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HOW TO MAKE 
 
 Individual 
 Dress -Forms 
 
 Copyrighted 1917 
 by 
 
 GEORGE WEANT 
 
 II 
 
 Price $1.00 
 
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 JAN 24 1917 
 
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PREFACE. 
 
 S:^ ibe begimini;:; of tli'^ last century 
 tncre lioS been, among won^.C:! who do their 
 own dress -making, an increasing demand for 
 dress forms. The first forms put on the mar- 
 ket were the simple non-adjustable ones but 
 since no two people have a form exactly alike 
 they were found unsatisfactory. This ob- 
 stacle of dissimilarity in people's forms was 
 partly removed by the invention of the adjus- 
 table forms, and with the realization that 
 there is such a difference in every person's 
 shape, the number of parts of the adjustable 
 forms has been increased to almost a score. 
 
 This necessitated increase in the number of 
 sections in the forms now^ on the market, alone 
 proves that they do not come up to the stan- 
 dard of perfection. They fall far short of 
 what they should be and what the home dress-^ 
 maker would have them, the complete adjus- 
 tability to the individuality of the person for 
 whom the sewing is being done. 
 
 While non-adjustable and adjustable forms 
 are a great boon to dress-making and the ad- 
 justable forms are as near the goal of the 
 ''individual form" as mechanical devices can 
 make them, yet no human ingenuity can de- 
 vise a machine made form which can be ad- 
 justed to be the exact counter-part of each of 
 the twenty million women in the U. S. no two 
 of which I dare say have forms exactly alike. 
 Hence the need of the individual dress form. 
 
 There are at least ten million women in the 
 U. S. who do their own sewing and are look- 
 ing for a dress form with perfect individuality 
 
and it is for these women that this book is 
 written. 
 
 The method of making individual dress 
 forms as described in this book is not an ex- 
 periment, the process is patented and forms 
 made and sold by the inventor have stood the 
 tests of the most exacting and met with the 
 hearty approval of women of all classes. 
 
 These forms may also be made for girls of 
 any age and have been found to give the same 
 satisfaction as those made for women with 
 the exception that they are outgrown so 
 quickly. Yet they will last at least a year and 
 after learning the method hardly a mother 
 will begrudge one day's work for the one 
 year's service that the form will render. 
 
 The inventor spent a year in perfecting the 
 process herein described and in experimenting 
 tried paper-mache, plaster paris molds and 
 other similar methods sometimes suggested, 
 discarding them all as unsatisfactory. The 
 composition and construction of the forms 
 made by this method make them impervious 
 to heat and water, hence when you have a 
 form properly made you may be sure that 
 with ordinary care it wlil last a life time. 
 
 That you will make a success of your first 
 form is only a question of a little painstaking 
 care and patience and when you have finished 
 it you can justly and proudly say that you 
 have an individual dress form that is the true 
 copy of yourself. 
 
HOW TO MAKE INDIVIDUAL 
 DRESSFORMS 
 
 The materials necessary to make the dress- 
 form described in this book are given in the 
 following' list : 
 
 2 pounds resin. 
 
 2 pounds Paro-wax. 
 
 5 pounds good plaster-paris. 
 
 1-2 pound bulk glue. 
 
 5 yards flat elastic, 1-4 inch. 
 
 2 yards flannelette. 
 
 1 heavy ribbed men's cotton undershirt (Get 
 largest size obtainable. Size 50, if possible ) 
 
 4 dozen drapery pins. 
 
 Before beginning work on the form it is 
 absolutely necessary to have a marker which 
 is made as follows : Get two strips of wood 
 5 feet long and 2 inches wide and 1 inch thick. 
 Lay the two strips side by side, measure 12 
 inches from the end and at this point saw a 
 notch 1-4 inch deep in both strips. Chisel tlirse 
 out and turn the notched sides together. Bore 
 a 1-4 inch hole through both strips 9 inches 
 from the notched ends and 2 inches from the 
 other end. 
 
 From a dry-goods box make a foot-board 
 about 20 inches long and 12 inches wide. 
 (This may be made from narrow boards nail- 
 ed together with cleats at the ends.) Now 
 bore a hole (1-4 inch) about 6 inches from 
 one end and 2 inches from one side. This 
 board fits between the notched ends of the 
 strips and the whole is bolted together with 
 two 1-2 inch stove bolts. From a piece of iron 
 barrel hoop cut a piece about 10 inches long- 
 somewhat the shape of a bread knife. Put a 
 • sharp point on this. (Do not make a cutting 
 mark but one that will scratch and make a 
 
mark.) This knife-like marker will slide be- 
 tween the two inch strips and make a 
 straight mark which is absolutely necessary 
 when making the form. You are now ready 
 to begin work on the form. (Also of heavy 
 telephone wire make four pins about 12 inches 
 long. Sharpen one end of each.) Take a 
 waist pattern that fits you, lay it on the shirt 
 and cut around it. See that you do not waste 
 any of the cloth (if you are careful there will 
 be plenty) and when you are through you will 
 have four pieces exactly like your pattern. 
 Sew each pair of these together (front and 
 back pieces, not the two front and two back) 
 along the neck and shoulder slope and down 
 the sides. Do not sew the arm holes. This 
 will give you two half-shirts like FIG. I. 
 
