Helpful Tips to Successfully Create a Custom Dress Form

You probably know that buying a dress formis not for everyone. There are various reasons that may determine you to prefer a custom dress form, rather than a commercial one. For example, no matter how much you try, chances to get a perfect form to fit you are low. But when you create a custom one, then you can adjust it to your measurements. And we all know how important it is for your creations, don’t we?

However, even if you already learned the basics of how to actually create your custom dress form, there are a few tips that no one told you about the process. So here we’ll give you some really useful tips to help you to successfully create your custom dress form.

• Get wrapped in a cool room

Make sure the room you stay in while you’re being wrapped isn’t too hot. You get hot when you’re wrapped in duct tape, so you may want to be in a cool room. If it’s summer, you are recommended to turn the air conditioning up a little higher than usual. If it’s winter, then you may turn the head down a little lower.

• Get ready to stand for a long time

There isn’t an exact time length of this process, it depends on how long it takes your assistant to complete it. However, if during the process, you feel like you need to take a break, you may lay down or sit. It depends on your preferences, but lying down is easier in this moment, than sitting down.

• Choose undergarments that best fit you.

When you create your dress form, your intention is to make it a duplicate of your body, so you get the best fitting results in the garment that you create. Hence, your undergarments play an important role in this, so using the ones that best fit you is the right choice for this process.

• Wear an old T-shirt that fits close to your body

Remember that the T-shirt you wear for this process will become part of your custom dress form.So choose one that is old and you no longer want to wear it. Also, avoid wearing one that is oversized, as it may result in a dress formthat is too loose.

• Choose a T-shirt that has the length you want your dress form to be

Of course, you can always cut, but you can’t make it longer. So try to wear a t-shirt that is exactly the length that you want your dress formto be.

• Stand up straight

Standing straight is a must in the process of creating your custom dress form, as you want the dress form to have a straight posture. A suggestion is to wear shoes, as it helps with posture.

• Avoid using cheap duct tape

It is important to use a good quality duct tape, rather than a cheap one. This is because a cheaper duct tape might start peeling off after a few days.

• Instruct your assistant not to wrap you too tight or too loose

In any of these situations, the result would affect the way your garments fit on your finished dress form. As you can probably imagine, if you’re wrapped too tight, it may give you the feeling that you can’t breathe – and you definitely don’t want this to happen!

• Make sure you get enough bathroom trips before you’re wrapped from the waist down

This doesn’t require too much explanation, as we’re sure you understand that making bathroom trips after you’re wrapped from the waist down is quite tricky, if not nearly impossible.

• Prior to cutting the form off your body, use a permanent marker to mark these points:

- center front

- center back

- neckline

- shoulder line

- natural waistline

• Cut the form off your body with a bandage scissors

Using a bandage scissors for cutting the form off your body is important, as it helps you prevent accidents. However, if you don’t own a pair, this cut can also be done using regular scissors, but it requires more attention and care from your assistant.

• Before you stuff your dress form, place a padded bra cup or a shoulder pad inside each boob

This is essential, as it avoids them from collapsing when you use your dress form.A good advice is to stuff the dress form boobs with a little poly fill first, then add the shoulder pads or bra cups, and then add some more poly fill.

• For the dress form openings, use ½” foam core or cardboard

You can use any of these two, to cover openings of your dress form, such as the bottom opening, armhole or arm openings, neck opening, and even leg openings, in case your dress form has legs.

Now that you know these useful tips, you are ready to create your custom dress form.