Dress Form Evaluation - Customizing Uniquely You

For personal customization and value the Uniquely You form is a great choice.  

$215.00 at Sew True

At $215 I think its a great value, as you can have a working form within a day if you use the supplied cover.

It provides you with all of the important criteria

1. easy customization

2. proper seaming 

3. a firm pinnable surface

4. A stand - although this is its weakest element.

This form is made from a poly urethane foam which compresses to fit your sloper/cover

From Diary of a Renaissance Seamstress

I prefer to make my own cover rather then using the one they supply primarily because of the large neck and arm hole openings.  Dairy of a Renaissance Seamstress has a cover tutorial here

Be sure that when doing your fitting you elimate all ease and wrinkles.  Double check your measurements with the forms after covering as the cover can stretch out due to the inside pressure.  Try some garments on it that you know fit you well to check the balance as well.

I do recommend a center front seam on your cover.  If you do this you will not require the string which is meant to help maintain definition between your breasts.  Additionally I have seen many examples of people taking knifes to their forms...but have never found this necessary.  The cover is extremely difficult to get on and requires two people...one to compress the foam in sections..while the other struggles with getting it into position.  Its a little like a game of twister, but it can be done.  Once the form has been under compression for a while it becomes much easier to do.

They are available as a dress form or they also have a pant form for $15700.  

If you want to treat yourself though I can highly recommend purchasing both and morphing them into this...

morphed form $375.00

 I cut the skirt portion off slightly above the waistline so that the pant form would provide the center front to waist measurement I required. The above form was originally used for The Wonder Woman Replica Project.  Now that it is no longer needed for that...the pattern work being completed I was able to adapt it for my shape. 

Rather shocking I realize to see her like this but it does show how the pipe fitting is placed within the foam.

This is the Lynda Carter body double.  It did require adding bust pads from my Fabulous fit form to achieve  her fuller bust.  As you can see she had a narrow torso.

The pattern I drafted for this dressform was initially taken from my Fabulous Fit form and then graded down to fit.

If you opt for the standard dress form look for a princess seamed dress pattern using a woven fabric with preferably a jewel neckline for your custom sloper.

I realize this is rather difficult to see in the black, but this is my body using the same form as the Wonder Woman Project.  As mentioned previously I would prefer using a red edged linen to make the cover as it is strong, densely woven and has a slick finish to it, which makes it much easier to dress and undress.  

The arm is made using a sleeve sloper fitted to you.  By placing a circle of fabric at both the wrist and arm hole opening you can then stuff it firmly.  The triangle of fabric at the shoulder is basically a shoulder pad shape which allows you to pin it securely to your form.  This removable arm makes dressing your form much easier.

Fashion Patterns by Connie has a pattern for a arm you can purchase here for this little project.

 For more in this series see the links below:

Purpose & Cost

Assets of the Proffessional/Industrial form

Personal Fit

Duct Tape Form

I believe this brings us to the conclusion of the Dress form evaluation series...now back to our regulary scheduled programing...