Unfortunately for me, I am short and round. This is what "they" call an apple shape. It is also impossible for me to buy a standard commercial dressform. All the custom ones cost a fortune, plus they would have to come from the States. So, my alternative is to make one. How do you ask? By using duct tape and expandable insulation foam.
I've scoured the internet for instructions and have settled with two sites' instructions. The first site has a 30-minute video showing the proper taping technique. The second site shows how to use the expandable foam, instead of using poly-fill batting.
Why use expandable foam? Well, after reading quite a bit about duct tape dummies, it seems that the plus-sized poly-filled ones fail easily because of too many non-standard curves and pooches. And, I definitely have a pooch (thank you my darling twins). This is also why I have a difficult time with RTW clothing. The fit is awful. Baggy here, too tight there, too short on this, too long on that. Bah! So, as much as I cringe at having my body duplicated in all its bumps, it will ultimately help me sew for myself.
The first step, of course, is gathering your materials. I went to The Home Depot today and purchased my items. I am also going to be building a stand for my dummy and it will have a crude skeleton in the form. Both of these will be built from ABS tubing. Here are my supplies:
- 3 large rolls Duct tape
- 1 roll Sheetrock tape
- Expandable foam (I bought 4 cans but will return the unused)
- 1 bottle woodworkers glue
- 1" foam tape, otherwise known as weather-stripping (I bought 90')
- 1 1/2" ABS tubing
- 6 "T" joints
- 4 90ยบ joints
- 2 couplers
Here is my crude rendition of my dummy plans:
Yes, one arm is longer than the other. I want to have a full arm on one side for full-length sleeves. So, tomorrow morning the taping begins.
3 comments:
Prepare yourself! I just did this with a friend a few weeks ago and it was quite a task. I'm really quite pleased with the result (minus the extra pooched tummy from wrapping right after a huge lunch) but it was a bit of a trial to get there. It's hard to stand still for that long! Good luck and be sure to post pictures!
I've heard it is hard to stand that long so we are going to do the wrapping in the bedroom where the carpet is nice and cushy. It's a warmer room but we'll open a window if it get's too hot.
I'm not sure if I want to post pictures, though, as I'm not exactly svelt. LOL.
i will be interested to see the result:)hopefully you'll share some sewing for you not just the kids then.I am apple shaped too so i'd be interested to see that.I'm in Ontario,canada...i'm becoming a follower:)
Post a Comment