One of the biggest challenges when making clothes for yourself is to get the fit and sizing correct. A good solution is to use a mannequin based on your own body measurements. This will allow you to be more accurate with sizing as you will see how the garment might sit on your body. This blog will demonstrate how you can make an inexpensive mannequin based on your own measurements.
Follow the steps below and reference the video in order to complete your mannequin. This video is a cut-down version of the full video which is available for our students. Please check out our courses page for more information on our fashion design courses.
To create a mannequin using your own body measurements, you will need the following materials:
- An old t-shirt
- Duct tape
- Scissors
- Clingfilm or plastic wrap
- A jacket hanger
- Stuffing
- Card
- A helpful friend
Here’s how we did it:
- To begin, wear the correct underwear (to ensure bust height is at the correct level)
- Wear an old t-shirt over this which will be cut through in a later step – the t-shirt will remain inside the mannequin
- Cover the neck area in plastic wrap to avoid tape sticking to the skin
- Watch the video to see how to wrap the tape around the body (you may need to add more layers to ensure the shape will hold)
- Once you are happy with the strength and the shape, cut up through the back of the t-shirt and the duct tape, ensuring you have your hand placed under the t-shirt to protect the skin and underwear
- When you have removed the mannequin shell from the body, use the duct tape to seal the cut
- Place the hanger inside the mannequin and out through the neckline, and then tape the hanger to the back of the mannequin neckline
- Using the stuffing, start to fill the inside
- When nearly full, fix the armhole shape and neckline in place and seal with tape
- Place a piece of card at the bottom and use the duct tape to seal the mannequin