Draped lycra slip and tips on getting a dress form

Sometime last year, I finally decided to get myself a dress form, and got mine from Leichio in Thailand. I posted this pic below on the day I received the package, and christened her Sha Nay Nay thanks to one of my Youtube favorites: Top 60 Ghetto Black Names

Yeah, I was so happy I felt like hugging her to sleep!

For my first ever project with Sha Nay Nay, I made a Lycra slip to wear under my dresses. The fabric is soft, so I can also wear it as a long tank top on its own.

Check out my boobies.

Just kidding, they're Sha Nay Nay's! Heh. Now stop checking out her cleavage! :P

This slip was fully draped on Sha Nay Nay, so no paper pattern pieces. I learned some pros and cons, which I'll get to below.

The edges were finished with small zig zag stitches, as I didn't want anything too bulky.

Here you can see one of Sha Nay Nay's adjustable dials, just like a cyborg eh?

Having a dress form has really helped me in my sewing adventures. It cuts down fitting time, and I'm able to create patterns from draping directly onto the form, like I did on the wedding dress. Here are some tips for getting your own dress form.

Tips on buying/making dress forms

If you sew for yourself and others...

1. Consider getting an adjustable dress form that falls within your measurements. Amazon sometimes has discounts-- while searching I found that the common size was M, and they were cheaper than the other sizes.

2. Check if the tailor form is pin-able. A pin-able form is needed for draping designs (some pin all the way into the body, and some pin halfway meaning you will have to angle the pin at a slant to push it in)

If you only sew for yourself...

1. Measure your body measurements (key areas: bust, waist, hips) and try to look for one closest to your size. It may be easier to buy a slightly smaller one and pad it up later to match your measurements, rather than buying a bigger one which might not help much with your fitting.

2. It won't be essential to have an adjustable dress form, so you get to save some money there :)

3. Like the above, check if the tailor form is pin-able.

4. Make your own! Here are a few ideas:

Shannon's duct tape dress form, made mostly on her own with the help of her adorable son. The thing I like about her version is that she filled the insides with spray foam.

Threads' mama got swag paper tape dress form

Sartorial DIY's amazing plaster bandages dress form. One word: WOAH!!

lazylinchen's sloper dress form filled with sawdust... another of my favorites!

Do you have a dress form, and if not would you be interested to make one on your own?

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