Tutorial Quick Duct Tape Dress Form

Hmmmm I have to go out soon.... BUT I think today is the day, since Claire has been sitting around headless for a few days, getting fitted for an outfit... I might as well do the form now
Not that it takes much to remove/replace the head, but that just reminded me I've been meaning to do this since she arrived in June

EDIT: OMG!!! Check it out!!!!

Excuse the mess in the background.
I thought I hadn't used enough layers of tape when I decided to cut it off, but I have to say the shape is pretty sturdy! It's not even stuffed yet and it's keeping the shape nicely!
I wished I had a stand though, to hold the doll up for me while I was wrapping her. I kept wanting to use both my hands to do the tape, but I had to hold the doll while taping, too. So bit more challenging than I expected, but only at the start. After the first layer, everything went much more smoothly.
THANKS!!!!!

 

I love this idea! However, I am curious to hear some opinions... For those of you who sew frequently, do you find that working from a dress form is just as easy/simple as working from a doll? Is it even better?

Also, has anyone created a dress form with legs? I would assume you could use the same technique, as long as you carefully slid it off the second leg~ ( I haven't looked through the thread to see if anyone has posted pictures of that yet, but I will! )

 

This is a great idea! If only I had my doll body..

RainbowsHaven I have not tried this but perhaps after you do the body section, you could repeat for each leg (wrap in plastic, tape, cut), and then join them afterwards? Just remember to get the hip area

 

In my opinion its way better!! Even trying to be careful my doll was getting a lot of abuse simple from having stuff fitted to her, scratched with pins etc. Now I can just carry this thing around the house with me. It probably wouldn't be quite as necessary for me if I used patterns but I don't so I have to check and keep checking everything.

 

Dude.. I would have never thought of this! thank you so very much for sharing! As soon as I get my first boy, I'm I'll make one!

 

I think It's time for me to do this in oy and girl shape, I hate undress my dolls to see if the clothes fits them while making them :S

 

very creative.. and I think it will come in handy when I do make up my mind and buy one.. (still deciding on which one I should get.. so many pretty ones out there.. x_X;; )

 

Curious question about the material used: instead of duct tape, has anyone tries experimenting with electric tape? It's rubbery and a lot more elastic than duct tape but I'm not sure if it will hold very long.

 

Darkness Fatale, I read somewhere (not sure if it was here) that electrical tape doesn't hold the shape as well or something. I wanted to try electrical tape, but after reading that, bought duct tape instead

 

gonna do this this weekend for sure! Thanks to everyone who posted photos of their finished projects. Huge thanks for the tutorial !

 

OK, didn't do it this weekend - did it tonight!! Here it is -

I used press 'n seal wrap


half way there


finished wrapping the duct tape


cut the back & along the arms


Her new dress form!

 

Wow, what a great idea. I certainly would never think to do that. Thank you, it's a must try.

 

joannecranston, very well done

 

Ah, this is so great! I haven't purchased my own doll yet, and while I'm away at college, it's difficult for me to make clothing for my boyfriend's dolls without them right in front of me. I've managed some looser fitting styles, but it's a lot of measuring and re-measuring, and some (unfortunate) guesswork for the most part. It's heartbreaking seeing something not fit properly when I go to visit him. This will make my life so much easier! I'm so going to make one of these tonight ^.^

 

Miss Lady, that's so cool that your boyfriend has dolls
I can't complain though, my boyfriend at least is ok with me including the dolls and the pets in the "children" list, since we have no human offspring He's learned a lot about the dolls in the time I've been into the hobby (because he actually listens when I talk about them), and has been known to make brilliant suggestions and come up with amazing ideas He loves me with all my madness, and wants to see me happy I just think it would be really cool if he had his own, too
The dress form will be a life saver in your situation Very cool

 

He's actually the one who got me into dolls! ^.^ I had known of them for quite some time beforehand, but he really sparked a love for them. He loves when I dote on them, and I have to admit, I love doing so. I'm going to get my first one over the summer, once I have a more steady source of income, but for the time being, I'll be contended with making clothing for his, and this dress form is going to really aid me in doing so

 

omg this is awesome they have all this new colors for duct tape so you can make this colorful awesome

 

I noticed that there used to be some swaps with these involved, but I'm thinking this might be a good way for me to get a feel for some doll sizes. I'm still trying to figure out what size doll to go for, and if I'm going to like the body type or not. I've tried to just measure everything out but it just isn't the same as compared to having something in your hand (even if it's just a duct-tape copy of it)
So, are there still some swaps around or anybody I can contact in order to get one?

 

Sezjade: Are there dolly people in your area? Maybe going to a local meet up, you can ask people if they're willing to make a form for you. Cuz the thing about swaps is you gotta have something to swap.

 

that´s a great idea!!!! I have to try this. thanks

 

ZennoSaji: Yeah, you do have to get something to swap, but at least I'd know who to ask if I would like to get one, ahah. I was likely just going to contact whomever is running the swap and ask if they get any forms they don't want/need (such as doubles, or whatever) if there was a way I could trade something else for it, or if they knew anybody that might take the offer.

There are meets around here but they are mostly a bit further out, I hope to ask when I go, but I have a feeling not just anybody would be willing to do it because of the risk of scratching up your doll by accident. I would hate to be asked if I could do the form, because I'd be so paranoid about it. At the same time I'd hate to ask and they wind up damaging their doll, so I'd prefer not to ask somebody to make one just for me, and see if somebody might just have an extra around or something instead, ahah.

