Woven Fabric Cover for Paper Half-Scale Dress Form

or Stuffed Half Scale Dress Form

This pattern is designed to be sewn from sturdy non-stretch fabric. It can either be used as a cover for
the paper dress form I designed, or stuffed and used to make a dress form.

Materials

5/8 yard (.6 m) woven

fabric

2 feet (.6 m) narrow

ribbon or cord

1/8 yard (.1 m) fusible

interfacing

If you are making a stuffed dress

form you will also need:

Scrap of corrugated
cardboard

Tall slim vase with a wide

base or other stand to mount the dress form on

Fabric glue

Stuffing

Fabric scraps to roll up for stuffing the neck

Instructions
1. Print pages 9 through 13 of this document on 8 11 or A4 size paper. If you are printing to
an inkjet printer, set the print quality to the highest setting to ensure the vertical scaling is
correct. Print at 100% of normal size. To do this in Adobe Acrobat Reader, in the Print window
set the Page Scaling to None. The border on each page will measure 7 by 10 (17.8 cm by 25.4
cm) when printed to the correct scale.
2. Cut on the borders and tape pages 9 to 11 and 10 to 12, matching borders and alignment marks.
3. If you will be using this pattern to make a stuffed dress form, skip to step 4.
This pattern was designed to fit my paper half-scale dress form covered with a single layer of
kraft paper tape. These were the measurements of my form: 17 7/8 (45.5 cm) bust, 13 3/4 (35
cm) waist, and 18 1/8 (46 cm) hip. The measurements on your form may be different. If your
dress form measures significantly larger than this, you should alter the pattern. In the bust area,
add to the side front seams and side back seams to increase the measurement. In the waist and
hip area, you can add to the side front seams, side back seams, and side seams.
2014 Leila Hanaster

4. Cut out the paper pattern pieces.

5. Fuse a 3 (9 cm) tall by 8 (20 cm) wide
piece of interfacing to the wrong side of a
piece of fabric. Cut out the ARMHOLE COVER
and NECK TOP pieces from this piece of
interfaced fabric.
6. Cut the rest of the pieces from fabric or
interfacing as indicated on the pattern pieces.

7. Fuse the FRONT NECKLINE INTERFACING and

BACK NECKLINE INTERFACING to the UPPER
FRONT and BACK.
8. Sew the UPPER FRONT to LOWER FRONT. Clip
inner curves and the press seams open.
Note: All seam allowances are 1/4 (6 mm).

9. Sew UPPER SIDE FRONT to LOWER SIDE FRONT.

Clip inner curves and press seam open.

10. Ease stitch the UPPER SIDE

FRONT pieces between notches.
Sew the side front seams.
Clip inner curves. Notch the outer
curve over the bust.
Press seams open.
11. Sew the center front seam. Press
the seam open.

12. Sew BACK to SIDE BACK. Clip

inner curves and press the seams
open.

13. Sew the center back seam. Press

the seam open.

14. If you are making a suffed dress

form: Sew both side seams
completely. Clip inner curves on
side seams and press the seams
open.
If you are making a dress form
cover: Sew one side seam. Only
sew 3/4 (2 cm) of the upper end
of the other side seam. Clip inner
curves on both side seams. Press
under 1/4 (6 mm) along the
edges of the open side seam.

15. For a stuffed dress form, skip to

step 16.
If you are making a dress form
cover: Baste the pressed seam
allowances in place on the open
side seam.

16. Sew the shoulder seams. Press the seams open.

17. Clip into the armholes almost to the stitching

line. Clips should be about 3/8 (1 cm) apart.

18. Pin the ARMHOLE COVER pieces into the

armholes. Match the large circle to the shoulder
seam and the small circle to the underarm
seam. Hand baste in place.

