Tailoring Form for Frock Construction?

[John Wickett]

Hey, Folks!

I'm going to be making several frock coats this year and have heard discussion of using a tailoring form in their construction.  A couple questions:
1) Is it preferable, advisable, or easier to make a frock with a tailoring form?
2) If "Yes" to above, are there any favorable opinions of this one from Atlanta Thread Co.?
http://store.atlantathread.com/drmatafo1.html

Thanks for your help!

[Rob Bruno]

John,
I have not used one yet, but there are sometimes I would think it would be easier to do certain things if the project wasn't just in my lap.  I am interested to find out what everyone else says.  I wonder if there is a bigger size. 
Rob

[MrsPeebles]

Well, I used to have one, not at all like the model from Dritz, but they are a useful tool for professional work. I cannot remember what the model I had was, something starting with an A and it cost almost $400, but it was adjustable in many more ways so that if you did frock skirts and had someone with a uneven hip, or rounded belly, you could adjust it so that the skirt was even. If you do tailoring for a living, I'd suggest that you buy one, it does help and saves you time when pinning.....looks better too than using a flat surface, especially if you cannot have an in-person fitting.

[Jessamyn]

A mannequin makes it much easier to work on any clothing project.

That said, I find those adjustable dress forms with the little dials to be pretty aggravating. They're fiddly to adjust, and then when you do get them adjusted, you have gaps at the CF, the CB, and the sides - just where you want to pin! They're also only matched to the person in overall dimension, but not distribution of that dimension. For example, if the chest-to-shoulder ratio doesn't match the mannequin's, there's not much you can do about it.

If you don't have the money for one of the professional, Wolf-style forms like Mrs. Peebles mentioned (and most of us don't), I would recommend either making a duct-tape dummy or getting a simple one-size mannequin and padding it up to your dimensions. Something like this:

http://www.mannequinhub.com/mannequin-dress-forms/male-dress-forms.html

"Pinnable" mannequins are even nicer, if the measurements are close to yours. Regular dress forms can be pinned to, of course, but only through the fabric cover. Pinnable forms you can poke a pin straight down into.

I can't believe how cheap these have gotten, BTW!

[Maggie Koenig]

I took a tailoring class in college and I was constantly tossing stuff up onto a form to see how it was laying and pin it while it was laying over the form.

I don't care for the look of that men's form at all.  It looks kind of squared off on the sides to me.  I've never met any men that actually do that.

[Jim_Ruley]

I've never used one, so haven't experienced the benefits; but I'd suggest saving your money.

If you happen to be the same size and shape as the form, you could use it to make your own clothing fit better.  Once you debug your patterns, however, you won't need it to fit well-proportioned clients.  And the ones who aren't well-proportioned are liable to be misshapen in ways you can't adjust the form for. 

Also, if adjustments are required, the best place to try them is on the client.  Why spend the time adjusting and fitting the form when you're going to have to confirm the fit on the client anyway?

If you don't already have one, you can buy a good steam iron for the same amount of money; and you'll use it on every seam.  You could also buy a pressing ham, sleeve board and/or seam pressing roll.

The only "unique" tool needed for a frock coat is a flat surface as big as the skirt, to baste the lining in.

Hope this helps,

Jim R.

[John Wickett]

Thank you for your replies!

Jim, you struck the key point, really...
In constructing a frock for which I've already altered the pattern to fit me (me being my only client), I really don't need a form.  However, when working with a new pattern, I thought it might be helpful to have a form that I could use to alter a garment/pattern to fit me.  Its hard to alter something for yourself while you're trying it on. 

Thanks, again!

[Elaine Kessinger]

If you are only making clothing for yourself, then I would suggest a duct-tape dummy rather than an adjustable size form. Many of the ladies have made these and swear by them. I'm blessed in that I usually can persuade a friend to help when I try to fit myself.

A tutorial for a Duct Tape Dummy: http://diyfashion.about.com/od/diyfashiontoolkit/ss/Duct_Tape_Dummy.htm

For the question of "what I use"... I'm drafting from various tailor's guides, so I'm working mostly flat through much of the process... but it does come to the point where it helps to see it on some vaguely human form, not for fitting purposes, but more a "does this look right?". I have a few mannequins I use to display examples, and for assessing "the look" I use one of those.  For fitting purposes, trying it on the gent it was created for is definately the only way to assess fit.

[Leila]

Elaine is right. Making your own body double is an excellent replacement for a purchased form. I've made duct-tape forms and packing-tape forms and much prefer the later. The duct tape version was heavier and the edges of the tape were sticky, leaving residue on the garments. Over time, it stretched and became quite a different shape!
  Here's a video tutorial for a packing-tape version. http://www.threadbanger.com/tb-projects/episode/THR_20090403/how-to-make-a-body-form-threadbanger-projects

 Either type is an improvement over paying big bucks for a form and not liking it.

 Sincerely, Leila