Sewing advice requested please

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I’m wondering whether to buy a dress form or not.
I do mainly dressmaking in my sewing and have never had a dress form to use for fitting etc. They do seem quite expensive and I’m wondering whether they’re worth it.

I’m looking for a bit of advice from sewers who use them or, alternatively, those who don’t.

Any advice very much appreciated.

Not quite what you're asking but have you tried looking for a secondhand one on eBay or Gumtree etc? I got mine quite cheaply from a local haberdasher that was selling unneeded fittings.

I haven't actually used it for sewing yet but plan to soon, so watching this thread with interest!

I've just taken up sewing again after a 30 year gap and I've been looking into this. But I haven't yet found one that lets you alter shoulders - this is one of the main places where standard patterns don't fit me so there doesn't seem much point for me if they don't do this.

I've been wondering the same. Only 20 years for me but I have a much bigger bust.

I make all my own clothes and have never had a dress form. My problem is that I am large busted and my bust point is lower than standard which you can't alter. I have been looking at the bootstrap custom diy dress forms but not got around to it yet.

I've only picked up sewing again since lockdown but I did buy a secondhand Stockman dress form a few months back.

It has an added value for me as I mainly focus on tailoring and haute couture sewing (or attempting to anyhow) and I draft my own patterns (which I can also do on the bodice), make toiles, etc. and it's an invaluable part of that process for me. I had an old shop fitting one previously and that was awful to use.

I think if you just use standard patterns it won't be that much added value though. Also keep in mind about the size of it, I'm lucky to that I have pretty standard measurements and that both my horizontal and vertical measurements are almost exactly the same on the haute couture mannequin (who knew ) but that probably isn't the case for most people. Also keep in mind that our arms allow us to wiggle into things and a bodice is pretty solid, so collapsible shoulders can be useful if you make things without closures in the top that would otherwise just slip on.

There are quite a few YouTube tutorials on how to make your own, think the term is used bootstrap or shoestring, that could be a low investment trial to see if it's worth it for you. I've also heard the adjustable ones are crap, no explanation why though.

There's also a Swiss manufacturer that makes a form to your measurements but I'd have to look it up, it was very pricey though. Stockman also do special orders but I expect that to be even more expensive.

My boobs do sit quite low, even with a good bra, so I can see an off the shelf form being a bit useless, then.

I'm used to sneaking short row shaping into my knitting so I'm really going to have to learn about actual darts, aren't I. Still, my next project is some stretch pyjamas, so I can put off thinking about that for a while.

Pick, I recently found Charlotta on YouTube, it's for drafting your own patterns mostly but she has a whole free course on darts, I haven't looked into it properly yet but will at some point. I've seen one specifically for bust adjustment but can't remember where, it might have been Diane Deziel but I'm thinking it was somewhere else (it's not really of interest to me so my memory didn't bother with storing it, sorry).

learn.schoolofpatterncutting.com/ dart course]]

Ooh, thanks for that. There's a tutorial in a love sewing mag I have, too, so that might help me get my head around it when I need it.

20 years ago, it was all witchcraft because all this information just wasn't so readily available.

I use one but not really for fitting upper body things with shoulders because I have wide shoulders so if I rely on it for anything where fit across the back is important I come to grief. I find it mainly useful for pinning-neck facings, sleeves, hems etc.
I make historical costume where several layers tend to be worn at a time (eg petticoat, kirtle, gown) so it’s useful for seeing how the top layers work over the bottom ones.

I have wondered about one too but like others have a bigger bust. I also have very narrow shoulders, usually have to make a pleat in the back piece of patterns or they’re too wide.
I have heard of people putting one of their old bras, stuffed with something like cotton wool on the dress form to make the bust part fit better.
They are expensive though if you then find they don’t suit.

You need this;

curvysewingcollective.com/same-pattern-different-bodies-bootstrap-custom-dress-form/

A form for your body, to fit just you.

You stuff it and put it on the stand the mannequin comes on.

Unless you actually look like a standard mannequin then making a dress to fit a form isn't going to work.

I’ve done the bra thing - it does help.
I have tried to do something similar to widen the shoulders because it ought to be possible but have never found the right material.

I have one which I customised - bra, extra padding on hips, stomach, bum. I find it really useful for more fitted clothes where I need to do big adjustments from the pattern. I now have a great princess seam basic bodice which I don't think I could have done without it.

Should say I bought an adjustable one which helped - meant I could get waist, body length etc right to start with.

Thankyou all very much.

Lots to think about and some really good ideas and suggestions to chase up.
I think I’ll do some more research and reflect on where my sewing is going before I decide one way or the other. I do like the idea of draping and was planning on finding a course for that. I do note that a pp uses a form for draping.

Many thanks for all the advice and comments.

Do a google search for duct tape dressform - looks like a fun evening with a glass of wine

Personally before investing in a dress form I'd suggest getting to understand your personal fitting issues, and properly walk through sewing patterns before starting to cut out patterns and fabric.

So for example, if you know you have wide biceps or narrow shoulders, take your measurements and compare them to the pattern you intend to make.

Once you are comfortable with your standard measurements you can then compare and make these changes to any pattern.

I'd recommend having a read through of this ladies blog:

winmichele.com/

In particular her 'Things you should not skip in sewing' posts. She also has some really useful Instagram tutorials.

Adjustents below the armpit for overall basic fit are straightforward enough but having wide or narrow shoulders neccessitating adjustment to the armscye, or a bust that protrudes more than a coat hanger, makes everything more complicated, which is where we are all struggling, here.

In the pyjamas I'm about to start, I'm using stretch jersey. I'll taper the bottoms between 2 sizes between the hip and waist and add an inch or more to the rise because they're low rise and I don't do low rise - measuring me and the pattern will finalise the numbers. I''ll probably not mess with the top because it's a raglan and it's only pyjamas, anyhow. I might make sure the shoulders are deep enough but that's rarely an issue, anyhow.

My back in the saddle project after 20 years was a light cotton lawn summery top, though. While I'm pleased with how I've handled the technical side of the stitching, including lots of tucks which took all of my attention to get straight with a machine I've not used much, it hangs horribly over my bust. Armhole darts would have improved the fit but that wasn't my focus, this time and it's difficult to guage the extent of the dart needed on myself before cutting!

Some adjustments are just very hard work to do flat I find. Bust especially- it's fine if it's a jersey top or sweater where a bit of approximation is lost in the stretch of the fabric. But tailored coats and dresses are a lot harder and when I do them on myself often seem to take multiple attempts to fit. The dress form makes that a lot easier as I can see properly, and I'm not trying to pin on myself (hands up who has stuck a pin in their own tits...just me??)

Thanks for the advice and links - there’s more resources available than I realised.