Wardrobe Refashion: How-to Make Your Dress Form Look Like You (Only Better)

Although I have a pile of clothes waiting to be refashioned and an equal stack of fabric that could become cute new outfits, first things first. My kick-off project was to tackle getting my dress form ready to roll. Since it is a task that many home sewers might not have a lot of experience with, here is some professional advice to guide you. This process is different from making an exact replica of your body. Instead, this form yields clothing that not only fits, but also flatters.
Here is my dress form. Unsurprisingly, it has great proportions and a very standard figure. Very few people in the world will find their measurements to be the same as their dress form, no matter how fabulous we all know we look!
At this point, it is time to make direct comparisons. Take thorough and accurate measurements of your over-bust, bust, under-bust, waist, high and low hip, and those of your form. This is not the part where we flatter ourselves. This process is meaningless without total honesty. Establish where you and the form differ and by how much. In my example, the form and I are the same except for the waist.
You'll need various forms of padding (e.g. shoulder pads, bust pads, and batting) to pin onto your form. The most effective way to pin them is by using straight pins with the length nearly flat to the form, and the tip pointing towards the center of your pad.

The #1 trick of padding a stand is making the measurements the same as your own, but doing so by putting the extra where you wish it was.

If your bust measurement is bigger, try putting the padding on the breasts. If your hip measurement is bigger, add it to either your butt or sides depending which you think looks more pleasing. Even if you carry most of your extra waist in the front, spread it around to give a more even silhouette.

Here is an example with padding added to the breast using a commercial bust pad.This one is for adding a little extra lift to the butt area to extend the hip measurement using two shoulder pads with flat edges together.
Here are the steps I took in my own case. First I used two thin shoulder pads in the small of the back. Then two sets of thick shoulder pads to either side. The tapering edges of the pads help smooth out the shape to keep from having big jumps in size.
Next I used a folded piece of batting directly in the waistline to help bulk it up more. Then I used a single layer of batting to assure the smooth transition to the rest of the form.
The measurements all matched at this point, so I added a ribbon to mark the new waist. Using a Sharpie, I extended my center front and princess lines onto the padding.
The form is now precisely my measurements and will make a dress that fits my body. By fudging the placement, the added bonus is any clothes made on this stand will be well proportioned, which ultimately makes me and my projects look even better.


~Kari
http://ikyoto.etsy.com

Excuse me, Miss. Are you wearing a tablecloth?

Shhh. Don’t tell anyone, but I’m cheating. Yeah. I just signed up for this project in March, but I’m going to show off a project that I finished 3 years ago. I’m letting myself get away with this because it’s in keeping with the Wardrobe Refashion pledge and because ultimately it turned out beautifully. I get more compliments on it than almost anything else in my closet!
The story of this shirt begins with me getting lucky at a stoop sale a few years ago. I found 3-4 fanstastic vintage patterns (including one from the 20s!) and a beautiful vintage linen blend tablecloth for a very good price. The tablecloth had a few small stains, but was otherwise in good shape. I’d recently been eyeing some expensive vintage fabric with a similar look and decided that this was a better deal.
So I took it all home and began.
I decided to use this pattern because the illustration had such a summery picnic-esque feel and that made sense with the big flowers on the tablecloth. I had to be creative with the layout because my fabric was squarish rather than the typical rectangular yardage that is shown on pattern instruction sheets. I took the pieces I needed, stretched the fabric out flat in a single layer on the floor and started shuffling the pattern pieces around. I wanted to make sure that I captured as many of the big flower bursts and birds as possible. I also wanted to keep the grain of the fabric lined up properly—not on the bias—but I honestly didn’t pay that much attention to whether I was aligning pieces to the lengthwise grain or the crosswise grain. Mostly I was looking for visual impact. I did have to compromise. The shirt front on the pattern is cut out on one piece. I chose to fold it in half, add a seam allowance, and then cut and sew two pieces together to make this one piece.
The sleeves also have a bit of a “Frankenstein” touch. I wanted to make the long-sleeved version of the shirt, but I didn’t quite have enough fabric. However, I did have some heavy white linen and some pretty ribbon, so I pinned the top half of the sleeve pattern piece to the tablecloth fabric and cut it. Then I measured the amount of fabric that I still needed and cut that from the linen. I unpinned the pattern piece, sewed the linen to the tablecloth fabric (the bottom of the sleeve), covered the seam with my ribbon, top-stitched the ribbon, and then repinned the pattern piece to my new, longer fabric and cut out the bottom part of the sleeve. And then I flipped the pattern piece over and did it all again. Whew. I also used the white linen for the facing of the color. Once I had everything cut out I just followed the instructions to make the shirt.
Now it’s done, right? Well, yes...and no. In the process of getting big crazy flowers and birds from the tablecloth onto my shirt I also got some of the small stains/discolorations on it, too. So, I grabbed a needle and some embroidery thread and went to town. These motifs are all basically freehand...I did anything that I could think of to make it pretty and fill space.
So there you have it! It was time-consuming, but totally worth it. Occasionally people tell me it looks like I am wearing a tablecloth, but I know that wherever I go, no one will ever be wearing the same shirt as I am!
Though in retrospect, it probably would have been easier to have just turned the tablecloth into a skirt!


