Technical/architecture/sculpture/engineering

"thesewingforum.co.uk"
on mannequin padding/building

AMAZING POST FROM "thesewingforum.co.uk"  This is the most comprehensive, beautifully done and well explained building/padding of a mannequin to fit an individual which I have ever seen.  Although a bit technical compared to FASHION...this is what makes your work, well.............. work!  The only comment I have is the placement of the ribbons below the waist. (3rd photo). They should but as straight as possible.  The princess line that is.  They may be a slight curve but straighter than curvier.  Any line will vary greatly in the toile, if it starts out curved, the finished line will be even more exagerated. Look for a new post about mid week on collections! Materials Approx 1m 8oz wadding 1m 4oz wadding (optional) 4 large dishcloths or roll of stockinette 1 bag of toy stuffing Curved needle 3 reels of upholstery thread Approx 1.5m heavy calico or ticking Approx 10m narrow, black cotton tape My dressform has always been a source of deep dissatisfaction to me because it just isn’t possible to get it to represent my shape. I have a narrow back and chest, next to no bum and a full bust. Oh, and the nasty, loopy, plushy nylon fabric gives me hangnails. Another big annoyance was that all the places I wanted to place a pin were represented by gaps. Centre front, back and side seams all gaps, not tapes. There was no point in buying a Stockman or K&L as I would be paying for something which represented the average form, which I was not. So I decided to modify my existing dummy. The first step was to cover the existing dummy in stockinette so I had something easy into which to anchor some stitches. Next I placed one of my bras onto the dummy, secured it firmly and stuffed it out with toy stuffing. A full cup bra is best for this. I then covered the bra area with another layer of stockinette and padded out any gaps. I used some tape to hold down the stockinette close to the body. The next step is to encase the whole dummy with layers of 8oz wadding, cut in a sort of princess line to mould around the bust. I drew up the pieces tightly and stitched them together to form a tight casing. Using a curved needle I sewed small stitches across the whole surface of the wadding, drawing it in flatter, compressing the fibres and giving a springier, firmer base into which I could pin. Extra contours were built up with patches sewn on, added to and drawn down with stitching until the correct shape and dimension was reached. It is essential to keep measuring so that you’re sure that the inches are going on the right places. An extra inch may not need to be put on all around. I made a mistake with mine in that it just looked, at one stage, much, much too barrel shaped. I am quite slender from the side and this wasn’t. Realising I had overestimated my ‘mummy tummy’ I took some off there and added the extra to the sides of my waist instead. I created the mummy tummy by sewing on a circular patch, leaving the top edge open and stuffing with toy stuffing before sewing the pouch shut at the top. This was then stitched down and formed just the right bump. Once I had the wadding all in place I added a second layer in 4oz wadding, lightly secured in place at the seams. Unlike the first layer it does not need to be compressed by stitching across it. This is because the first layer was intended to give a springy but substantial layer into which I could drive pins but this second layer was to smooth out any unevenness and create a looser, more spongy layer that could easily be compressed by my 'tight lacing' the outer shell. This second layer should leave the dummy an inch or two bigger than the finished size. This is necessary because the cover will be drawn in and stitched very tightly, pulling the form in a little further so if it is not to end up too small, it must reach this stage slightly too large. This in place, progress ground to a halt while I made some decisions about how best to approach the outer shell. Traditionally the method for this style of dummy is to wrap loads and loads of wadding (kapok,or cotton wool) around the dummy, make the shell as a tight toile fitted to the body and then padded out with more kapok to make it solid. I have instructions for this method in an old needlework book but the finished item features a flattened mono-bosom rather than the cross-your-heart, lifted and separated silhouette I needed for mine. I make a lot of v-neck and cross-over garments so it is vital for me to be able to see where my sternum lies if I am not to end up with garments gaping at the neck. I had to find an alternative method and this caused me a lot of headaches. Firstly, I wanted to cover the bust as two independent hemispheres with the sternum drawn down tight. I decided to base the cover on a princess line as I could then shape the panels to cope with the bust issue. I started by drafting a basic bodice block according to my measurements. My bust is large so requires much wider darts going into the waist seam than those which go from waist to hip so I always draft my bodice block to the waist only and do from waist to hip separately, as a skirt block. Using my own measurements gave me a very odd armhole which I had to override and redraw according to common sense and after the first toile I also moved the bust point and shoulder dart. Next, I created a second block based on this but with the armhole dart closed and pivoted into join the waist dart. I chose to swing it here rather than split it between shoulder and waist as because of my bust size my waist is comparatively close to my bust line so an exaggerated dart would be very helpful for gaining the close fitting silhouette I desired. I then created a princess block from this draft and married the skirt block into it so I ended with eight hip-length panels plus a little extra to turn under and take a drawstring for closing it under the bottom edge of the dummy. Then I cut out the pieces and stitched them together, leaving one of the side seams open which would be hand stitched once the cover was in place on the dummy. I would then hand-stitch the other seams again with a curved upholstery needle and strong, upholstery thread, pulling the cover tighter by so doing. I wasn't happy with the central, waist section - I had adjusted the shoulder and neck quite a bit so whilst the length was fine at the front it now needed a little extra length at the back. So rather than go out and buy more calico and start again I cut the cover in half at the waist, moved the bottom half down a little and then added a new section around the middle and stitched and shaped it into place. I had to do quite a lot of yanking and dragging and strong stitching and my panel seams were far from the perfectly even ones you see on the professional dummies but I kept the stitches small and closely spaced and eventually my little Frankenstein's Monster came together. I have added narrow black cotton tape to the construction lines so that I can pin and drape with confidence. My dummy resembles me in proportions, in dimensions and most important of all, in balance front-to-back. At last I can model garments on the stand which I can personally wear.  __________________