19. Machine stitch the armhole seams with the

ARMHOLE COVER facing down on the sewing
machine.
Remove the basting stitches.
In the seam allowance, stitch again 1/16
(1.5 mm) away from the first stitches.
Trim the armhole seams close to the outer stitching
line.
Finish the seams with zig-zag stitches.

20. Sew the center back seam on the NECK. Press the seam open.

21. Pin, then hand baste the NECK TOP onto the upper edge of the
NECK.

22. Machine stitch the upper neck seam with the NECK TOP facing
down.
Remove basting stitches.
In the seam allowance, stitch again 1/16
(1.5 mm) away from the first stitches.
Trim the seam close to the outer stitching line.
Finish the seam with zig-zag stitches.

23. Clip into the neck opening almost to the stitching

line. Clips should be about 3/8 (1 cm) apart.

24. Turn the neck right side out, then insert it into the
neck opening, matching center back seams. Baste the seam.
Machine stitch the lower neck
seam.
Remove basting stitches.
In the seam allowance, stitch again
1/16 (1.5 mm) away from the first
stitches.
Trim the seam close to the outer
stitching line.
Finish the seam with zig-zag stitches.

25. Turn the dress form cover right side out. On the lower edge, stitch down the last 1 1/8 (3 cm)
of all of the seam allowances. Note: The pictures below show the dress form cover option.

26. Turn up and press 3/4 (1.9 cm) on the lower edge, then press up 1/4 (6 mm) on the edge.

27. Stitch 3/8 (1 cm) from the folded edge to form a casing. If you are making a stuffed dress form,
leave an opening on one side of the casing. Insert ribbon or cord into the casing using a safety
pin or bodkin.

28. For a stuffed dress form, skip to step 30.

If you are having trouble getting the
seams to stay pressed open, especially
in the bust area, baste the seam
allowances in place before you put the
cover on the form.
Put the cover on the dress form.
Hand sew the side seam closed.
Remove the basting stitches.

29. Pull the ribbon or cord tight and

tie the ends together.

If you are making a dress form

cover, you are done. The
remaining steps are for making a
stuffed dress form.
30. If you want to keep the neck and armholes from bowing out, cut pieces of cardboard to fit the
neck top and armhole areas and glue them on the inside with fabric glue. (I didnt do that in the
pictures below, and you can see the armholes pushed out a bit.)
31. Roll up scraps of fabric into a firm cylinder that will fit into the neck.
Take a few hand stitches in it to keep it from unrolling. Insert it into
the neck.

32. I found that a combination of fabric scraps and polyester fiber fill
worked well for stuffing the dress form. Stuff it about halfway full.

33. Insert a vase or other stand into the center, then stuff around it. Pull the drawstring tight around
the stand and tie it.

ING
FAC
TER REA
N
I
A
E
FUS ADED
H
TO S

BACK

SIDE
BACK

CUT 2 OF FABRIC

CUT 2 OF FABRIC

1A
9
1A

FU
G
IN
AC A
RF RE
TE A
IN ED
SE HAD
S
TO

UPPER
FRONT
CU
T 2 OF FA

BRIC

R
E
P
P
U
SIDE T
N
O
R
F

BRIC

F FA
T2O

CU

LOWER
SIDE
FRONT

LOWER
FRONT
CUT 2 OF FABRIC

CUT 2 OF FABRIC

1B
10
1B

1A

1A

11

CENTER BACK

1B

1B

12

13
Re

eF
CUTe2eOF

FR
ON
K
C
E
eN
T
T
FRON CING
A
F
R
INTEUSIBLEeINTERFACING

NECK
TOP

NT
E

4einches

8ecm

TEST
SQUARES

CE

CUTe2eOFeINTERFACED
FABRIC

e2eO

ARMHOLE
COVER

CUTe1eOFeFABRIC

NECK

CENTEReBACK

CUT

ECK G G
N
e
K
IN IN
BACERFACeINTERFAC
INTFeFUSIBLE

8ecm

4einches

CUTe1eOF
INTERFACED
FABRIC