Did you meet Penelope my new dress form? I'm so excited to be having some help with fitting my clothes this year, and in designing my sewing patterns. But Penelope is young and perky and needs to put on 20 years and 20lbs in order to be a perfect body double for fitting and so I have the Fabulous Fit Dress Form Padding System to make that happen.
Before we go any further, I have to give an extra special thank you to Stephanie and Tom who smuggled this big box of foamy boobs and bums through customs for me in their luggage on their last visit to Cayman. I had my fingers crossed the whole way that they wouldn't have their luggage searched and have to explain what all these boobs and bums were for (and pay the duty)! Thank you so much.
I got the padding system and the additional body wrap because I need to add quite a lot of inches to the waist and hips. I'm not sure yet if the batting is required, but let's take a look at it anyway, along with all the pads and details in this video.
Fabulous Fit Dress Form Padding System – video review
Subscribe to the YouTube channel:The padding kit works with any dress form, so if you have one of those adjustable models and want to add some pinnable padding and create a more life-like shape then the kit works for that too.
The padding kit comprises:
- 1 stomach pad
- 2 shoulder pads
- 2 bust pads, can be used either way up
- 2 thigh pads
- 2 upper hip pads
- 2 back hip pads
- 2 side back pads
- 4 filler pads
- Full instructions, measuring guide and measurements record sheet
- Advice on padding special body shape issues
- 2 stretch covers
If you want to add some size or shaping to your own dress form, the padding kit and the kit with the extra body wrap is also now available in the So Sew Easy Store, here:
Fabulous Fit dress form padding system
Fabulous Fit dress form padding system with body wrap
Next thing – measurements
My next task will be to take lots of measurements. There are very detailed instructions on both the PGM site and the Fabulous Fit site about how to take measurements of your dress form and of your body. The Fabulous Fit kit contains a detailed measurement chart which I'll fill in and then compare with the dress form as she comes and see exactly where our main differences lie.
Then the padding adventure begins. I'm expecting it to take quite a bit of time and moving the pads about to get it right. It will also probably be a project that keeps on changing as I make small changes here and there over time to get the shape of the body right. I'm a little bit daunted by it, measuring yourself is never easy and I need to be accurate, but it will be SO worth it in the end.
[Update – you can also now learn more about how to customise your dress form for the perfect fit in a new Craftsy class – Fitting Essentials: Customize Your Dress Form]
I’m dying to know….. did you get Penelope to become an exact body double for you??
Hi Vicki. The video is already up on Youtube here – http://youtu.be/F-gXpT4dgWo and the full blog post will go live on the 22nd. She’s a pretty good match – the behind needs a little work (don’t we all) but I’m really pleased with my first try. It wasn’t too hard at all.
I can’t seem to open any of these videos – they say private when I try to click.
Interesting solution, but it would be a bit embarrassing having to explain boobs and bums to the customs agent. Haha! Penelope must be a popular name for a dress form… I too have a Penelope. You can see her here: http://flyawayhome-4am.blogspot.com/2011/06/thrifty-find.html
I don’t know why – it just seemed ‘right’ when I took her out the box. I don’t even know anyone called Penelope! Thanks for sharing your lucky find.
What an interesting video – I learned so much! This is inspiring me to start sewing more. I wish I could slim down my own body to match the dress form rather than vice versa!
Yes wouldn’t that be the perfect solution!
Every time you write “she has to put on twenty years and twenty pounds,” it makes me laugh! Don’t I know exactly what you mean! Twenty years ago, I never thought it would happen to me!
Me too Tamryn, I promised myself I was going to be so careful. I was never going to go above 140 pounds – then, oops. But slowly and surely everything starts this strange transformation until its much lower and squashier than it used to be! But you have to make light of it.
Gravity, ladies, gravity. Even if you exercise regularly, that old gravity is going to keep pulling all your little bits and pieces towards the earth. No help for it, after 20 years, nothing is quite where is used to be. Just wait till you see what happens after 40 years!
What can you do if you are flat chested? All the dress forms seem to be for a B cup and I wonder if I could buy the proper dress form. And then, of course, I have to deal with the large waist and even larger hips. 🙁
That is going to be very difficult. Dress forms have to be manufactured in a range of ‘standard’ shapes and sizes, and if you fall outside that then your only option is a custom form, and these are very expensive to have made. You could look at the Uniquely You forms mentioned in the comments by another reader. I have put a link to a video about how they work, and by cutting down the bust area (its only made of foam), then this might be an option for you Kathy.
I am smaller chested and I looked into getting a junior form or even a teen form and padding it myself, I eventually found a form with the right bust and now I’m just padding the other areas.
Thanks for that suggestion Ashley.
Have you ever used a Uniquely You dress form? I think the concept is great but I haven’t seen a lot of people with them. I am a cheap person and have a duct tape dress form right now but I think if I ever buy one it will be a Uniquely You.
No, I’ve never seen one in real life Awbrey. I did watch this review on YouTube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8v3MF_RrmUE which you’ll find useful. I didn’t think I could get a good enough fit on the cover without some expert fitting help – and I just sew on my own. I’ve also read some not very good reviews too which put me off. But the idea is certainly a very good one. Just put in ‘uniquely you dress form review’ and search for what other people think before making the investment.