Yvonne wrote: <I wonder if anyone can help me out. Is it possible to pad out a dress makers manequin? I may have to make a Deb(prom) dress for a very large girl soon and Vera(my manequin) doesn't go anywhere near her size. Has anyone had any experience with padding one out?>
Many, many years ago when I did my City and Guilds Dressmaking and Pattern Cutting course, we had to pad out the old-fashioned type of mannequin, made of slightly padded plates which were pulled in and let out by turning wheels between them. We made calico (the thick unbleached cotton stuff) bags filled with kapok (polyester wadding wasn't in abundance then, and kapok could be stuffed firmly), and tacked them onto the dummy in the right places. It was mainly done because the mannequins tended to be flat-chested. The wire type that you fit on the person like a waistcoat could probably be padded in a similar way, though I can't imagine padding mine out sufficiently to change it from the anorexic size 12 it currently is to the portly shape I am now! Jean in Poole To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace-chat [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
