Dress Form - Should I?

I have one but rarely use it. I’ve adjusted to my measurements and tried padding it out but I end up not using it for fitting purposes as it’s not exactly to my body shape.

I bought one when I first started sewing garments, being the sort of person that finds a new hobby and dives in head first with purchasing ALL the things related to it. I have hardly ever used it 🙈. I think if you are interested in making your own clothes by draping them to get your pattern a dress form would be amazing.

I have not delved into that art though and should probably sell my dress form and stop using it as clothes hanger storage!

Hi, I purchased mine from Minerva, I got a little discount through using my bluelight card and I am part of the Minerva Craft Club so I got free postage if I remember, I am a typical pear shape (think egg timer with all the sand at the bottom!) i looooooooove my dress form, could not live without it, its a god send and really useful to fit garments to my shape because I am far from a usual shape, mine has dials to make it larger and its really great, it really is my shape and size, they are an investment item i would say but if you have the pennies i would say they are very worth it xx

Hello, I bought one some years ago. It was a curvy one that you can adjust at bust, waist and hips. I used it a lot at the beginning. My measurements have change a lot and several times and the adjustment wheels got stuck. In the meantime, I made some change to my sewing space to have something more ergonomic and practical and I had less space for the model. I put it aside and, finally, it's upstairs and I don't use it anymore. I don't miss it. I think it helps me as a beginner but now, I'm more confident and I prefer to try things directly on me.

In addition to what I wrote above, I think that I know my body better now. I don't need the model anymore to figure how the garnment will look on me.

It really depends on you.

I have one but rarely use it as whilst it is fine for skirts I can't adjust it enough to fit my upper body shape. I bought mine locally secondhand so that might be an option to try one out if you decide to go ahead. I have one where you can adjust the back waist length so if you are significantly long or short waisted this might be a helpful option.

I was given a second hand, adjustable dress form when I started sewing again in 2007 and I used it a lot. After my cancer treatment my body shape changed and I had to adapt it, so l I went on a two-day course to pad it to my shape/size and it was OK, but not perfect.

Last year my family treated me to a customer mannequin and it does make a difference.

I appreciate that everyone has different experiences and views, but I find mine is really useful.

I am on my second dress form after my first one fell apart from over use!

I have roughly padded my current one to my shape but rarely use it for fitting. What I do use it for is for pattern placement, seeing the garment from a distance and assessing balance, storing the garment between sewing sessions etc. I would be lost without her as I find her a useful tool. As with every tool however it is only as useful as you make it. It also depends on available space - if you are tight on space I would say you could manage without one.

I've got two dress forms (that I named Patience and Arabella). Cheap-to-buy Patience came with a stretchy covering, so I used some foam (from a food delivery package) to stuff under the covering to mimic my shape as best I could. Expensive-to-buy Arabella has cogs and numbers which are supposed to allow easy adjustments but I can't get along with it. I now just use her to model trousers!

I've found Patience to be very useful. I use her for draping when I can't work out how to adjust a pattern, for hanging dresses over night before hemming, for seeing how a dress is coming together, and for guarding my house when I'm away 😋 (I place her facing the door dressed as a headless Victorian lady)