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11th hour dress form dress form question Choosing between sizes for a PGM dress form
SecondHandRogue   Advanced Beginner RI USA Member since 12/28/05 Posts: 511	Login to reply to this post Like this post Date: 12/5/12 10:55 AM After many months of careful consideration, I'm just about ready to take the plunge. I'm just deciding between an 8 and a 10, and not sure which way to go. I have a feeling smaller is safer, as I'll be padding out my post-baby waistline no matter what, and the bustline (37") as well. Here are my last reservations. I'm worried that if I have to pad out nearly everywhere I'll end up with a lumpy mess. That said, my hips are 37.5, exactly right for the 10, and my cross shoulder and bust are just under size 10 too. I'm a close match for the size. My big concern is the apex to apex around the neck measurement. It corresponds to 8 or 9, as my bust point is slightly high; this is a measurement that will be impossible to downsize, no? Are the torsos shorter in smaller sizes? My abdomen also measures smaller, as do my apex to apex and neck measures. I also can't find high bust measurements. Mine is a scant 34". Thanks for any input. I'm armed with a coupon and a discount code, ready to go!! I'm hoping I can get it in time to make a dress form ornament tree--with an evergreen dress and lights!! ------ Yards sewn 2012: 34 Yards sewn 2013: 13.5 (goal 70!)
Heidi Cooper   CA USA Member since 8/24/02 Posts: 453	Login to reply to this post Like this post Date: 12/5/12 11:22 AM Wish I had some words of wisdom for you, but I am in the same boat. I will have to get a MUCH smaller form for my petite frame and shoulders and pad out the whole thing. I would like to get one of the 'in-between' sizes like a 7 or 9 as they seem to have smaller shoulder, back length, cross back measurements, but even though they list them they never seem to be in stock. I will be watching this closely to see what kind of advice you get! BTW, would you mind sharing where you are getting yours and the discounts? Thanks! ------ “Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever.” -Mahatma Gandhi “ Freedom is not worth having if it does not include the freedom to make mistakes.” -Mahatma Gandhi Now Blogging at http://sewexotic.blogspot.com/
Kemish   Intermediate CA USA Member since 4/24/06 Posts: 231	Login to reply to this post Like this post Date: 12/5/12 11:38 AM I just purchased a new dress form - receive date is 12/7. I looked at the PGM forms and measured myself and compared my measurements to their chart. Then I had DH measure me and made the comparison again. This was a weekend project! I was still torn about buying one because my measurements/shape is so different than their forms - obviously! I decided - after all that measuring and comparing - to read ALL the reviews here on PR regarding dress forms. Yes, that took awhile. Like I said, this was a weekend project. I decided to go with the Fabulous Fit form instead. I read through their website and felt better at choosing the better size than I did with the PGM form. I also was encouraged by the PR reviews I read. I should be receiving my Fabulous Fit form on Friday. I can't wait. I know it is going to take some effort (probably another weekend project) to pad the form out to my shape, but I feel much more confident about doing that now that I have read the PR reviews and the FF website, too. ------ Kemish
stirwatersblue Intermediate KS USA Member since 12/13/08 Posts: 2469	Login to reply to this post Like this post Date: 12/5/12 12:59 PM It took me less than 45 minutes to pad out my tiny shop display form with the Fabulous Fit fitting system. It was really easy. You'll need a good set of measurements (they send a chart to fill out) and a full-length mirror. Honestly, the *hardest* thing about it was getting the pole set to the right height! LOL OP, you didn't mention what type of form you're considering. The Fabulous Fit forms/fitting system come with contoured pads and a pair of snug-fitting covers; no lumpy messes at all. (Except, you know, your own personal lumpiness!) For about a year and a half, I kept meaning to pad out my form using quilt batting and a shaping T-shirt... but I never got around to it. I did the Fabulous Fit kit the day it arrived, and was done, like I said, in less than an hour. Easy-peasy. -- Edited on 12/5/12 1:03 PM -- ------ ~Gem in the prairie
wendyrb   Advanced CA Member since 12/30/11 Posts: 1271	Login to reply to this post In reply to SecondHandRogue << Like this post Date: 12/5/12 1:08 PM I hear ya and you're smart to invest time on weighing all the considerations! A dress form can last you a lifetime. Or, in my case more than 1 generation. I inherited my grandmother's that is slightly too small for me. I just bought the Fabulous Fit Pads to build it up. It looks like the result will be smooth, not lumpy. I agree you are safer with the smaller one and go with padding. A big consideration is how you plan to use your dress form. Are you primarily checking design- fabric drape, print planning, fabric mixing, garment proportions, shape and position of details/edges- collars, pockets, etc.? Then the exact measurements are less crucial than if you are mainly close fitting. In my experience, you can get pretty close with dress form fitting, but nothing substitutes for trying it on a living, breathing, moving human who bends, sits and so on. * High Bust Measurement- This is a crucial one. It depends on your bone structure, muscle mass/tone and/or soft tissue- fat or lean. My overall too-small dress form has a too-large high bust and that I can't change. * Bust Apex- This really makes a crucial difference in fitting the shoulder to bust transition. If yours is on the high side, go with the smaller size. Then you can pad out and up. If the form's bust is exactly your measurement, but lower, the fullness can't really be disguised being in the wrong height position. And also, if you lose weight the smaller form will still be useful. Do post a shot of your dress form ornament tree all gussied up. What a great idea. ------ Sometimes she didn't always follow the recipe. Pfonzie- my honey Pfaff Creative Performance, Bernina 930 and 830, Evolution serger.