 Take the drapery pins and pin them as 
 shown (I FIG. I) along the edges both front 
 and back on both half shirts spacing the pins 
 2 1-2 to 3 inches apart. 
 
 Next in any old kettle (that you do not care 
 about) melt together the 2 pounds each of 
 resin and w^ax. Melt this over a slow fire and 
 stir constantly until all is dissolved as other- 
 wise it will stick to the bottom and burn. 
 When dissolved there wall be a thick sediment 
 at ♦he bottom but this will do no harm. 
 
 Get a smooth board about ten inches wide 
 and four feet long and place on an incline (six 
 or eight inches high at one end) with the low- 
 er end in some pan or dish that will receive 
 the board. You will also need a rolling pin 
 and a quart bottle is ideal as it is easy to han- 
 dle and clean. 
 
 V^( u are now ready to soak the shirt in the 
 f-L>\' on. If it has cooled, heat it again. Now 
 t ike one of the half-shirts and dip it into the 
 solution (use a stick to lift out) and see that 
 all parts of the shirt are saturated. Lift out 
 
Fi 
 
 ck.i 
 
and lay it on the inclined board and with the 
 rolling pin roll out the surplus fluid. Press 
 firmly but do not take out too much of the 
 solution. Treat the other half-shirt in the 
 same manner and lay on a newspaper to cool. 
 You are now ready to take the impression. 
 Tiie person of whom the impression is to be 
 taken should wear a princess slip over the 
 corset. To avoid soiling* the undergarments, 
 a half-shirt of cheese cloth should be put over 
 the slip before the saturated shirt is put on. 
 When you are ready put either one of the half- 
 shirts in a pan and place in the oven. Heat 
 until it is fairly hot so that all parts are soft 
 a!id pliable, Take from the oven and place on 
 either side of the person, pulling it on well. 
 Now take the elastic, make a loop in one end 
 and slip it over the top hook at the neck and 
 begin to lace, working as many of the wrin- 
 kles as you can, out toward the hooks while 
 lacing. Lace quickly and tightly as the elastic 
 will take up the slack later. When you reach 
 the 1:)ottom fasten the lacing and begin to 
 mold the shirt to the body seeing that there 
 are no wrinkles left except at the neck and 
 under the arms and of these as few as possi- 
 l)le. At the front of the arm there will al- 
 ways be a surplus amount of cloth. This must 
 be pinched into a gore and pinned. Be care- 
 ful not to pin into the underclothing. It is 
 sometimes necessary to take up some surplus 
 it the back in the same manner but not often. 
 If there are a few wrinkles that you cannot 
 get out do not be alarmed but get them the 
 best you can. When you have it molded up 
 snugly to your satisfaction, it is time to use 
 Lhe marker. Have the person stand wnth one 
 foot on each side of the foot-board and place 
 the nose in line with the center of the two up- 
 right strips. Now with the marker begin at 
 
the neck and make a mark down the front of 
 ihe form. Now have the person stand with 
 the back to the upright and with the free arm 
 place it (the upright) against the spinal col- 
 umn. Then make the mark down the back. 
 
 If the form has not hardened sufficiently, 
 fan for a moment or apply ice cold cloths. Aft- 
 er removing take tw^o of the four pins you 
 have ready and push them thru the half-form 
 as shown (1 and 2 FIG. Ill) Run a stick 
 (3 FIG. Ill) thru' the armhole and hang in a 
 cool place between tw^o chairs or boxes. Pro- 
 ceed with the other half-form in the same 
 manner. (Before putting on the clothing the 
 exact measurements should be taken of neck, 
 bust, waist and hip.) 
 
 Now with a sharp pen knife cut along the 
 marks When this is done the half form will 
 be a little larger than necessary. Using one- 
 half the exact measurements, measure around 
 the half-form at the afore-mentioned places 
 and if it is too large trim off the excess and 
 lay the form (edges down) on the table to 
 see that you have trimmed straight. Treat the 
 other half-form in the same manner. Now take 
 two of the strips with pins in and cut out two 
 straight strips one inch wide. Sew one of 
 these to the front of one of the half-forms 
 (sew on the inside) and the other to the back 
 of the other half-form (on the inside.) Now 
 be sure that you get the half-forms together 
 at the right place and sew them together as 
 shown (FIG. IV.j 
 
 The wrinkles must be taken out next. Take 
 a soldering iron or old case knife and heat, but 
 not red hot. With this heat the winkles. 
 While they are still soft push them in or out as 
 the case requires. The gores at the arm may 
 now be attended to but first trim off the bot- 
 tom of the form until it will stand straight 
 
F,\ 
 
 frUX 
 
when placed on the table. From one of the 
 waste strips cut a piece somewhat the size of 
 the gores at the arms and sew on the inside. 
 The protuding wrinkle may now be trimmed 
 flush with the rest of the form. Treat all 
 these pinched gores at the arms in the same 
 
 wa\ 
 
 he waist gores are next. Have a cloth 
 belt made (with a hook and -eye) to fit your 
 exact waist measurement. Make allowance 
 for the elasticity of the body. By trying the 
 belt onto the form it will be found to be too 
 small. The w^aist of the form must be made 
 to fit the belt. With your knife make several 
 gores (3 FIG. IV) and trim out slightly as (2 
 FIG. IV). Do not take out but a trifle from 
 each gore but make six or eight gores, half in 
 front and half in back. Try on the belt from 
 time to time and when it will go on snugly, 
 scAv up the gores as shown (4 FIG. IV). 
 
