A Helpful Guide to Dress Forms

Whether you are a fashion designer, or you dream to become a professional sewer, you’ll find out that one of the main supplies that could come in handy is a dress form.To get a better idea about dress forms, here you have this guide, which will teach you a lot of things that you need to know.

Why should I have a dress form?

One of the first questions that you may ask yourself is why should you have a dress form.So here are some reasons to take into consideration:

1. Whether you are a professional custom dressmaker, or a fashion design student, you probably know already that you need at least a dress form,if not several forms, for patternmaking and draping. Based on your training, you probably know already what kind of forms are best for you.
2. If you use to make fitted patterns with a lot of design details, than a dress formis ideal for your use, as it helps you to assess style lines, or to use your creativity to play with the drape of fabric.
3. Even if you draft your own patterns, you may prefer draping as part of the drafting process. It is a better choice than only work with flat patternmaking, as it helps you to better visualize your ideas.
4. A dress formis excellent to use as a fitting tool, as it is capable to mimic your body.
5. In case you are a shop owner or a blogger, you may use the dress formas a prop for styling and taking photos.
6. Are you a collector? In this case, you may use the dress formas a showpiece for your garments or jewelry.

Types of dress forms

There are various types of dress forms, so here you can see some details about them, to help you make your decision.

1. Professional dress formswith cast iron base. Usually, this type of forms are made with papier mache, and padded with a few cotton wadding layers, then covered in linen. Generally, these forms are available as a classic dressmaker form, whether with a skirt cage, or as a full body with legs.
2. Display dress forms. These are generally designed as sewing forms, but their main purpose is that of display. Such a form is usually made from foam or fiberglass, and it has a simplified body shape.
3. Adjustable dress forms. This type contains those forms that are complemented with dials that allow you to expand and contract the form as needed, to fit various measurements.
4. Handmade dress forms.Probably one of the cheapest dress formis the handmade form. A DIY dress form can be made from various materials, such as plaster-casting, papier mache and duct-tape. There are various methods to make your own dress form.

In the end

As you can see, there are various reasons that you may want or need a dress formfor. Depending on your purpose and specific needs, there are also different types of dress formsto choose from. Now, it only depends on you to choose the one that best fits your needs, requirements, preferences, and, of course, your budget.