I wanted a French style Dress Form, but didn't have the money to buy one. After looking online for pointers as to making my own Dress form, I found all the how to's involved duct-tape or paper mache. This page gives you a step by step tutorial on what I did to build one from scratch, pretty much the old fashioned way, but with some materials that are easy to get and might even be free. I created my Dress form for under $50.
Materials list:
I built my pedestal before starting the torso because it was the easiest for me and I knew it was also very important to build it strong and correctly to support my torso. For it I decided to use oak which I got from the local hardware store. I picked up a 1 1/4" diameter dowel that was 36inches long and a 1x6x24 inch plank of red oak. For the 'box' I stacked scrap wood to make it a 4x4" cube, then clad it in a thin wood veneer which I glued up and clamped. When dried (overnight)
pattern for the feet (above left) and as laid out on the wood plank. (above right) The feet, each 12 inches long were cut out with a jig saw using a pattern I designed on paper to fit the piece of wood.
I then drilled the 1 1/4" hole through the middle of the box, about 3/4 the way down the center of one side to place my pole dowel. (The wood cube could also be designed as a triangle shape with three feet coming from it rather than four.) Pre-sand edges of feet, box and dowel pole.
I drilled matching holes (3/8") for the dowel pins to attach to the cube at 1 inch and 2.5 inches, centered on the wood and then glued it together and struck it with my mallet until it fit tightly. Make sure that the pins you get are not too thick for the wood and that you drill the holes straight. Allow for half the length of the dowel pin to go into each hole, usually about an 3/4 - 1 inch. Allow to dry minimum 24hrs. Then it can be painted/stained.
The Dress Form Torso:
I cut out a rough form in 1/4" plywood that was 29inches tall with a long thin neck and 14 inch wide shoulders, a tapering waist and small hips. Make sure that the cut out it at least a few inches narrower than the intended finished width, because you will be padding her with foam and batting. It is handy to keep a seamstress measuring tape and the measurements you are aiming for nearby so you can check as you are building. Make sure to allow for the addition of the batting at least another 1/2 inch in all measurements. Batting is good to fill-in any gaps in the sculpting to make all the curves smooth.
Attach the two 1x4 pieces of wood to either side of the center of the plywood cutout. It should be flat on the bottom and match up to the top of the neck. I both glued and then drilled screws into my 'spine' to make sure that the support of the torso remained strong and intact even with abuse. I then sat the rough torso on the large oval plaque base (from craft store)in the approx center. I traced the outline of the cutout and then drilled holes through the plaque to match were the 1x4 wood would be. Then I drilled 3inch screws up through the bottom of the plaque and into the spine of the torso, attaching them.
Now that I have a working, and free standing rough torso I get my foam and starting from either the top or bottom, I start to mount my foam on either side of the 1x4 'spine' with hot glue. Then add another layer over that.
Soon I start layering up smaller pieces to form the breasts and rear end of the torso. Then I begin to carve them into the shape of breasts, stomach and buttocks using a knife or siccors depending on the material you have. Also paying attention to the curves of the hips and shoulders remembering to curve the sides of the torso. This is messy, foam peices go everywhere. You will want to use a shipping or upholstery grade foam, (craft and floral foam is too brittle) I used about 10 smaller sheets/planks that were re-purposed from my work from shipments. Uphoustry foam will be more flexible, soft. I used the more rigid shipping foam because it was avaiable and free.
Then cover the whole thing with the quilters batting, so that the torso will be pin-able. I had pieces of batting left over from quilting projects that I stitched together to cover this.
Now you cover the entire torso with a stretchy material (like Jersey knit)to make it conform to those lovely curves you sculpted into your dress form. It is optional to add a knob detail or cap to the top to make it look more like the pricey ones you find online. I capped mine with a 5 inch diameter round plaque I found at the local craft store. The knob can be a screw on curtain rod detail or a simple hardware knob.
Attach the torso to the stand with the Straight Top plate. instructions are on the back of the package. You attach the plate to the bottom of your torso's oval plaque. Then with the screw attached to the stands dowel/pole. Drill a whole deep enough that half the all-thread screw can go into the dowel (secure with glue or epoxy) and the other half up and into the center of the torso through the top plate, securing the two together. done correctly the final form should be able to detach from the stand.
Jigsaw, screwdriver, drill, wood glue, hot-glue gun, knife, wood clamps
Some Carpentry and Sewing skills
