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Use sew in interfacing! I made my first one with two layers of stiff fabric but that is NOT enough to stop it from stretching too much. My second one I used a fairly stiff sew in interfacing and I can stuff it very firm and she is my exact measurements, using the seam allowance they gave me.
@@shelahhorvitz3838 I think mine was medium, and also remember to baste the interfacing to the fabric before sewing each piece of the pattern together. Pins are not good enough to hold in place so things do not shift and become wrinkled.
I made mine with pre-quilted fabric so it already had two layers and a thin layer of batting, this helped the finished product look smooth and professional.
I had a great experience with my Bootstrap dress form. I used upholstery fabric and made the pattern with no alterations to the seam allowance and it turned out great. I stuffed mine as full as I possibly could and she’s not lumpy, and she matches my measurements. I think the upholstery fabric being thicker helped her not stretch out of shape when stuffed.
Ooh good idea, this is more appealing than using interfacing which is so fiddly. Also lots of options for snazzy patterns! Was the fabric you used a heavy calico type one?
I made my first one with painters drop cloth. DONT! Just don't! The one I'm making for my sister is from a blackout curtain from IKEA. Much better. I put mid weight iron on interfacing. I'm not having any problems at all. I've found that the $2 pillows from Walmart are great for stuffing and much less expensive than buying Polyfil.
If you knit and or crochet a lot and have tons of scrap yarns you dit know how to repurpose, I used all the scrap yarn, and brushed out the fibres for some makeshift stuffing. Really saves on the cost. And instead of foam for the neck I used stacked sponges from an equivalent to the dollar store.
Thanks for the video! I'm considering making the pant form by Bootstrap. As a tip for others, factory made dress forms are covered in muslin- choose a tightly woven muslin, but I like the interfacing recommendation too.
The good thing about going through Bootstrap is that if you need any changes, you can contact them and they will adjust the pattern for $2. I’m not sure how long it will take; I haven’t done it yet, but I was reading the FAQ.
Thank you for the careful step-by-steo tutorial. Still waffling on whether or not to make this dress form, but yours is the first video that deals well with the stretching issue. Am subscribing :)
I am using a suiting fabric and I am going to use fusible fleece on the fabric, as I do pillows to prevent lumps. I may try an outdoor fabric I have. It is really stable. I would even never consider muslin.
Ladies, fusible interfacing is basically little dots of plastic melted onto a fabric surface. You can get all different types of it. When you fuse the interfacing, and get a solid thin layer of plastic bonding your fabric together, it is so much stronger and more stable than the fabric itself. That is why I don’t think that the quality of the interfacing fabric is that important to this project. You just need the strength of the plastic to keep your fabric from stretching. You want this body form to be completely stable.
This is the second vid I've watched on bootstrap dress forms, and I'm wondering if adding boning to the internal structure would be of any help. Also I think a thin piece of plywood would be better than the cardboard.
Pamela Ermy on her website recommended to fuse the interfacing directly to the uncut fabric to stabilize it before cutting. If you're worried about wasting interfacing, those small pieces usually get thrown away anyway!
Wow! This is really an amazing method. Thank you so much for sharing. I would like to do this for my sewing projects. It is a bit more practicle than plaster and foam DIYS
The plaster/foam might be a bit of a hassle and it cost me multiple days of work and two people to put the plaster on me, but i'm so incredibly happy with how accurate it is. It looks really professional. You can' t reshape it with a corset tho, so for those purposes the bootstrap is more useful.
@@xliieesss yes. That's is true. Unless you do Like (Morgan Donner) and wear a corset while getting plastered for a dress form with that shape.ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-iOPYhH6YHpQ.html
I cant wait until this move is over with so I can make one of these and drape instead of trying to work with patterns I hate patterns. I hate patterns. Did I say I hate patterns?
I'm currently making this. I used cotton quilting fabric and iron on interfacing. I would also recommend sew on interfacing or doubling up on the fabric
For stuffing, if this hasn't been mentioned already, buy pillows as the thrift stores or goodwill outlets and gut them for polyfil. It costs roommate and I less than 20 bucks' worth of pillows, buying them on the half-off Saturdays or other sale days, to get enough for both of us and then some. I would personally recommend washing the pillows just to be sure. Better safe than sorry.
