Do-it-yourself individual mannequin

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An individual mannequin is the dream of every sewing person. Each cute feature of your body will not be left unattended, which will ensure a perfect fit on the figure.

The mannequin manufacturing process can be divided into several stages.
1. Food or building film. We put on the underwear on which we will put on future sewing masterpieces. I remind you that the shape and size of the bra of different companies are significantly different from each other. And this, of course, affects the fit of the product. We wrap over the laundry (naturally with the help of an assistant) with cling film or construction film. Building is denser, but food is smaller in width and more convenient to use. We wrap the film around the body in several layers, observing some freedom of fitting (in the future, adhesive tape will drastically tighten the body). We wrap the body from the middle of the thigh to the chin, hands to the elbow, paying special attention to the armpits (sticky tape from this tender place tears off very painfully).
2. Reinforced and construction adhesive tape. After the protective film is applied to the body, we begin to wrap the body with two layers of reinforced (gray) adhesive tape and one layer of brown construction adhesive tape on top. This amount is enough to keep your cocoon in shape.

Start this process in the morning, do not put off until the evening (at one time you need to wind up adhesive tape, make a cocoon and gypsum it, so that it does not lose its original shape). We stick adhesive layers of tape without tightening the body: from the waist down, then up to the chest area, the back completely and the arms to the middle of the forearm. We seal the chest area in the penultimate phase (it will be hard to breathe), and the neck last. Before gluing the neck, remove the hair.

We cut off the adhesive tape in small pieces and carefully form all the bends of your body. The better you form a cocoon, the more believable your dummy will be. Several times we cut and placed the area between the breasts and the back deflection at the waist, because the tape was pulled and the existing bend did not immediately work out. Tape for the chest area is cut into very small pieces and glued in the form of chamomile petals, then the edges to the center. Do not overtighten the chest. In a soft bra this happens very easily, which leads to further deformation of the breast shape in a cocoon (especially in girls with a size of 4 and above). Girls with large breasts do not glue the adhesive tape crosswise - this creates an irregular shape. During winding, I flattened one chest - "the first pancake is lumpy," but the second turned out to be believable. According to her, in the future I aligned the asymmetrical chest with the help of papier-mâché.
Warning: the process of cocoon formation is very laborious and difficult for all participants in the process. Be patient. My winding process took 4 hours. For some, it takes from 1.5 to 3 hours. Probably, it depends on the features of the figure (the more bends, the longer this stage), the quality of the winder and the speed of the assistant. During this time, you can’t sit down, not to mention other natural needs. Prepare a few pairs of scissors (in the process they stick to the tape and stop cutting), rags (clean the scissors blades), a brush or a long stick to scratch (something will be combed at this time), a chair or a stool (you can stand on it knees, it becomes a little lighter), water (with a straw), and validol. On the forums, some write that they can not stand this stage and bring themselves to life with the help of ammonia. I didn’t get to this, but Validol resolved more than once.
After the adhesive tape is pasted, it is necessary to “beat off the level”. We measure the same distance from the floor to the bottom line of the cocoon and draw a line (as in sewing, when we align the bottom line of the product).Then, using a plumb line from the seventh cervical vertebra, measure and draw a line in the middle of the back. We outline several transverse lines (we will combine and glue the shape along them). We cut along the line of the middle of the back (there is no need to cut with a zigzag), and glue the cut place with several layers of adhesive tape. We cut off the bottom of the dummy along the intended line (after that it should stand flat on the table). We put a thick cardboard under the bottom of the dummy and draw the same line. This will be a guideline for the volume and shape of your hips and bottom of the dummy. In this form, you will later expose the center of the mannequin to install the rack under the mannequin. The inner cling film is not removable.

3. Plaster. After the cocoon from the film is ready, we begin the process of casting. For this we use plaster bandages. In Moscow, this is a terrible shortage. Bypassing 11 pharmacies, I found only 2 bandages !!! Therefore, on the first day I plaster from the bottom up plaster bandages, and above the usual bandages with alabaster. I did not like working with alabaster. It is not convenient, for a long time, and then when removing gypsum, the dust from it is terrible. The next day I was much more fortunate, in the pharmacy "Do not be sick" I bought another 9 bandages. This is enough to gypsum the entire cocoon in two, and in the area of the chest and back - three layers. The casting process must be carried out from the bottom up, and inside the mannequin, insert spacers in the chest, arms and hips (to maintain the original shape). To prevent the cocoon from scotch tape from falling, I put a hanger inside and fastened it on wire extensions that I tied to a cornice and a hook on the wall. I glued the bottom of the cocoon with tape to the table so that it would not move or change shape. Turned it around so that it was convenient to come up with a cast on each side. She put wet gauze in one layer on a cocoon and fixed it with threads. Gypsum dries best at a temperature of +28 degrees. The usual temperature in the apartment + 24 degrees is not enough. I turned on the heater for the night in the kitchen and closed the door. By morning it was already +31. But the gypsum dried out in a day. For the sake of fidelity, I waited another two days.

