Dressforms

[Michael A]

Thanks Kathryn.  I think it is going to be quite a handy item.  And was actually quite easy to make.  The wrapping did take longer than the tutorials I saw led me to believe.  I slipped a tight t-shirt and boxer briefs onto it this morning and it is ready to go to work.  Though I still need to removably mount it into a pair of loafers to stabilize it's stance.  Then the question is, what to sew?

M

[fzxdoc]

Then the question is, what to sew?

M

The sky's the limit, Michael! Have fun!

Kathryn

[Lisa]

Lynda - I could live with Buddy for a name, but I have a cousin named Buddy who might not like it that I named my dummy that. 

I probably wouldn't name it, but if you want to, what about "Dub" for double?

Lisa

[Cocokat]

Michael, how about 'Manny' ?

[Michael A]

Manny du Bod relaxing at home.

t-shirt upload by Michael A2012, on Flickr

And ready to go uptown.

suit cropped by Michael A2012, on Flickr

Michael

[Cocokat]

 

He's rockin it!

Manny  du Bod, man about town 

[crazihippichic]

   

I like the look of the Fabulous Fit, ?  Ha ha.  I need to find a place to stand it so I don't accidentally catch sight of it at night.  Would scare the heck out of me.

Michael

What a good job you did. I need to make one of these. Which tute do you recommend?

[Michael A]

Roxi - I used the tutorial at this site.  It's geared toward a gentleman, but most of the instructions are the same for both genders.

While Manny and I were getting dressed this morning he mentioned that he's been feeling a bit walkabout.  I don't know exactly what that means, but

kimono cropped by Michael A2012, on Flickr

 
Michael

[Cocokat]

Very subtle Manny  ,
Maybe Michael can whip you up some travel wear 

[adamc]

Does your dress form have a "Name" ?

Over the weekend ( by chance) picked up a 1950's-60's vintage Singer dress form from an antique store.. I'm sure i overpaid, but DW wanted one for the new sewing/craft room to jazz it up
( almost done) I'll post more pics when cleaned up..   I guess this could be used  more for decoration I'm sure,   I told DW that she needs a name

[marciae]

What - well, of course she has a name - Trixie

[Syndi]

I think everyones does...
mine?....Claire.  I don't even know why.

[Bellie Jean]

Oh my adamc, of course your dress form needs a name!   

My (purchased) dress form is named Francesca.  I also have a paper-tape one named Gabrielle.

Ellie

[crazihippichic]

Mine is Big Mama Smurf....for obvious reasons.

[WendyW]

Mine is a paper-tape form, named Matilda.

She is named in honor of my father. When Dad had heart surgery he called his IV pole his "dancing partner" and named her Waltzing Matilda. We decorated her with a fancy hat on top with a paper face attached. He died a few years later.

[annenet]

I did a My Twin dress form and she's called "Cocoa".

[adamc]

Thanks for the replies...

I have to get DW to register & post here..

She went to joanns for some dress patterns
to use her new machines Babylock Imagine & Shophia2
 ( I don't think I will be making dresses )
 But I started to make some rought tool & parts bags.. I will try to do the roll up pouch
I found on the bernina website

[BetsyV]

Mine's named Mabel, for one of my grandmothers.

[Gorgeous Things]

I actually have three (hangs head in embarrassment). Two of them are vintage and cost me a total of $100. The other is a Roxy full body form (with legs) that I splurged and bought as a *mumble mumble* birthday present for myself. Shelley is my form at home:

She is an old Wolf, and she came from a design student named Michelle, hence Shelley.

Mutt is my Roxy. She's the closest to my size, and with the hardware associated, she is tall.

Jeff came to me through the kindness of strangers. She's older than me, and her lift is broken, so she's pretty short. She stays in the studio, next to Mutt. Hence the names Mutt and Jeff. She shows up in the Gorgeous Fabrics University videos, but I don't have a handy picture of her to post here, sorry!

[theresa in tucson]

My dress form is named Margaret.  My husband named her when asked for suggestions.  The sewing machines and the bicycles have names as well although the autos do not.  The autos are referred to as to who drives or drove them as in Grandpa's truck, Mom's rollerskate (DM's RAV4), the blue truck and the new truck.

[laantigua]

Mine is Mildred, that is her name. Mildred. Just because she IS Mildred.

[BeeBee]

Mine is Lizzy, my name is Elizabeth so...
My mother's was Mabel to all of us in the neigborhood - her middle name and I was (oddly)obsessed with it as a child.

[fzxdoc]

Adamc, I've merged your Dressform topic with one that is already in progress. I'll send you a PM.

FWIW, none of my several custom-padded dressforms have names. I'm embarrassed to admit that.

Kathryn

[laantigua]

Kathryn, if your pals do not have a name, how can you communicate with them? Are you trying to tell me that you do not talk to your friends who are always there for you when you need them? I am shocked. 

[bluenines1]

Hi eveyone, My dressform is named miss Bell, I have no idea why she is named that but it is the name that just came to me and so she is miss bell,
happy sewing

[fzxdoc]

Kathryn, if your pals do not have a name, how can you communicate with them? Are you trying to tell me that you do not talk to your friends who are always there for you when you need them? I am shocked. 

Angela, I guess I'm so busy talking to myself when I sew that I don't have time to talk to my dressform herd. 

I guess I should change that.

Kathryn

[Robin]

LOL, my dress form does not have a name either.
Or even a gender. It's just my dress form.
When I look at it, honestly, I see a pretty accurate replication of ME.
Wolf did a great job building it!

[crazihippichic]

I want to share a tip I got from a fellow sewist, I think on another forum. I had mentioned that I  like my dress form except that she has no....ahem....."girls". In order to get the correct bust measurement I had to crank her up until she was built like a linebacker. The measurement matched mine....but the dress strained across the back and the bust was droopy. It was suggested that instead of using my bust measurement for the dress form, I should use my under-bust measurement. Then place a bra on the dress form and stuff it until the measurement matched mine. I tried it tonight and it worked wonderfully.



To test it, I put my new dress back on mama smurf. Now it goes on easily (before I had to fight those linebacker shoulders) and the bodice is filled out nicely.



I think I will have a much better chance of getting a good fitting now.

[bluenines1]

Crayihippichic, thanks for the tip, going to try it out on miss bell !
happy sewing to all

[Janis]

My dress form is my "dummy".  Not very creative, I know.

[LyndaC]

Mine asked not to be named.

[AnnikainSweden]

I'm thinking of getting one of those adjustable dressforms to make fitting and assemble easier. My eyes fell on the Lady Valet Dressform from Adjustoform. Anyone with experience of this one?

[crazihippichic]

I'm thinking of getting one of those adjustable dressforms to make fitting and assemble easier. Anyone with experience of this one?

That one's purty! Just a hint about getting the adjustable forms to better match your measurements: set the chest to your underbust measurement then put one of your bras on the dummy and pad out the cups to measure your bust measurements. That made a huge difference for me.

[AnnikainSweden]

Purty. That is a cute word, crazihippichic. I had to look it up in the Urban Dictionary ;-) I'll start using it now.

[fzxdoc]

Annika, if at all possible, try to see that dressform in real life. Some adjustment knobs are so hard to turn that it kills your fingers doing so. I can't tell, but the adjustment knob design on the model you're looking at looks like that finger-breaking type.

If you are at all interested in getting that dressform and padding it out so that it exactly matches your figure (and as Roxi suggests, adding a bra to it is one of the steps) take a look at my post here for all the details.

Kathryn