Dress Forms

I was wondering if anyone uses a dress form for fitting themselves. Is it really worth the investment? If so, what should you look for in a good dress form?

My husband bought me a dress form for Christmas, and it is one of the best gifts I ever received.  It's nice not to have to whip off my clothes and throw on a dress full of straight pins everytime I want to check a fit.  It's also nice to leave it on the form when I'm done sewing for the night, rather than just throwing the pieces on the table.  It looks and feels so much more professional.

It made a big difference for my last dress, as I was able to add darts by fitting them on the dress form, rather than pin, check, remove, pin, check, remove, etc.

Mine is the standard one from JoAnn's with the adjustable knobs.  Her name is Dolores.

I've always wanted a dress form. I saw a tutorial somewhere on how to make one with duct tape that looked fairly easy. That is if you have someone you trust to tape you up and then cut you out. Plus then you'd know it was exactly your size and fit, not to mention it's not too much of an investment if you change sizes at any point.

http://www.craftster.org/forum/index.php?topic=28407.0
theres one someone made and then made a stand for.

and heres another tute.
http://www.craftster.org/forum/index.php?topic=110282.0

there are lots out there, not just on craftster.

Best of luck!

I bought a Yamata dress form on ebay and I love it!  It is great to be able to fit things without poking myself and trying to use a mirror and needing extra hands.  I named my dress form Anne Shirley because she really is a "kindred spirit"!