I had the same issue with the pattern not lining up together. I even had some pieces that just went off the edge of the paper and I had to just guess what the corner looked like. Honestly It's taken me months of research to cut out two types of fabric and stiff sew in interfacing. I'm honestly kind of exhausted 😅
@@KatherineSewing unfortunately I'm still in the depths of labor! I'm currently pad stitching all the interfacing to the fabric. I may be done in the next eternity or so 🤣
Thank you for this video. I just finished mine yesterday and it's a little wonky. Listening to your experience has given me the places where I made mistakes. I decided to call this first my test and now I'll make my real one.
Thank you so much for this video. I just purchased this pattern and am learning so much. I figure that if I can do this, I can do anything. LOL. I’m a quilter at heart but just learning how to make my own clothes in my 60s. I’m excited to wear feminine clothes fit to me again so enjoying very much learning the process. I also have a sway back and will need to alter my pattern as well. Hoping to find a video to show me how to do that. I plan on using a light colored, light-med. weight denim for mine so I don’t get the stretch when stuffing. Great job on your form and hoping I have the same success. Thank you again.
Girl right now am makin mines I took a little break to eat hahah I am so contemplating as to if to zigzag zag those lines or stick them in cause what I notice the lines where it's drawn for the waist I like mines lower an low waisted even doh am tall but so far its comin out pretty good hope to see the result that I will be proud of !
Having made a few dress forms, I strongly suggest trying it on before adding the inner skeleton or stuffing. This gives you a chance to correct any part of the shape that does not match you exactly.
I bought an arm and body pattern from Bootstrap. I was extremely disappointed in the customer service. The patterns did not fit, and I got got no help from the company. I felt the emails from CS were blaming me. If you buy one, you are on your own.
I'm definitely making this, thank you! I have a styrofoam dress form that is so beautifully decoupaged with magazine pics, that as soon as I stabbed Audrey Hepburn in the forehead with a pin, I decided I need one I can properly stab lol 😁
Fantastic and informative! You explain and show things very well! I’ve been hesitant to use this method for my dress form, but you’ve given me the knowledge and confidence to try it! Thank you so much!
I would give bootstrap fashion a 5/10. I had the exact same issues you came across. The measurements were completely off and not accurate at all, my pattern came with no seam allowance when i asked for them, when taping the pattern together it did not match up. I would give it a lower rating but now i have a general pattern to play with and adjust.
Question, you said in the end you recommend to minus your measurements given to bootstraps by 1-2cm only for circumference measurements but during the vid you said you used more seam allowance to allow for more negative ease. While sewing did you change the seam allowance for all measurements, or only for circumference measurements? Thanks in advance :)
Good advice. I did see another video on this with Bootstrap diy forms. She used a cheap(er) standard dress form as the stand/base and fitted her custom form over it. This eliminated the skeleton because the first dress form did that. It also required less stuffing. Either way it looks great. I want one now.
I love your video. I am trying to make one of my own and your video has helped me a ton. I'm just confused on one part of the instructions. It doesn't tell you what the interlining or stabilizer is used for except for the armholes. Is that the only thing you need that for?
Thanks, glad you enjoyed it! ☺️ No, you need the stabilizer for all of the fabric pieces-the neckhole and armholes are also reinforced with cardboard. Hope this helps!
@@gracealbrechtklooster8130 No worries! The triangle ones are notches as well. They use different markings for different notches so you know which matches up with which. Triangle notch to triangle notch, line notch to line notch, double triangle to double triangle. Good luck!
Thank you for this informative video. I am in the process of trying to get one ordered. I have a question -- How do you get the armscye measurement? I know I saw it either on their site or on a video, but I cannot find it now.
You’re welcome! 🙂 I just went on their website to refresh my memory, and I don’t think there is an armsyce measurement. I think it is automatically calculated based on your other body measurements. Hope this helps!
Does it need to be filled with poly fill? I’ve seen people make plaster casts of themselves and fill it with expanding foam. Maybe both diy methods could be combined? I wonder if you could use spray foam to fill the fabric form while maintaining the drafted shape?
Spray foam expands with a lot of force and can leave gaps. It is likely to deform your fabric. That’s why the DIY ones with foam use plaster to hole the foam.
