How To Make An Altered Vintage Style Dress Form

Ever see those pretty altered dress forms with romantic vintage lace and embellishments?  Well I have admired them from afar and finally made the plunge to make my own.

Now I need to give credit to ThePolkaDotCloset's Blog which is where I got my inspiration from for this project.  I followed her tutorial very closely for this project.  It is an excellent tutorial giving info such as where to buy an inexpensive dress form along with specific "how to" information on completing the project.  I recommend you read her tutorial as well as mine.

Here is my step-by-step tutorial on how I made my altered dress form:

1.  Buy a dress form.  I used the one recommended the ThePolkaDotCloset from Barr Display.  This basic top form is just $8.95 and is available in both black and white.  A crystal countertop base is also available for an additional $12.00.  Just enter item number 8020 in the site's search box and it takes you to both items.  Here is a picture of the form I ordered.

Basic White Dress Form and Crystal Base

2.  Assemble your equipment and embellishments.  I used some cream colored lace and two types of fringe.  You also need a glue gun and glue sticks.  I bought my glue gun from Walmart selecting one with two heat settings.  The low setting is very good for using on delicate items such as the lace in this project - and it is much easier on the fingers should they come in contact with the glue!  Note I had never used a glue gun before and was a bit nervous ... but it really isn't that hard.

Glue Gun and Glue Sticks (This one is an Ad tech)

Lace and Fringe for Embellishment

3.  Now for the fun part.  Attach your lace or whatever fabric you are using to the dress form.  I placed the dress form face down and pulled the lace around to the back gluing around the outside edges.  I left it a bit long so that the lace hung down a bit below the bottom of the form, but you could tuck it in at the bottom and glue if you prefer.  I then added some fringe around the neckline to make a "collar" and then some down the front of the bust line.  Finally I made a "flower" for the top of the form by rolling up some of the left over fringe and gluing it.

Of course, your imagination is the only limitation here - use whatever you like or have on hand for the embellishments!

Finished Altered Dress Form - Wearing One of My Handmade Necklaces

These dress form make great jewelry displays - I plan to use mine for photographing some of my handmade jewelry.  Visit my Etsy shop (DJAjewels.etsy.com) and you just might find this lovely lady there in some of my upcoming listings.

I hope you have enjoyed this tutorial!  If you decide to try this yourself let me know and send me some pics of your finished project!  My email is irene@djajewels.com.