Why You Simply Must Have a Proper Adjustable Vintage Dress Form

After wearing my totally period incorrect Brain Tan Corset for a few days to break it in, I found the top and bottom edges folding out and downward in inconvenient places that would add strange ridges under any garment I wore it under.

So, back on the dress form it went and I added cotton twill bias tape with copious amounts of Hide Glue to hold it in place smoothly.

This could not be done with the corset laying flat as it would have rumpled and bulged in the unexpected places, it simply had to be corrected on the form and following my form adjusted to my shape.

It also allowed me to apply tension to the tape while applying so that it pulled in the top and bottom of the garment as I wrapped.

Here you see the top edge tightly wrapped glued down in place.

(Remember, this is a "Fun Garment" and has no basis in historical correctness. I need to wear a corset for my bad back and I had the leather, so I made it. I will eventually cover the edges of twill tape with another band of thin leather, restoring its "rustic" appearance. Think of it this way, most of us wouldn't wear a period correct hide dress without a bra, this is my version of a bra).

On the bottom edge I loosely pinned the tape to the form under the corset, but then glued the outer edge first applying tension as I went.

Here you can see me pulling and wrapping the tape to the applied glue. I actually abandoned the "start from the center and work out" idea as soon as this picture was taken, I went back to the tried and true "start at the outer edge and work your way around". This gave me the smooth finish I needed.

It had a few wrinkles at first but applying tension and pressure smoothed it out nicely as the glue began to tack. the wrinkles arrived because of my "start in the middle" attempt obviously failed and had to be corrected by pulling the glued tape edge loose and reapplying as I came to it from the proper "start at the edge" method.

The same was done for the back, the tape is pinned in place to the form but the front is glued first, then the tape is wrapped around and glued to the inside of the corset.

I had help from my cat in this endeavor, she insisted I take a break and attend to her for a bit, but she didn't understand that glue must be dealt with when applied and not after her needs are met.

You can see the protective paper towel barrier in place between the form and the inside of the corset, I had just finished gluing the bottom edge to the inside. One must not glue ones garment to the form!

Here is the tape pinned in place on the top edge between the corset and form.

You will note the edges I left a bit of extra tape on, after finishing all the gluing, I went back and glued under the edges, clipping the extra off as I did a neat fold under.

Here is the glue applied and allowed to tack for five minutes on the front of the corset, I then applied tension as I turned the edge down from right edge to left edge to tighten and stiffen the flopping top.

Below are the most convincing reasons I can ever show to illustrate the need for a good dress form that reflects your actual shape and measurements.

I can work confidently knowing that what I do on the form will look the same on me!

Perhaps my "bum" is a bit fluffier, but the corset shows that it is holding the shape I created on the form. If I was to continue shaping over the "Rear" I would simply pad out the form in the needed areas. Thankfully, most of the garments I create are immediately "Fulled Out" when they hit this region, so I am safe for now!

I should have called this article, "How to fix the mistakes you made on your corset by adding twill tape to the edge" but I instead chose to highlight how important it is to have a properly adjustable, sturdy dress form.

I had to move heaven and earth to find these vintage wonders, they have no contemporary peers in modern guise. You have the choice of either buying a cheap form that will collapse under the extra padding needed to mimic your shape, (not to mention the weight of the garment itself), as they are not truly adjustable in any meaningful way, or buying an expensive, non adjustable dress form that gives you just a small margin of correction in size and shape before you have to buy another dress form of a larger or smaller size.

I am justifiably angry with the dress form industry for not continuing to make a decent adjustable dress form at a reasonable price that will do the job a seamstress needs to do, which is to create wonderful, fitted garments for a variety of shapes and sizes reliably and with as little frustration as possible.

Shame on them for thinking they are filling a need in the sewing world when what they are really doing is causing seamstresses untold frustration and loss of confidence when they prepare a garment upon their cheap, flimsy forms and find the fit is not what they were told it would be by the simple manipulation of cheap dials on a plastic form.

It makes me sad to think of how many promising seamstresses have given up because they felt their talents were lacking, when in reality it was the fault of a badly made crappy dress form that failed to deliver the results intended.

If you feel the way I do about this situation, take a moment to contact these sham dress form makers and let them know you wouldn't buy their product if they were giving them away. It might make a difference, it might not, but I sleep better knowing they have had my opinion on the matter.

A Leather Corsette for under My Two Hide Dress

You may think I'm departing from custom a bit by making and wearing a brain tan corset under my two hide dress, but I do have valid reasons. I have a bad back and require support as well as I am a bit lumpy and the corset smooths out those imperfections that may detract from the overall design.

Why make it from Brain Tan Leather? Because it's breathable, comfortable, and I just happened to have enough scraps left over to put one together. I used a corset that fits me well as the pattern for size, but made accommodations for comfort and concealment. I don't want it to be obvious that I am wearing the stays and most of my corsets give an obvious lift and fit that stands out.

After cutting out the front and back, I then used an old fully boned colonial dress top that I no longer cared for as the lining, boning and all, trimming it to size and machine sewing it into the lining. I then hide glued the front piece on so no seams show.

The back piece was made up entirely from scraps, so it has an odd appearance, but this corset will not show, so I am not concerned about how it looks, other than it is neat in appearance and is smooth under the dress.

These pictures show my first fitting, I now realize I have to do a bit more trimming to get the shape I need, but so far the top fits great and I wont need to wear a bra under the dress as it supports me nicely without showing through. (Note the special support up the back, I added more boning after assembly, it really helps me out with support and smoothed out some wrinkles.

Properly Fitted

Proper Fit, Back

Proper fit front

 Later that night....I had to make some slight adjustments to the sizing, I trimmed off a bit at the sides on the bottom, now I have a more secure fit and it is a bit more flattering.

It is also laced traditionally but I cheated and used nylon braided shoe laces, the leather laces were just too hard to pull through and adjust.

I would have to have help getting dressed with the leather laces, and I would need help getting out of too.

My Husband often heads out first and comes home later than me, nothing worse than being stuck in a straight jacket by yourself when you want to get loose!

Dress with corset under, Cat checks it out.

No Stays showing through! Cat loves to be in the pictures!