As I grew up, my mother would occasionally sew me something. Although she wasn't as talented as my grandmother, she could only sew from patterns, she knew how to fit. She would say things like "Mom would pinch here," and then she'd add a dart.
My skill level falls somewhere in between. And like my grandmother, I love to sew. I'm even good at fitting others. But I have a hard time fitting myself.
So, in 1999, while I was pregnant with "Thing 2", adjustable dressforms went on sale at the local fabric store and I bought one. I figured she, Diana, would help me with fitting my creations. But guess what? Diana is tiny. And although I was tiny before pregnancy, I have a more mature looking body shape now. Maybe if Diana had been a larger size she wouldn't be as disappointing to me, but she's tiny.
In order to achieve a bust measurement the same as mine, her back has to be expanded to be larger than mine. She has a flat belly and I have a diastasis tummy bulge. Her derrière is also much flatter than mine. She has no swayback. She simply doesn't look like me. All she is good for is hemming and holding unfinished/in progress garments.
Eventually I started padding her to look more like me. For years she wore my old bra stuffed with bags of birdseed. That enabled me to close up her back and make her bust the same size as mine. Finally, last year, I padded her out with quilt batting and covered her in some spandex. But the batting was too lofty, so she was too squishable. Any size waistband could fit her.
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| Diana padded out to my measurements |
As an early Mothers' Day gift this year, my family bought me a Fabulous Fit dressform padding system... I wonder how they knew? Hehehe... It comes with a series of pads that you place on your dressform to mimic your body and two covers. The first cover holds the padding in place. The second cover compresses and has princess seams.
The objective is to take your measurements and pad out your dressform to match. I must say this sounds pretty easy, but it isn't. In attempt #1, I used the shoulder pads, bust pads and all four filler pads (meaning there were no more filler pads to use anywhere else) and Diana's bust was still smaller than mine. So I decided to combine the old quilt batting with the new fitting system in order to achieve the proper dimensions. In attempt #2, I got her measurements right and sewed some ribbon on her to indicate her bust, waist, hips and side seams. Then I realized that her bust was much lower than mine so I had to start all over again. This is attempt #3. I used all of the pads provided and some quilt batting. I also sewed a ribbon to her waist so I would have a reference for fitting skirts.
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| Diana covered with Fabulous Fit dress form padding |
Her breasts still aren't quite right, but I can't seem to manipulate their padding any better. She also has a straighter back than me. I tend to have a bit of a back bend. But I think she's pretty close. Since I have just embarked on a weightless journey, I'm not going to take the time to try to get it perfect. I think I'll use her this way until my measurements have changed and I'll readjust her then.
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| Comparison of my body and Diana's |
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| Comparison of my body and Diana's |
Completed projects: 12
Remaining projects: 40
Thanks!
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