Hurray, it's got a butt!!!

I finally received my custom dressform in the mail, the day before we left for Florida. How torturing was that? (If you'll remember from this previous post, it arrived back in March without a derriere, and I had to send it back to the manufacturer to be fixed.) The first thing out of my son's mouth after I dragged the heavy box inside was, "Does it have a butt?" Why yes, this one does! Here she is, no name as of yet.



I checked all of her measurements, and she is absolutely perfect on top, and just a little small on the bottom. It's hard to pinpoint because I currently can't try these clothes on and pinch out the ease, but I think my lower back is more padded then she is. At any rate, I certainly am not sending it back again. What a hassle.

I dressed her up all day yesterday - how fun! - with first putting her in one of my best fitting dresses.

You can see in the back how the fabric deflates right at and above the rear end. I'm thinking of buying a shapewear half slip and padding her up. Perhaps I could find some silicone butt enhancements to use. Any tips or suggestions?

She's already been put to good use. I put my recent yellow linen jacket on her to starch the collar. It had some weird rippling going on right at the front that I wanted to get rid of, and used the high-tech technique of stuffing rolled up socks under the collar and spraying it with starch.

Then she got to try on the sweater I started knitting while driving on vacation. The stitches I picked up along the neckline look terrible to my eye, and I'll be redoing that, but otherwise it's a perfect fit. Whew, that's always such a relief.

I'm sure you'll all want to know the details about it - where I got it from, price, experience, etc., but I'm holding off doing a full review until I get the final bill. This has indeed been a strange experience. I had to jump through a bunch of hoops to get her, but I totally think it was worth it.

Kwik Sew 3755 - Progress report

Last night I sat down with my pattern and did a bunch of tracing/drafting. I'm having to transition from an x-small on top to a small through the hips, and that took some figuring. Keep in mind all of the tiers on this dress and the fact that I'm adding tiers to the back. I had planned on telling you exactly what I did, but I got confused several times and had to erase and redraft. So, if you are wanting to make this out of a knit with the above changes, you are on your own. Sorry. Here are my finished pattern pieces.

Tonight I cut out the top 2 tiers both front and back, as well as the top ruffles. Here's how it looks so far - not too bad, right? (And before you get all excited, yes, I did finally receive my custom dress form after 3 months of waiting/pestering the manufacturer about it. I was all set to do a blog post with all the details until I noticed she has no butt. Yes, after all that waiting, there was some miscommunication/misunderstanding of his thick accent, and she arrived derriere-less. So, the manufacturer is making me another form - with a butt - and I am holding this one hostage until it arrives in the mail.)

Okay, back to the dress. It was fine from the front but very gappy under the arm. This is when having a dress form is super useful. I was able to pin the dress to her to check fit, something I would never be able to do to my own body. If I pinch out just a little under the arm, I get a great fit. Oh, and I need not make the ruffles 1" wider as that is messing up the vertical line of the knit. SO, I will be recutting these pieces tomorrow as well as the rest of the dress. I think the hard work is now over and the rest of it should go together quickly.

In other news, I currently have an unpleasant and persistent cough that has made going to sleep at night very difficult. Every time I start to nod off I am racked with coughs. Today I bought a humidifier to hopefully relieve some of the dryness that is tickling my throat. I really need a good nights sleep. The middle of the night is a lonely and depressing time to be awake and tired.