covering a dressform (with clarification)

[dulcet]

So I told my husband that I'd like help making a duct tape dressform.  He looked at some of the info I had bookmarked and said sure.  But he had a better idea of how to do it.  We went through the standard procedure, but with a garbage sack under the tape.



So after he cut off the duct tape form and slathered the inside with vaseline, he used it as a mold to contain expanding-foam insulation.  He even put a T frame of pvc pipe in it so it could be put on a stand.



Making a dressform of yourself is certainly one way of discovering your body flaws.  Yes, appearently on of my shoulders is higher than the other.  In fact, most of me seems to be off-kilter.

A few months later, after my son complained about "that thing standing around naked," I got around to covering it.  I used a couple of old undershirts for the fabric because they were thin, stretchy, and available.



Most of the cover was shaped by pinning while on the form, then basting, trying back on for fit, then serging.





To fit the bust, I cut the cover off a couple of inches underneath it.  Then I split up the center.  I made horizontal darts, then closed the split, and added darts vertically up from the bottom edge.



It was at this point that I realized that fitting it inside-out wasn't good.  Because when I turn it right-side-out the shoulder fitted to the right side would be on the left shoulder, and on down the line.  But I decided to press on and trust to the virtues of stretchy knits.  (That'll probably come back and bite me in the butt later--which is probably also lop-sided.)

I added a dart up the back.  Finally I added the middrift section, which I also shaped to fit the hips.  I'm going to run a cord through the hem at the bottom, so I can cinch it in tight.
It's not pretty, or level/plumb/straight.  But it's just the form and cover, not a dress.



EDIT:  I've added clarification of how my husband used the expanding foam and the duct tape "mold."  It's at the bottom of page 2.  (I was so proud of how I figured out how to cover the dressform, but more people are interested in how he made it.  I'm cool with that.)

[starryeyes11]

Awesome idea!  How many cans of the foam insulation did it take?  I am glad I haven't done my dress form yet, this might be the better way to do it!

[The Muffin]

That was a good idea to use the foam; my duck tape dress form ended up way bigger than I was!

I think the lop sidedness just comes from how you stand (and start to slouch) while being taped up.

[hikeaddict]

First of all, that is awesome. It's so cool that you did this yourself instead of shelling out a bunch of money for one that won't be as exact as this one. Secondly, your husband deserves some serious praise for getting in on this project with such great ideas. I love when the significant others get involved!

[heatherweather33]

That is pretty frickin' sweet! I love your improvisation!

If I made one like that, and lost weight, I could just cut/sand away where I lost the weight from... You've made the tiny wheels in my head start turning!

Great work!

[NickyDee]

This isa great idea, I've wanted one for ages and been putting it off because they are so expensive!

[dulcet]

My husband says he's already got ideas for how to do the next one better.  I'll have to ask him what they are.  He used two cans of foam.  The first time he moved it around too much and it all collapsed, so he had to redo it.  I don't know that this way is any better than just stuffed duct tape, since I haven't tried that way to compare.  But my philosophy is "it's better than nothing!"

And it's not just a slouch, unfortunately.  I said something like that when I first saw the foam dummy, and my honey said no, that's how my body really is.  And he should know--he spends alot more time looking at my body than I do!

[JBear]

and my honey said no, that's how my body really is

Well, if your husband says that your shoulders have always been like that then I believe that you may have scoliosis. It usually occurs in young teenage females from constant poor posture during their growing years and the vertebrae grows crooked. After the age of about 22, after you're fully grown, it doesn't do anymore damage. It's nothing bad! Do not worry! There are LOTS of people that don't even know they have it. But I'm only a student nurse. My diagnosis is sketchy at best.  You can google "scoliosis test" and check it out yourself. 

Anywho, using expanding foam to make a dress form is genius! I may have to try this one day instead of buying a $100 dress form.

[CaityBear]

Adorable.

If I had help I would've made my own, but I have nobody at home to help me so I convinced my mom to buy me one off Ebay. Not a bad price. I got it today and I started using it in about 20 minutes. haha

Props for making your own though. And your hubbie for the help.

[stitch81]

I like the trash bag idea... I wouldn't have had to ruin an old shirt and shorts if I had thought of that.  But I didn't bother with the vaseline.  I just taped seam back together and filled it all with the foam and combo of newspaper.  It came out really good, but the foam seemed to have increased the actual size a bit.  Either that or I have lost weight, but I don't think so.  Note to self:  don't let your kids pick out the tape color... my dressform is a lovely shade of teal.  I would have prefered the white.. but my kids said it was a boring color.  Oh well.