I have a dress form. It's not the greatest one ever, but it was WAY on sale when I bought it, all I could afford, and serves my needs just fine.
Except for this one project.
You see, I'm pregnant right now, and am going to be making myself a Halloween costume. I will need the help of said dress form to get the fit right, but she is not shaped at all like I am at the moment. Aside from the lack of belly, her chest doesn't get big enough (like, way not big enough :o ). I need to fix this, so I can make my costume.
I'm aware of the existence of duct tape dress forms, but I don't have anything I could mount one of those on. I would need to pad the dress form, but am not sure how to do that right. My current thought is to make a duct tape one, but then put it around the dress form I have, with some padding stuffed between the two where needed to keep the shape.
Does this sound like it would work? Has anyone tried anything like that before? Got any other ideas for how to make the dress form match my current shape?
If you make a duct tape one, you won't need the other dress form - just stuff the duct tape one and put it on a poll of some sort. I like using the hard cardboard rolls you get when you order 10 or more yards of drapery fabric (they have them at Joanns and they might give you one if you ask).
However, what most people do is get a bra that fits you now, put it on the dress dummy and pad that. That fixes the bust issue. For the baby issue you can either a) ignore it if you are doing something empire waisted or b) get a pillow and keep layering quilt batting over it until you get the correct amount of inches in the front. You can also buy a pregnancy dress form pad but they are not cheap (http://www.allbrands.com/products/15355-pgm-pro-801j-maternity-pillow-pad-attach-to-any-dr?utm_source=froogle&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=feeds&utm_term=PGMPlus&gclid=CL34u5bUtLkCFcie4AodwHYA8A). It's about $40 ~$50 no matter which store you look at.
You can TOTALLY pad out your dress form to replicate your shape! People do it all the time. I haven't heard of a pregnancy mod (congratulations, btw!!!), but I don't see why you couldn't figure that out somehow.
Oooh, I found one!! http://sewing.patternreview.com/review/pattern/47978 (http://sewing.patternreview.com/review/pattern/47978)
Just for general padding, I HIGHLY recommend the Fabulous Fit Fitting System (http://fabulousfit.com/pfs.html). I had all the supplies to pad out my form using a snug bodysuit and batting and just never got around to it. With the FFFS, I had a near-exact replica of myself--by myself--in about 45 minutes, for around $75 (I got mine on Amazon; follow the link above). BRILLIANT. Obviously you'd need a few other supplies for a pregnancy model, but it's a giant shortcut.
Good luck!
I was thinking of putting the duct tape form over my regular one, to save the hassle of trying to get some sort of pole, and then figuring out how to make a base for it. I can't plop it on a chair, because I need to be able to have the costume hang down.
I also need to have the belly, because it's going to take some work to get the front of the costume to hang right, I'm afraid. Otherwise, I could probably do it without the dress form at all. :-\
I'll have to check out that thing on pattern review. You don't have to pay to register, do you? It won't let me see it without being signed in.
The pre-made pad things sound interesting, but unfortunately, I don't really have that much money to spend on something that will likely only be used the once. Thanks for the suggestions, though! ...I wonder if I could rent one from the maternity store? They've got them in the fitting rooms. I'd probably get looked at like a crazy person if I asked. ;D
I was able to click on the pattern review link without signing in. Basically you pad your dress form with a stuffed bra and attach a belly. Are you measuring now for a costume for late October? If so, your measurements will be very different from now until then.
Gina
For my duct tape dress forms, I use a base of an old dress form and just stick the cardboard tube (fabric roll) over the old pole and base. So, with your current dress form, just take off the torso and stick the duct tape on over the pre-existing pole and base. Although, I'd go with just getting the padding and using a bra that you have as I mentioned earlier. It's a lot less hassle. ...and the duct tape ones don't always come out well.
I padded my dress form out on a temporary, not so temporary basis. I just grabbed a long sleeve top, put it on the mannequin, and added quilt batting between the top and the actual dummy until it more closely matched my measurements. For better "squishable" bust area, I stole a trick from the American Duchess, took a pair of tights, filled the "foot area" with dried beans, and draped the tights over the neckline. A series of knots allows me to raise them to the correct height. This method will let you "add" if needed.
Overall, it took me an hour or two, and I find it very helpful. When I need a corsetted shape, I can get the corset on, lace it up, check the measurements, and I'm good to go. The "squishable" bust area is perfect to see just how high I should make that bodice!
Quote from: arbcoind on September 06, 2013, 11:12:23 AM
I was able to click on the pattern review link without signing in. Basically you pad your dress form with a stuffed bra and attach a belly. Are you measuring now for a costume for late October? If so, your measurements will be very different from now until then.
Gina
Did it let you see the review? All I see is a note basically saying "there's a thing here" along with the message that you have to sign in to see reviews older than 6 months. And, I didn't see anything that actually described the self-drafted pattern (I'm guessing it's contained in the review? or maybe I just fail at the internet today. That's also entirely possible. :)).
No, not measuring yet. :) Just starting to work on planning and figuring everything out, so there's less chance of ending up scrambling at the last minute. 'Course, I have a toddler and a full time job, so that's going to happen anyway, but I'm trying to reduce the amount of it. :)
I think you do have to be a registered member, but it's free and they don't spam you. Or you could just Google for a tutorial, which is how I found that one.
Make some 'cushions' out of toy stuffing and cotton calico/muslin, along these lines:
(http://cdn2.bigcommerce.com/server5100/dh65lb5/products/1313/images/1453/pfs__93614.1345791947.1280.1280.jpg)
Elennare, I clicked the pattern review link above, then I clicked on "self drafted pattern 27823-1001 maternity dress form cover/pad". I then clicked on the pics of Matilda's Maternity Makeover. All I see are pics of the original dress form and how it was altered to fit a pregnant body.
I could not read the pattern review.
Gina
My first thought was to do a plaster cast of your belly (very popular thing to do during pregnancy these days, btw), then use the mold to make a latex casting of your shape and attach that to your dressform. you could probably just have an inch or so of the actual latex, and then stuff that will padding, so it wouldn't be very heavy and pull at the front of the dress form. It would be the closest thing to "you" that you could get, really... and you could totally pin to the latex, also! :o heheh
It seems to me to be much less labor intensive than the duct tape model, as well, and it would be easily removable when you no longer need it. I would imagine attaching it with some type of stretchy fabric would probably be easiest, since you could pin it all the way around to prevent slipping.
Modified to add:
Oh, yes... here are a couple of tutorials...
Belly cast...
How to Make a Pregnancy-Belly Cast (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SPPGgSszuuQ#ws)
Silicone spread molds (as opposed to the liquid that is runny, and used in different types of applications)
Mold Making Basics - Brush on Molds with Silicone Spread, Make Your Own Molds - by Chef Dominic (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mBlFTlyPjBU#ws)
I would even suggest using several coats of the silicone spread to build up the walls of your belly mold before removing it from the cast, so it's thicker, and more sturdy... instead of trying to apply it thickly to begin with, because it might run if it's too thick, and you can apply several coats over the course of 2-3 days.
I pad mine out all the time depending on the actress. We use a bra that corresponds with the actresses size. I wrap layers of strips of batting around/ across my dummy to get the shape I want, then toss an appropriate size T shirt over it to smooth it out, and go to town.
There are patterns for fake tummy pads out there on the net. Just look for a santa tummy pattern. It does the same sort of thing.
I also did all this when I was making dresses for myself when I was pregnant. It was really easy to take it back to where I was before after wards. And I could use the batting and foam for later projects.