 

I've done this for people, why didn't something as simple as this occur to me for dolls? xD Durrrrr... Thank you so much!

 

I also made a dressform for my narsha doll! Narsha are quite a unique size (with unique proportions) and the seamstress kindly requested one!

I actually used aslightly different technique:

1) Covered the WHOLE doll with saran(plastic)wrap (I'll keep press n seal in mind for a next time!)
2) Wrapped the doll in painter's tape (it's less sticky than ducttape but also more forgiving)
3) cut it up! Release the poor doll!
4) Patched and filled the dressform
5) Covered the whoooole thing in very shiny electrical tape for a smoother look!

I must say i'm very happy with the result, especially since it's FULL body! Yay!



And one very funny picture, halfway through the electrical tape wrap.

 

That dress form idea was awesome. I am so going to do that when my BJD finally arrives. It will make sewing all of his custom clothes so much easier! XD

 

This is great!
For kids who have Tech ed in school, it should be easy to make a stand for this. B)

 

LOL This is going on to my top 10 list of uses for duct tape!

.... that and I am going to make one for myself!

 

A friend and I are going to start working on clothes together and she doesn't have a doll. Making one of these for her as soon as I can. ^^

 

I so needed this! Thanks for the tut!

 

Cool idea ^^. I'll try it out when I get my first doll

 

this is this most useful thing ever! thank you for this awesome idea!

 

I just tried this! It went ok. But I have to finish tomorrow because I have no cotton balls! >_<
Anyway, I can't wait to start sewing when it''s done! Thank you for this.

 

I made a life size dress form before! I can't wait to get a doll to try this on >3

 

Wow this is very inventive.

 

Oh, wow! This is such an AMAZING idea! Thank you for sharing! I've been trying to figure out the best way to fit and make clothing for my doll. So, yeah. This will DEFINITELY help!

 

This is a great idea!!

 

I finally finished mine! Wow took forever! I didn't mind, I watched Heroes the whole time, lol. It's actually pretty accurate. I used masking tape instead of duct tape. Oh yeah I also used Glad Press and Seal and it worked really well! The only thing that wasn't as accurate was her hipline. I guess I didn't stuff it enough. xD



And here's how I cut her out. I used cuticle scissors. It worked really well. Not scratches on her. =D


The most annoying part was taping it up after cutting it off her.

 

When I get my doll I'll make a form of him using bright colored duct tape so its more fun xD

 

This is a great tutorial but I can't do it! Haha I just can't get the plastic bag around her with no skin showing!! >.< I'm going to carry on trying! Darn it! ^_^

 

This is a fantastic tutorial!! Thank you for posting, I know what I will be doing in the morning!

 

I decided to make a dress form using this procedure and it turned out quite nice. I don't know how to post a picture of it though. Thanks for the tutorial!

 

That is awesome! I will definatly have to try this soon, and thanks for the helpful photos!

 

Awesome idea to use ductape! I tried with aluminium foil and that didn't work. I will definitely try this. Thanks

 

now i need more duct tape Dx
thanks and awsome tutorial!

 

Thanks for sharing! This will definitely help me in sewing cloths for my dolls^_^

 

I would suggest putting in the cotton first then tape it back.

 

Amazing idea! I've always wanted a dress form...

 

I think I'll try this tonight with one of my daughter's Moxie girls! (That way I'll have it 'down' when my doll comes.) All the photos are really helpful.

 

Brilliant! This will definitely be helpful later one.
Thanks for posting!

 

I made this one using nearly the same instructions from a different forum, the difference is that in the final step I inserted a dowel to hold the form so that it would be able to stand upright in a vice or heavy block of wood. I can also hold the dowel in hand when stitching small details in place on whatever is pinned to the form.
http://i1208.photobucket.com/albums/cc374/TMComroe32/DuctTapeBodyDoubleSide.jpg

 

great idea!!! thank you!

 

Very clever, this does not affect the resin or leave marks at all?

 

@aVampireTear: If you cover the doll in a plastic bag or regular food cover plastic first, the tape wont leave any marks on it. The scissors you use might leave a mark though. Some scissors are too sharp even on the outer edges and can leave unsightly scratches on the doll. A lot of caution is needed.

 

That is absolutely brilliant. Going to have to do that for my girl, it will make dress making a LOT easier- no need to worry about stabbing her with pins.

Thanks a lot for the tutorial! &#9829;

 

This is so incredibly brilliant! I've been wondering how I'm going to continue making clothes for my friend's dollie once it gets shipped out since I only have boy dolls. This is the perfect solution and so simple!

 

Very nice! I bet you could use a dowel rod and a basic wooden base with a hole in it to stand the form upright as well... either way, this is an awesome idea! Thanks for sharing it! ^^

And now, I'm totally going to make one of these using my purple duct tape!

 

Thank you for your quote - I was afraid I was the only person who failed miserably at this. The instructions are great, I just can't do it.

 

Thank you very much for the tutorial! This is gonna be great when making a fitting doll ^^

 

thank you for this~

 

Cool idea, next time i start making an outfit, I think I'm going to try this out.

 

Awesome tutorial! ^^ Plan on doing this when i get my doll. And will get my bf to wrap it in fiber glass and ill put fabric around it. Cant wait!