Tanya Luck(x4)

NewNew Takes On The Wardrobe Refashion Challenge

I'm excited to introduce a new weekly feature to the {NewNew} blog. For the next six months participating members have committed to buying only handmade, used, and vintage clothing and challenge themselves to make or refashion items themselves. This project was inspired by and running in conjunction with the original Wardrobe Refashion Challenge. You will be able to follow our journeys here, along with associated how-to projects and guest refashionistas.

The Challengers (in their own words):

Beacon Bookmarks
Now that I split my time between the woodshop making our bookmarks and an office job, I don't always have to dress like a hobo. My wardrobe seems to be inspired by the Target clearance rack and I would love to add some individuality to what I have (especially the well-loved worn out pieces) plus use up some of my large fabric stash. The hard part is deciding what to do first!

Better Than Jam
I always think it is such a waste to just throw old clothes out. I am a huge believer in giving items several lives.

Cakehouse
i joined wardrobe refashion two years ago, and though i stopped posting after my first six months, i've kept up the pledge. the wardrobe refashion community actually helped inspire me to create my business, making home accessories out of repurposed secondhand fabrics.

Ikyoto
I'm Kari (aka Ikyoto), and after looking in my closet I have found it wanting. Rather than head to the chain stores, I'm planning on taking a creative adventure and supporting artisans whose values I share.

Joyella
Jennifer has been a long time proponent of fair trade and sweat shop free products, and has been shopping with these ethics in mind for several years, but this will mark the first attempt at such an absolute commitment to these ideals! She is excited for the challenge, and looks forward to sharing her experiences.


Karen's Monsters
I'm Karen of Karen's Monsters. The more involved I've become in the handmade movement, the more I've come to appreciate well-made goods that have a positive impact on our environment and communities. I'm looking forward to the challenge and hoping to extend this project into a lifetime habit.

Luck (x4)
Tanya has been sewing and making her own clothes since Jr. High (with photos of some bad 80's outfits to prove it). She also loves hunting for vintage clothes, fabric and (especially) patterns. She's always been more of a "make from scratch" kind of girl rather than a "re-fashioner" but is hoping to do a little of both while participating in this project.

The Pledge

We, the {NewNew} Refashion members, pledge that we shall refashion, renovate, recycle pre-loved items for ourselves with our own hands in fabric, yarn or other medium for the term of our contract. We pledge that we will share the love and post a photo of my refashioned, renovated, recycled, crafted or created item of clothing on the Wardrobe Refashion blog, so that others may share the joy that thy thriftiness brings!
Signed {NewNew} Refashion Members.

Check back next week for our first installment!

~Kari
http://ikyoto.etsy.com