewing you do. Some people use them all the time for draping and designing garments, while others just use a dress form to study a length of fabric before cutting it.

1. 
   petex2000 | Dec 18, 2001 06:14pm | #5

   *The dress forms art. are also right on the Threads online site @b http://www.taunton.com/threads/pages/t00002.aspif link doesn't get you there--go the Threads home page and do a search for "dress forms"Has anyone tried the various techniques? I'd like a custom form that looked finished and professional in my studio.

2. 
   Judy_Williment | Mar 10, 2002 07:32am | #6

   *I love my (Singer) adjustable dressform, but you need always to be aware that they adjust only for bust, waist and hip circumference, and torso length. They may well not reflect how your body looks between those points! Having said that, I always begin fitting on the dressform - for myself it fits fairly well, and I do very few extra alterations, for my customers, sometimes I do, and sometimes not, but it's a good place to start when fitting. It's also great for draping new designs on - you can see how a fabric will hang from a body.I am in the "couldn't live without one" camp, but if you sew only for yourself, I'd go with the "Threads" article on making cheap body clones - more accurate and less costly!

3. 
   Ghillie_C | Mar 11, 2002 02:49pm | #7

   *It was not until I made a body double that I realised how much space 'I' took up! I tried the duct tape version but I could never get the thing to stay in shape. She came to an ignominious end.Ghillie

4. 
   Judy_Williment | Mar 12, 2002 11:00am | #8

   *You could always try stuffing one - good old polyester batting/wadding wouldn't be too expensive, but would help hold the shape fairly well, also it wouldn't be too heavy. Maybe you could try another one?