Resizing my C Dress Form for a New Project

Back showing tape job

Have I mentioned that I love my size C Dress Form? Probably too many times....but none the less, I love my  Size C Dress Form!

Recently, my friend Sheila B. and I decided to put our research into action and create a One Shoulder Elk Hide Dress of the Eastern Woodlands type.

Since I am the seamstress and she is the research maven, I decided that it was high time she had a dress to wear for all of her tireless work.

Sheila is a bit robust than I am and had no desire to stand for several hours while I built the dress to fit her so we turned to my dress form and with just the loosening of a few screws and some well placed padding we made her a twin sister!

Now, Sheilas measurements are her secret and will remain so since I couldn't find my tape measure, (although I have three), we just used a stretch of bias tape to mark her size and then ran over and duplicated it on the form.

We used duct tape to fill the gaps but first placed folded paper towels between the tape and form to prevent tape sticky build up and round out the gaps to a firmer, more natural pinning surface.

Any remaining awkward gaps were taken care of with painters masking tape.

Sheila, meet Sheila...

We then topped it off with a large T shirt to keep the dress from snagging on the tape as we pulled it off and on various times for live fittings. We pinned the T shirt around the bottom edge of the form being careful to push the pin heads flush to the dress form surface to prevent it also from snagging.

You could not get a modern, cheap dress form to go from my size to Sheila's without some major body distortion, I guess you need a '50's dress model for a '50's classic Bod!

Also, these hides I'm hanging weigh about ten pounds or more per hide, lets see those cheap new mannequins hold that up with style! I'm sure it would wilt like last weeks cut daisies!

Here I am in one of those rare, "lets get a picture of you" moments when someone grabs my camera and makes a spectacle out of me. I include it just so you can see how happy I am when I'm hanging hide on my form!

Your Resident Seamstress in action....