The Right Tool For the Job: Modding My Dressmaker's Dummy

This week I modified my dressmaker’s dummy to be a more accurate fit for me. It was incorrectly sized; and also the bright teal color clashed with everything I put on it and made my photos look crappy. 

First I adjusted the shape of the whole thing: I cranked the dials down until the waist and underbust measurement were correct; and then I added bits of foam (from a thin foam mattress topper I had in storage) to bump out the boobs, belly, butt, and shoulders - all secured with spray adhesive and duct tape. 

Next, I wrapped the whole thing in quilt batting (which I got for free from the neighborhood swap group this week), in order to smooth out the whole thing and cover up the duct tape. The batting is secured with spray adhesive. 

The last step was to create a cloth cover for it, which I made from some old cotton sheets I had in my stash. I pinned it in place, sewed it, and flipped it inside out, just like making a quick furniture slipcover. 

There’s a zipper up one side of the body so that I can take the cover off to wash it or resize it; and the bottom is drawn tightly closed around the pole with a drawstring. 

Tada!  I love this. I can pin into it, iron on it, and now that it’s actually the correct shape and proportions it’ll be MUCH easier to drape and fit clothing and costumes on it. Also, the soft gray will look much better in photos. 

This was a fun, quick project (two afternoons), and except for the can of spray adhesive I had to buy ($12), it was almost completely free.