padding out a dressmaker's dummy - need help

This has worked well for me when padding up for customers. Just be sure you pad firmly and give it a good, smooth cover. One way is to use poly patting and crepe bandages: that way you can pull it in a bit tighter for the waist and give the boobs a better shape. Then pop a turtle-neck smooth jumper over the top to stop all the bandages drifting...

When I used to pad up Liz (my dressform), I used a strip of foam rubber around the waist, if I was just trying to fit skirts, since that seemed to be the only place where Liz and I didn't match. Since I've had my baby, I finally had to pad up the entire dressform and I used polyester quilt batting--the kind that has some sort of coating on both sides so that the batting doesn't beard. I just cut and pieced the batting together, using tailoring stitches and a curved upholstery needle while following the original seam lines. I then took some tightly woven twill and "slipcovered" Liz, while making sure that the seam lines stayed true to the original dressform princess seams underneath. She's a formidable thing now, lol! Poor Liz. Oh, and she's named "Liz" because that is what is stenciled on the front of her. I bought her in Atlanta, GA at a gigantic flea market for $100, and she's a Wolfe brand industrial dressform.

lisa

Dear Larisa,

I used to have to pad a dummy to sew for my overly endowed daughter. I put her bra on the dummy and stuffed it. That made the top part of the dummy perfect for her, and the clothes made on it fit just right. You could go a step further, and put your undergarments on the dummy, then stuff them, and pad out wherever else is necessary. Cover all with a t-shirt. We had to do this in one of my classes, and we could tell whose dress form it was from the other end of the hall. Since these alterations had to last through a whole semester, we made zip-on covers from denim with a separating zipper down the back. The covers were made without any ease, then stuffed and filled out where we normally don't measure--midriff, neck base, armhole size, etc.

Teri

There was a little tidbit about that in the latest Threads (yes mine finally arrived yesterday). It does depend on how much you need to "enhance" the dummy. What I would do is wrap cheap batting around all the places that need enhancing until I got the proper measurements. Use a bra that fits you on top and stuff it as necessary. Then I'd cover the entire thing with an old (tight) leotard to smooth things out.

Phae

How about :

you want a really nice fit, I would think a set of their foam fitting system (sold separately $127.00) would be just the ticket. And, if you sew for "others", you'd have an adjustable (within limits) form.NAYY,

Beverly

Geez! The steps are at

(I deleted my doggone history before I could copy the link. I found it from a google search for "dress forms".)

I'd love to hear if anyone has tried this.

The main problem with actual duct tape dressforms is they tend to sag in heat, and they're not pinnable -- something you want if you do draping. I have an earlier incarnation of the pinnable dress form Connie Crawford wrote about in the August and September 2006 Sew News; it's held up quite well. Mine does not have the linen cover.

If you're going to do it, you need to wrap the person quite firmly, especially in fit and shape crucial areas. It gets really warm and kind of difficult to breathe as you're being wrapped.... it's a good idea to leave the diaphragm area unwrapped as long as possible for breathing room, and to do this in a cool room. I'd keep icepacks on hand for possible use, too -- I'm one who's always chilly, and rarely do I sweat... I looked and felt like I'd run 10 miles when we were done. To minimize the time you spend inside the tape, I'd also recommend you have at least two people doing the taping... one to apply the strips, the other to cut strips to the correct size.

Kay

My Duct Tape Double sits in a corner of my studio Making it was a pain, and dh did not manage to get the waist tight enough, but the main thing is that it really is accurate through the shoulders and bustline, which of course is where fitting is most difficult. I mounted mine on an old wooden coathanger attached to the top of some pvc pipe, then in turn that was mounted on specific part of toilet fitting (dh knows what it was, but he is sleeping at present after some one-day surgery)which we mounted upside down on a piece of plywood. The whole thing sits in a corner of the studio and can be moved around if needed.

Yes, it kind of softened up after a while in this hot, sticky climate, but I just added few more bits of tape. It also sagged at the bottom, but I don't use that for fitting anyway. It works for what I need it for.

Olwyn Mary in New Orleans.