Your Unique Dressform and why you should make your own < with my hands

I have always found dressforms a useful tool but it has been hard to find one to fit my measurements. Yes, I have an adjustable one and yes, I have padded it as close to my measurements as I have been able to but still, it can’t really replicate my swayback or the exact shape of my hips. After making my legform, I have been thinking of making a proper torso dressform using the same method. This lead me not only to make the dressform but to write a little ebook called Your Unique Dressform about the whole process.

Making a dressform requires patience. The polyurethane is a bit messy and needs a lot of time to dry but the result is a dressform that is much better than anything you could buy. Therefore, I decided to properly document the whole process and make it into a small ebook called that is available in the blog shop.

The ebook is called Your Unique Dressform and it has 20 pages with lots of pictures and description. In it, I show plenty of in-progress pictures and tell all about my process from making the mould, to a creature-of-the-nightmares in-between-stage to the finished dressform.

Here is the introduction to the ebook:

We all are different in size and shape. The most rewarding thing in sewing for yourself is to create garments that fit and suit your style. However, fitting yourself can be tricky. I have struggled in trying to pin the back of my dress and often am forced to beg my family members to help me.

I do own two regular dressforms, one adjustable and one a rigid display form and those do help when nothing else exists but still, they are far from my exact shape. I have a long back, small bust and shoulders that are on different heights. My adjustable dress falls apart when I try to adjust the back to be long enough and both of my dressforms have hips that have pretty much the same shape front and back. No matter what your size is, a store-bought dressform can only be an approximation. However, what if you could have a dressform of your exact shape and size? What if you could just do your own fitting easily and quickly?

I am a maker. I believe that creating things starts not with a question of “Can I do it?” but with “How do I do it?” So, I decided to make a dressform for myself. I wanted it to be a full torso with legs. I needed to be soft and pinnable and I wanted to be able to both hang it from the ceiling and to stand it on the floor. Having made one legform before, I had some kind of an idea on how to proceed.

This book is a description of the process I used. It will also help people who want to make their own dressform. The whole process took about 3 weeks but most of it was waiting as the polyurethane filling needed time to dry. You will need a friend or a family member to help you with the mould making but after that, you can proceed on your own.

Your Unique Dressform - An example picture from the ebook.

Here is the finished dressform. It looks really professional and neat and the dress I made in August fits it perfectly as you can see.

I am super happy that I did this and I hope you will get inspired to make yours. I started a new hashtag #youruniquedressform with which you can share your makes!