Burda Style For people who sew

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16 Comments

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  Jun 19, 2010, 07.20 PMby laugh434

  Does this hold up well? I’ve got a duct-tape form that my sister and I made of me, and even though it’s stuffed it’s not very structurally sound.

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    Jun 21, 2010, 11.25 AMby ichigogirl

    Hi! Yes, it does hold up really well, it’s nearly rock hard.
    I want to use mine for draping though, and with the hard surface it’s not pinnable, so I’m hoping to develop it into a pinnable version when I find the time. There’s a tutorial on how to do it here on Burdastyle, right here http://www.burdastyle.com/projects/dress-form

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  Feb 20, 2010, 06.35 PMby Natalia *

  Hi I want to make one of these dress forms and bought paper tape, but its self-adhesive (doesn’t require water to seal). Do you think this will still work or do I need to get the “gummed” paper tape? The office supply store I went to (Staples) didn’t have anything but this kind, so Id have to search for the other stuff.

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    Jun 21, 2010, 11.27 AMby ichigogirl

    Hi! Hm, I think you need the gummed one. I got mine at an art-supply-store, they don’t sell gummed tape in office-supply-shops here any more…

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    Jun 21, 2010, 12.35 PMby Natalia *

    haha thanks for the reply. i found the right stuff and made the dress form months ago. it turned out pretty well.

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    Jun 21, 2010, 02.21 PMby ichigogirl

    Hehe, I saw the date and thought you might have, but anyway… I didn’t see your question until now… :-)

    I’m glad it turned out well!

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  Jan 20, 2010, 07.15 AMby fashionista2407

  that came out really good!
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  Jan 9, 2010, 02.56 PMby tyui2

  I made my dressform from papertape as well, but because the inside of it is even more perfect in shape and measurements i decided to use it as a mould for a final version. I stiched a layer of felt in the inside of the papertape form to get that soft pinnable feel to the final form. Then I just taped a new layer of papertape in the indise. It stickt to the felt. Then I cut of the stiches and removed it from the mould.

  The final dressform is more true to the measurements and it has nice soft surface. It’s perfect.

  1 Reply

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    Jan 9, 2010, 10.30 PMby ichigogirl

    Cool! Sounds super!

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  Jan 5, 2010, 07.55 PMby mwana

  I’ve been looking for a dress form for a while now and have been considering making one myself. However, I’d like a dress form I can stick pins into that I could make myself. Thanks for the instructions, I think I’ll try this for a start. :)
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  Jan 5, 2010, 12.45 AMby dewreb

  I plan to make one soon! I had never heard of paper tape, but now I will consider it, since it sounds as though it may be a bit more durable than duct tape. Thanks for your thoughts!

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    Jan 5, 2010, 11.09 PMby chocolatefoxdesigns

    u get it from staples it comes in a big roll 4 about 8 bucks

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    Jan 5, 2010, 11.31 PMby ichigogirl

    Hehe, I had to pay $26 a roll… at an art-supply-shop. Seems like all Swedish office-suppliers are totally into plastic… But still, it was enough for two dressforms, so they came out really cheap anyway :-).

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  Jan 4, 2010, 08.59 PMby sarsaparilla

  This is great! I’ve been thinking about making the duct tape dress form, but I’ve always thought it would sag a great deal. I just might try this one instead :)
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  Jan 4, 2010, 08.53 PMby ncn6

  Looks great. I’ve always wanted to do this, because it seems like it would be so much easier to make general fit adjustments on a dress form instead of trying to pin it to yourself all the time (as I generally do, and end stabbing myself!). I think I’m with Nehmah on waiting until summer, though — currently -14C in Ithaca.
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  Jan 4, 2010, 04.23 PMby almatinka

  Congratulations on the dress form!!!! I’d love to have one for myself as well, but my hubby keeps insisting that we should go and look at different wire meshes at a hardware store and that it would be better.
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  Jan 4, 2010, 02.37 PMby nenasew

