personal dress form

Create a custom dress form that mirrors your body shape. Used in the world’s most exclusive couture houses, it will take your sewing to the next level. Many sewers find they lose confidence as their body changes, or if they have particular fit issues – big hips anyone? None of us is perfect, so let's embrace our bodies as they are now – and get sewing and make fabulous clothes that make us feel great!

 
custom-dress-forms

SKILL LEVEL: intermediate

This class is open to everyone including home sewers and as part of the Professional Program.

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Classes & Cost

All Day: 77 hours tuition | $1,869
Morning/Afternoon: 38.5 hours tuition | $999
Evening /33 hours tuition | $875
Save $129 when you book whole day classes

This class runs on weekdays, evenings and weekends. Whole day classes are also available. Most students will need more than one term to complete their dress form.

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bookings

This class is open to everyone: home sewers and professionals are all welcome. It's also available as part of the Diploma or Certificate or HSC Textiles Program.

CAFA 2025 TERM DATES

Term 1: 20 January - 5 April 2025
Term 2: 14 April - 28 June 2025
Term 3: 7 July - 20 September 2025
Term 4: 29 September - 13 December 2025

 

For all of your supplies for this class - including your dress form - our friends at JK Trading are pleased to offer a 10% discount on purchases for CAFA students: use code CAFA10

www.jktrading.com.au

personal dress form Course Details

This course is designed for home sewers and dressmakers who would like a dress form that conforms to their measurements and body type. A calico bodice is made that is fitted to the student so that they can pad a dress form to conform to their measurements. A purchased dress form is used and either a purchased padding kit, available from the college, or wadding is used to make the dress form conform to the calico bodice.

Guidelines for centre back, centre front and the waist are then added to assist with fitting. This produces a dress form similar to those used in couture houses for their clients. A pattern is also provided, and if time permits, the student can make soft arms for their dress form so they can assess the fit of garments with sleeves. The time taken to pad a dummy varies considerably depending on how different the dress form measurements are to those of the student.

There's a maximum of ten students per session, so you'll receive individual attention and progress at your own pace.

What You Will Learn

This course includes:

  • Pattern drafting of a bodice pattern for each student

  • Making a calico sample of the bodice

  • Contouring the bodice sample to fit the student and adjusting the pattern

  • Assessing the dress form and formulating the best strategy to achieve the padded form

  • Using a kit or wadding to increase the measurement of the dress form

  • Covering the dress form with a compression layer made to the bodice draft

  • Covering the dress form with a calico layer made to the bodice draft

  • Attaching guidelines for fitting to the dress form

  • Cutting out and sewing the arm pattern.

More Information

Please feel free to email or call us on 02 9449 1450 and we'd be happy to provide more information or tailor a program for you.

 

Feeling Social?

There's nothing we love more than to see our students work in progress or finished creations!