Couldn't you simply make a zip-front, form-fitting denim dress and pad it? Use a seam allowance you can alter, a stiff cardboard core and you'd have a heavy duty, BESPOKE dress form for life.
Hey, has anyone thought of using the iron on fusible fleece (ONLY for the area EXCLUDING seam allowance) in order to keep the dress form from being too clumpy? I’m trying to find a way to 1. Make sure fabric is stiff enough and doesn’t stretch, and 2. Make the outside form panels from looking clumpy.
When applying grading rules not all seams get reduced or increased by the same amount so arbitrarily reducing all your seams by the same amount to make a technically smaller form with correct proportions may not produce the expected results. Bootstrap say the dress form pattern has 10% horizontal negative ease to take account of expansion when it is stuffed very tight which would be the ideal for a form. Did you consider using a lightweight coutil corsetry fabric with little or no stretch in the weft? You could use a double layer if not stiff enough or a single heavier weight. I take your point about being able to put a corset on your form thus needing some give in the padding but I imagine most would want a stiff tightly padded form. I liked the way you introduced each section with a written title on screen in the video.
Hi! I am wearing my "18th century little black dress" (I have a video about how I made it) over s white chemise (I have a video about that too) with my brown 18th century petticoat over top. Hope this helps! 💕
Thank you Katherine. I've only just come across the Bootstrap Dress Form and was wondering if it would be useful and now I'm eager to sew one up. I love the way you put a corset on it, just made it look very attractive.
Thanks for the video! I also found I have to take an educated guess on many of the steps. I wish I had watched this before I started mine. I can't get the breast to look like breast, and she is definitely larger than what I gave them. I may go back in an dart where I can and restuff her.
Hi, I'm a beginner, but l'm a little confused on wether it's more convenient to buy patterns with seam allowance or not! If I buy a pattern that includes seam allowance, how will I trace the seam line on the fabric? I hope youre able to answer my question, thank you!
Do you think it would be ag ood idea to stich at 5/8 instead of the 3/8 that is recommended, and the 4/8 that you did? Do you think this would allow a firmer stuffing without making it too large?
When applying grading rules not all seams get reduced or increased by the same amount so arbitrarily reducing all your seams by the same amount to make a technically smaller form with correct proportions may not produce the expected results.
U-m in my 70s and have a tummy and rounded shoulders. I don't see how any pattern generated just from measurements can allow for figure varuatiibs like that. I want a dress form that's accurate as I have nobody to fit a garment on me, so I don't think that a mail order form is accurate enough
You can buy custom sized dress forms, but they can be pricey. Otherwise, you can buy a smaller standard size of dress form and pad it up to fit your exact measurements.
YES!!! I used a stiff canvas for my first one and it stretched quite a bit too big, even with loose stuffing. Interfacing is very important for this to work properly.
I ordered mine a couple weeks ago and I'm currently working on it while watching this, I'm surprised it took days for you to get your pattern! And not even the version you asked for?? That's so sad... And like you, I thought about taking in a slightly bigger seam allowance for the vertical seams, but ended up being to scared of fudging up the final results ^^'
@@KatherineSewing What a delightful, informative, well organized, and helpful video: thank you!!!! FYI: the dress form stand has increased dramatically in price since appearing in your video ($59 to $89 in 14 months), but shipping is free, and the reviews for The Shop Company are quite high. Thank you for the resource.
Did you find that one of the shoulders is always lower than the other and the bust slant (between shoulder and “nipple” is really long? I did mine twice , the second time was after I lost weight last year and both dress forms have got these issues.
Hmm I can't say I noticed the shoulder issue, and for the bust I did enter on their website the specific height of my bust (I cant remember though in relation to what). I do have a longer torso too, so that may have helped. If you ever make it again, I'd recommend measuring the height of the bust in relation to the shoulder on the pattern piece, and altering if necessary. I go a bit into the pattern alteration in this video. 🙂
@@KatherineSewing yeah I took all the measurements but it still looks like the bust is really low. I think if I do it again one day I’ll definitely do some alterations to the pattern.
I would definitely recommend comparing your actual measurements to the pattern before cutting it out. Many people have complained that the bust is too low…in my case it was two inches too low. It was heartbreaking to finish the whole thing only to realize it wasn’t accurate for me.