 Now trim off the top of the neck and the 
 armholes until they look well as in figures II 
 and III. Trim off the bottom until it stands 
 perfect on the table. 
 
 The plastering comes next. Get a pitcher 
 of w^ater, a bowl, two tablespoons and plenty 
 of old rags cut to ten inch squares. Use one 
 spoon in the dry plaster paris and the other 
 for mixing. Mix only a table spoonful at a 
 time as it sets quickly. Coat the outside first, 
 holding the form with one hand on the inside 
 A thin coat of good plaster paris is sufficient. 
 When the outside has been coated set away 
 for an hour after which coat the inside. (As 
 one rag becomes hard throw it away and get 
 another.) Now put in the neck and bottom 
 boards. Set the form on a board that is wide 
 enough (1-2 inch or 5-8 inch thickness is best) 
 and reaching in at the arm or neck mark a- 
 round the inside. Saw^ this out with a com- 
 
n 
 
 i(k^ TE 
 
pass saw. Make the neck board in the same 
 way. Trim these down to fit snugly and be- 
 fore naihng in take them out and put on the 
 cloth covering. For this use your flannelette. 
 Prepare your glue, make it rather thin but not 
 enough to run. Glue with an old brush and 
 put on the cloth. When dry, slip in the neck 
 and bottom boards, punch holes with a sharp 
 awl around the edges and nail in the boards. 
 Get the center of the bottom board, and bore 
 a half inch hole. With this as a guide bore a 
 hole in the neck board and the form is done. 
 The standard is the last. With the excep- 
 tion of the base the material may be bought 
 at the plumber's. Get a 5-foot piece of 3-8 
 inch pipe threaded at one end, a 1-2 inch tee 
 with a 1-4 inch side (or a 1-2 inch side with a 
 1-4 inch reducer) a 1-4 inch nipple 4 inches 
 long threaded at both ends and run down more 
 at one end than at the other, and a 1-4 inch 
 tee. Screw the short threaded end of the 
 nipple into the side of the 1-4 inch tee and the 
 long threaded end into the 1-4 inch side of the 
 1-2 inch tee and slip it (the 1-2 inch tee) over 
 the 3-8 inch pipe. The nipple may then be 
 tightened at any height desired and will hold 
 the form from slipping on the standard. Tight- 
 ening with the hand will be sufficient. If the 
 nipple is not threaded enough to grip the stan- 
 dard, run the threads down until it does. The 
 base may be made of wood and the pipe held 
 in position by plaster paris which is poured 
 into the 1-2 inch hole in the center of the 
 base, and into which the pipe is inserted and 
 left to set. 
 
DIFFICULTIES SOMETIMES EN- 
 COUNTERED. 
 
 1. When the half-forms are hung up on the 
 wires they will sometimes sag out of shape 
 but can be sprung back into shape even when 
 it seems beyond recovery. 
 
 2. When working with the half-forms aft- 
 er the impression is taken do not work near 
 a fire or in a heated room. It is best to work 
 in a cool room. 
 
 3. When you have the half-forms trimmed 
 off at the marks they will sometimes be found 
 to be from one-half to three-quarters of an 
 inch too large. If so, measure from the front 
 edge of half-form around to the back (at neck, 
 waist, bust and hip) use one-half the eact 
 measurements and put a pin thru the form at 
 the right distance. This will probably give 
 different margins at the back (such as 3-4 inch 
 at the waist, 1-2 inch at bust, etc.) Take one- 
 half of each margin (as at bust 1-2 inch which 
 will make 1-4 inch) and move the back pin 
 1-4 inch toward the- back edge and at the 
 front put in a pin 1-4 inch from front edge. 
 Do this all along at the aforementioned meas- 
 urements. Now lay a yard stick in line with 
 the pins and make a mark. Trim both sides 
 off at these marks and the half-form is per- 
 fect. Trim the other half-form in the same 
 manner. 
 
 4. When the form is sewn together and 
 you are working on the gores do not stand 
 the form on the table when you stop work a 
 minute. Hang on the wires or lay on the table 
 
 5. Before plastering the outside put some 
 cross pieces of wood in the bottom and neck 
 to hold in shape while working with it. 
 
r 
 
 LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 
 
 III! II 
 014 081 407 6 
 
 ^. 
 
 JANUARV 1917 
 COURIER PRINTING COMPANY 
 
 PONCA CITY. OKLA, 
 
 J