Make Your Own (Customized) Dress Form!

For my first instructional post, I'm going to "assign" you a little prerequisite for the rest of the blog. Why? Well, if you're a beginner like me, without it, there would inevitably come a day when you realize it's nearly impossible to make clothes fit properly without a dress form when pinning. Just think about this. If you have a shirt you want to take in, you'd flip the shirt inside out, put it on, start by pinning the sides at the bottom.... and then what? By the time you get to the top, you're twisting around, causing gaps and unevenness and poking your armpits with pins. Not to mention, how the heck you'd plan on getting the dang thing off. I've done it that way, but it was no walk in the park. But no worries -- I have good news! You don't need to order an expensive dress form on Amazon, hoping the S, M, or L will fit your beautiful and unique figure, when you can make your own with this tutorial. At least for me, making my own dress form specified to my measurements was the best thing I've done since I started sewing, and it's pretty easy and inexpensive, too. We're talking under $10. And if you live in the states and have access to an Office Depot you can order the supplies in-store and they will ship it to your house, next-day, for free! I should say, "supply" because you practically only need one thing besides a few other household items you probably already have on hand. All you have to do is click on the link I gave you, copy the item number, go to the store and tell them you want to order it, they'll ask for your address, you'll pay, and they will ship the material to your house, for free. You could be looking at your dress form by tomorrow. And not just any dress form. A dress form that looks exactly like your body! Now that may sound scary to some of you because it can be hard for us to face our flaws when we're standing next to them and they're staring you in the face. For instance, my dress form shows my scoliosis, but learning to embrace your body in all its glory is a beautiful thing and I've learned over my journey that it's absolutely necessary for survival.

Following along with the tutorial, you will also need to read the following tips I have added. It may look like a lot, but once you get the general concept, it's really not as difficult as it sounds and the end result will be totally worth it, I promise. :)

Important tips (In order of Importance):

No matter what your size is, it's normal for your weight to fluctuate, so you'll want to do this on a day that you're not feeling bloated or if you just ate a big meal. Nor should you do it on a day you are feeling extra slim. You want the final product to be how you look on average. I can't stress this enough!
It's possible to wrap most of the paper tape by yourself if you start from the bottom.
A Quick Fix -- If your dress form's bust area comes out smaller than your actual boob size because, like me, you accidentally wrapped the paper tape too tight, just make your dress form always wear one of your old padded bras when pinning, to compensate.
When making my dress form, I taped further down than Johanna did, adding the buttocks and first 4 inches of my legs. That way it's not just a form for dresses and skirts but also for shorts and rompers. Doing this made removing the paper tape much more challenging, forcing me to cut down the back of each leg. Caution: If you do this, be very careful not to cut yourself with the scissors! Have someone you trust help you and go slowly. If you end up cutting it off to one side or jaggedly, don't fret. You're going to be joining the two sides (I'll refer to this as "the gap") back together with more paper tape once you're done.
Decide how you want to use your dress form ahead of time. Do you want it to be mounted on a stand or do you want to be able to store it in a closest on a hanger? (It can really freak people out if left lying around!) Before you close up the gap in your dress form, if you choose the hanger method like me, now would be a good time to insert a sturdy clothes hanger -- I used one from a men's suit and pulled it through the back before stuffing it. If you'd rather go with putting it on a stand, you'll have to do this last by cutting a hole in your dress form at the bottom and securing it with more paper tape. Stand options you can find at a thrift store: Christmas tree stand, Lamp post, Coat rack, Painting easle, etc.. Be creative!
In Step 5: Instead of using duct tape, use strips of more paper tape to mend the gap.
Before you start stuffing, measure yourself and your dress form at the biggest and smallest parts of the body to make sure the measurements match! If they match, skip to Step 6 in the Tutorial. If the measurements don't match and are off by a lot, the paper tape you applied in Step 5 may still be wet enough for you to pry up and reapply. Repair the gap with more paper tape by allowing for more or less room, depending on how the measurements didn't match. If the tape has already dried, recut it along the first cut ("the gap"). To add width (make bigger), re-tape over the gap, while adding paper tape to allow however many inches your dress form needs to match your actual measurements. Or for less width (make smaller) overlap the two sides however many inches needed and add a final layer of paper tape to smooth over the gap. Repeat this in any places needed to make sure the final measurements match yours; some areas may need to be taken in, while others may need to be let out.

In Step 7: When stuffing the newspaper (I used "Thrifty Nickels" because they're free and ended up using about 15-20 of them) take care to pack it tighter in the "bumpy" areas, such as the boobs, stomach, and butt, that way, when dressing your dress form, those areas won't collapse. Also, your hands may be covered in ink from bunching up so many newspapers, so make sure to wash them before touching anything important.

Well, I hope you had fun making your body double and that it wasn't too stressful. I know you'll find it very useful in our upcoming sewing adventures together. Feel free to leave a picture of yourself next to your dress form in the comments below, and I'm looking forward to inspiring you again soon!

What I'm wearing:

Zippered Maroon Skinnies - Forever 21
Black Mossimo Combat Boots - Target
Navy Colorblock Button-up - Refashioned, Goodwill
Black & Metal Studded Bracelet - Goodwill
Black & White Cat Fur - You can't see it, but it's there! It's always there. Meet my cat, "Kaos Ham-Sammich". He'll be showing up from time to time. :3