PattyE   Intermediate MI Member since 9/7/10 Posts: 651	Login to reply to this post Like this post Date: 12/5/12 3:48 PM I have a PGM size 10. If it helps, my measurements are high bust 34, waist 29, hips 38.
SecondHandRogue   Advanced Beginner RI USA Member since 12/28/05 Posts: 511	Login to reply to this post Like this post Date: 12/5/12 4:09 PM Heidi, I'm interested in a size 9 too, because of my short torso. But I'm not completely sure how those junior sizes stack up. I'm going to remeasure my short parts before ordering. I haves credit at a big box store...if it works out I'll send you the info in a PM. Kemish and Stirwaters, I am planning to get the fabulous fit kit to go over the pgm 601a ... It seems like the best fit for e, price and features. I'm glad to know its only a half hour ordeal. although I seem to remember Nancy2001 saying it took her three two hour sessions to get it right--yikes!! Wendy, I am still a beginner at this garment thing, I'm hoping to learn drape a bit, use the form to pin my shoulder straps at the right length without help, fit the waists of skirts and dresses at the right spot, and much of what you described. I like to think my skills will grow with the form. Much of your advice has me thinking that the smaller size is better, even though my measurements are much like patty's--my apex is high, and that's with a crappy wireless bra...I don't want the fullness in the wrong spot. Also, my underbrush/ribcage is small, 29 or 30. and my high bust is just shy of 34 I think. Patty, is your form padded out? Is it perfect as is? Maybe you're taller than I, I'm 5'4.5" Does anyone see high bust measurements on the pgm site? I can't find any... -- Edited on 12/6/12 10:34 AM -- ------ Yards sewn 2012: 34 Yards sewn 2013: 13.5 (goal 70!)
PattyE   Intermediate MI Member since 9/7/10 Posts: 651	Login to reply to this post In reply to SecondHandRogue << Like this post Date: 12/5/12 7:03 PM I have not added any padding to my form at all. I'm 5'8.5". It seems to work just fine as is. The alterations I sometimes need to make on my garments are adding to the upper back width and lengthening...either above the waist or below. But I am very pleased with the dress form itself. I've had mine for probably 6 years. The collapsible shoulder feature is really nice.
nancy2001   Advanced AL USA Member since 12/3/05 Posts: 6111	Login to reply to this post In reply to SecondHandRogue << Like this post Date: 12/5/12 8:28 PM Go with the smaller size. In fact, it would actually be much better if you got the size 6, rather than the 8 or the 10. Remember, you want the dress form to be smaller than you in every measurement in all three dimensions. In other words, if you swallowed the dress form whole, you would want it to fit entirely inside you. You can always pad the dress form out (and you will not end up with "a lumpy mess" if you use the body suits that come with the Fabulouos Fit pads.), but you absolutely cannot take it in. I love my PGM dress form, and I believe you will love yours too. Here's a photo of my padded dress form wearing a jacket I'm working on now. ------ The essence of life is statistical improbability on a colossal scale. Richard Dawkins
SandiMacD   Intermediate FL USA Member since 2/8/09 Posts: 1046	Login to reply to this post Like this post Date: 12/6/12 6:21 AM I would go smaller. I use mine to keep the current garment being worked- whether for me or another. I like seeing it there and being able to pin or baste sections. Once it reaches the point of close fitting- I use myself or the person so the dressform is more my inspiration and a place to hang it while under construction. I like being able to pad out the smaller form to whatever size is needed. I am long waisted and I don't construct form fitting dresses so the shorter or longer waist length is something to consider if that's what you need. ------ re-living my youth through sewing...

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