Here she is! I feel as though she should have a name. Headless Hortense? No-noggin Nina?

Torpedo Teresa? Please leave any suggestions in the comments below. The funniest dress form name (judged by myself and Patrick) wins a Schoolhouse Tunic pattern. I'll draw a winner tomorrow (Saturday) morning. Also, be sure to check out SouleMama on Saturday, as I'll be hosting a pattern giveaway (and a special SouleMama reader discount, too!)

So yes, I now have a squish-able, pin-able, alter-able, drape-able lady in my studio. Looking at her makes me want to recite this poem, which has always been one of my favorites. I have yet to fit my cover to myself and slip it over the form (the cover is hanging behind the form in the first photo) but I hope to do that soon, with the help of a friend.

I went with the Uniquely You after some consultations with my sewing friends and elders, with the idea that I can also use it to try out draping, which is of immense interest to me as well. Many of you suggested that I try making a duct tape dress form (thanks for the link, Aileen!), and I have, back when I was living in Mexico. Perhaps I'm just not adept with duct tape, but my form was ill-fitted, flat busted (not me), and really prone to collapsing, even when I stuffed it with packing material. That said, a duct tape form is a really great way to make a cheap dress form in a pinch.

And here's the fabric, which just arrived. I'm going to make the first skirt pattern in the black hemp/twill. Onward I march, through the baby drool on the floor, to make a basic black skirt. No better way to spend a Friday afternoon!

**********************************DRUM ROLL PLEASE***********************************

What a hard choice! Your dress form names are simply hilarious! I went with a name that didn't reference the Torpedos, given that, once I fit my cover to my actual body, they won't be nearly so Torpedo-y! The dress form's name, from Samantha, is: Acephalous Agnes! We'll call her Aggie for short. Perhaps this reflects upon my odd sense of humor, but hey - a headless, foam lady could use some heady humor.

It was really hard not to suck in my belly to where I thought it just might be in two months, but I succeeded in letting it pouf out in its full glory! 

Taking measurements is a time-consuming process. You aren't just taking the standard bust/waist/hip measurements - you are taking nearly 30 different numbers, which is why (I hope) my hand-sewn clothes will come out fitting more precisely than the store-bought variety. I couldn't have done it without a bit of help - thankfully my parents were here visiting and my Mom, an accomplished seamstress in her own right, was here to tie me up in measuring tape.

Some of the measurements are specific to the type of clothing you will be making - for example, Design-It-Yourself Clothes: Patternmaking Simplified has you estimate the sweep of a skirt when taking measurements to draw up a specific skirt pattern. A skirt's sweep (think about doing the hula hoop around your knees - the sweep is the amount of circular space you have around your legs) needs to be large enough so you can move, but it can be narrower the higher you move the hem line up your legs. A mini skirt can be tight, but if you have a mini-skirt sweep on a tea-length skirt, you'd do better rolling along the ground to get from point A to point B.

I went ahead and took all of my body-specific measurements now, and I'll re-think the garment-specific estimated measurements once I start work on each project.

The fabric is arriving any day now - and I have to decide if I'm finally going to break down and buy myself a dress form. I've been using myself as a dummy, so to speak, and I honestly feel like a dummy when I poke myself for the umpteenth time with a pin. I'm considering getting a Uniquely You dress form - do any of you have any experience with it? It appeals to me because I'll be able to mold it to my own body shape and I can adjust the shape if my body shape fluctuates. Plus, I would be able to easily pin fabric directly onto the form. What do you think?

Have a good weekend!

Meg