Now the messy part begins.

So I started filling in my form. let's just say its taking way more stuffing than I think is really necessary...I mean, c'mon, I am NOT the pillsbury Dough Girl! (hush, Mom) While I am filling it I realize why it looks so "off" to me. The difference between Jessi's form and mine is the fact that we layered tape on Jess smoothly, without pulling, tight, but not squishing. Now, my dear Michael, in his eagerness to help (or get it over with, I haven't figured out yet) took my advice to make it tight a little too seriously I think. I got squished into many different positions, and none of them were too comfortable. The resulting form makes the "squished"ness abundantly clear, So...I am going to fill this one up as an experiment with materials and weights to see how to make the forms the most stable. Once I get it set, I will enlist the help of at least one person in the house that will allow me to be the nit-picky, controlling perfectionist I am about my projects. :o)


Any ways, here are the 1st in a progressive series of pics:


What you see here: my form filled(upside down) to about waist height with a fill of poly-fill (the stuff for pillows and toys in the sewing/craft depts of most stores) and Great Stuff (the foam that expands 3x its size to fill cracks, crevices, large voids(...appropriate, huh?) and balled up newspaper. None of these materials are really firm enough on their own to be sturdy enough for heavy dress-making. Mixed together, however, its seems to be working fairly well. I won't know for sure until its completely filled and dried, but I had to share :o)



What you don't see is a 2.5lb bench weight laid flat in the middle of the last layer of stuffing (approximately bottom of my ribcage) to help with the stability of the the form, I doubt that a flimsy, foam-filled squishy will withstand the pressures of corsets, farthingales, and brocade gowns...so, another weight will be placed right near the bottom before I attach (somehow) a base to close it up and balance it.