  Thanks for the inpirations. This is one of those projects I really really want to try.
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  Jan 4, 2010, 02.34 PMby goldilox

  You can use duct tape as well, that’s what I plan to use. I found this tutorial online. They show you two methods and personally i prefer the second method because it gives a better fit. Method 1 Method 2

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    Jan 4, 2010, 02.50 PMby ichigogirl

    Thanks for adding the links!
    I chose to use the paper-tape method raher than the duct-tape one since the paper tape is hard after it’s dry, which means that the dress-form doesn’t deform at all, and that it doesn’t need any stuffing, like the duct tape forms do. I also think the extra volume is smaller when you use paper tape than duct tape since the paper is really thin and you only need about three layers of tape to make it stable enough. But I’m sure duct tape works really well too! Good luck!

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    Jan 5, 2010, 11.05 PMby chocolatefoxdesigns

    i did that one too and let me tell you it messes up your pins and if you stuff it with clothes[or anything else] it stretches overtime so the paper tape route is the best option it gets hard when it dries ad does not stretch out im in the process of covering mines with fabric 4 pinning but jst a suggestion the paper tape is ur best bet

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  Jan 4, 2010, 02.28 PMby frkbustad

  Congrats! I have one myself, but I have to admit that I find it a little hard to use. Since it already is three layers with paper tape, it’s already a little bit bigger than myself, and if I pad it (so pinning into it will be easier) it will probably be a whole size bigger. Do you have any suggestions or ideas around this?

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    Jan 4, 2010, 02.46 PMby ichigogirl

    Tusen takk!
    I found a set of really old instructions (1920’s) on the web, where they recommend you to compare your measurements to those of the dressform and to then remove the difference from both the center front and center back of it (1/4 from each side, before joining the halves). Maybe you can open it again? My form has my measurements, but it’s a bit more narrow from the front than me (the waist thus looks thinner although the measurement is correct). I think it will work well enough that way.
    I will make a rather thin jersey cover for it to pin in. I don’t think it’s possible to make them as pinnable as bought dressforms, but the bought ones don’t come in my size, so for me this is better anyway (and although it’s a bit bigger than me across the shoulders it’s still more like me than a bought one could be).
    I had this idea of attaching the soft half of kardborrband (I’ve forgotten the english name) on the shoulders, a strip on each shoulder, to get some more pinning-room without too much extra bulk… I’ll let you know if I do and it works!

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  Jan 4, 2010, 02.21 PMby pomka

  This is way too awesome! I need to find a partner that would help me though! Great job!
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  Jan 4, 2010, 01.22 PMby carottesauvage

  Hey that’s great, how ingenuous! Happy new year!
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  Jan 4, 2010, 12.07 PMby nehmah

  Very nice form. However, since we are facing single-digit temperatures (Fahrenheit) for the next week, I’ll put a hold on this sort of project. The grapefruit-size goosebumps would throw off the final measurements. Cordially, Nehmah (Who loathes any temp below 32F)

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    Jan 4, 2010, 02.59 PMby ichigogirl

    Hehe, I wore really thick wool-socks, long sleeves and hid in the upstairs bathroom for the whole process… it was ok. I love central heating!
    We’ve had temperatures between -28,5 centigrades (= -19,3F) and -6C (=17.6F) the whole christmas, but I had no other option than to just do it, I needed the help of my mum who I visited for christmas…
    My flat, however, was +14C (57.2F) when I got home again, terrible!

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  Jan 4, 2010, 12.04 PMby sewclairey

  Great job. My mum and dad bought me a dress form for my birthday, but I get the feeling that one of these would have been better and far more accurate!

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    Jan 4, 2010, 03.02 PMby ichigogirl

    I think they both have their advantages, I’d love a store bought one too! I think they’re much easier to pin in, although they can never be exactily the right shape (unless you’re lucky and shaped like one).
    There are always advantages and disadvantages to everything I guess… congratulations on a great gift, and they sound like clever parents!