4. Polyurethane foam. After the gypsum has dried, you can begin the main stage in creating a mannequin - pouring foam from the inside. I did this stage myself and alone. I was convinced from my own experience that it is better to entrust foaming to a man with hands and experience in this field.
Having read the recommendations on the forums, I bought a bottle of Titan mounting winter foam, a pistol, acetone, gloves and a mask for it. I already had points. Fill the mannequin in several stages, because the foam should dry. The first portion of the foam was poured into the chest and abdomen (previously sprayed inside with water from a spray). By volume, approximately 1/3 of the width of the mannequin, remembering that the foam expands within an hour and increases in size. In my case, the gun turned out to be defective, and the foam climbed not from the nozzle of the gun, but from the connection of the gun with the cylinder. Hair became on end, but because There was no other way, I began to collect it and lay it with my hands in the places I needed (all the more so as it’s impossible to climb into a mannequin with a gun and a cylinder wound around it, unless you are 60). The foam was quite dense and fit easily. For some reason, the foam from the next two cylinders of the same company did not want to be distributed and fell off as soon as I touched it with my hand. In the foam (in order to reduce its consumption) I added pieces of polystyrene (it is well cut with a kitchen knife).
Then she inserted, centered and fixed inside the broomstick wrapped in cellophane (I did not have a mannequin stand at that time). Left to dry for a day.
The foam dried out the next day. I, as an experienced young lady, bought two more bottles with foam, but the one that can be operated without a gun (the tube is screwed to it) is smaller in volume, but I had enough foam for the whole mannequin. One balloon completely filled the top of the dummy (through the neck and arms), the second - the bottom of the dummy (adding pieces of polystyrene). Foam climbed on all sides for another three hours, even pushing the foam. Small voids subsequently formed on these places, and not dry places.At the last moment you need to insert and fix what your dummy will stand on, or at least leave a hole for the rack. I inserted a broomstick wrapped in cellophane. I didn’t do it very well. It was fixed correctly, but apparently not enough, and the stick warped. When this was discovered, it was too late, everything was dry and I had to make a new hole.
Before working with foam, put on something that is not a pity, put gloves on your hands; above, twist the film up to the shoulder and goggles on your nose. A mask was needed when I wiped the kitchen and myself with acetone from the foam. The foam in the mannequin dried for another three days. After hardening, we cut off the foam exactly along the edge of the bottom of the mannequin.

5. Remove the plaster. The most exciting and solemn moment in the whole process. With a construction knife, she first cut the gypsum along the side and shoulder lines into two halves. Then a cocoon of scotch tape. She took off the film. And here she is your Galatea. My young lady (my mannequin has such a name) - went extremely rashly. In several places, I didn’t dry the holes (the back, buttocks, and shoulders) with foam, and cover it with pieces of dried foam on top. The volumes turned out to be a few centimeters less than mine, which I later corrected with papier-mâché. I cut the dummy on the shoulder about 19 cm from the point of connection of the shoulder and neck. On a mannequin from foam, irregularities are cut with a construction knife, and the missing volumes in several layers are increased using papier-mâché.

6. Papier-mâché. You can bring the mannequin's appearance to perfect with papier-mâché. To do this, buy the cheapest gray toilet paper. Cut it off a roll and fill it with hot water. After 10 minutes, drain the water and squeeze a little and knead the paper. Add PVA glue to the desired consistency. Everything is ready. We start gluing papier-mâché on a mannequin. The paper does not dry very quickly. Even the increase in ambient temperature did not affect the drying rate. A thin layer dries for 2 days, and a thicker layer can even 4. For a week I completely adjusted the mannequin and prepared it for the final stage.

7. Mannequin stand. I ordered a rack in the store. I really wanted a wooden tripod and certainly the color of natural wood. Waited for her for 2.5 weeks. During this time, all work on the formation of the dummy was completed, and had to correct the flaws. The hole I provided for the mannequin stand turned out to be much smaller in diameter than the mannequin stand itself (the store gave the wrong information). I had to warm up the metal part of the rack and make a new hole. My mannequin was much longer than the standard store (it ends in the middle of the thigh). In order to lower the mannequin and bring it closer to my height, inside I recorded not only a metal stick, but also a part of a wooden stand. At this point, the wooden portion of the rack cracked. I had to go to the store to buy a new all-metal rack. I fixed the stand in the already prepared hole. Secured with a metal ring for the rack.

8. Batting case. The shape of papier-mâché is quite solid, and in some places also rough. In order to add a soft layer to the dummy, in which you can fix the pins, I bought a thin batting. The option with syntepon did not suit me very well, because the forum was not very flattering reviews about him. I sewed a cover from batting. He fit perfectly on the mannequin. It is better to sew parts of batting butt-to-neck so that the seams are not visible. On top of the neck of the mannequin, I made a pillow for pins, stitching together 5 layers of batting.

9. Cover their supplex. The top layer is sewn from biflex. We sew the same way as the fitted dress. Tucks lay where they ask. We collect the case on the rubber band.

10. The cost of materials.
- Titan polyurethane foam - 3 cylinders - 200 + 200 + 250 = 650 r.
- rubber gloves - 2 pairs - 40 + 40 = 80 p.
- reinforced adhesive tape - 2 rolls - 150 +150 = 300 r.
- brown adhesive tape - 2 rolls - 40 + 40 = 80 r.
- acetone - 1 pc. - 50 p.
- PVA glue - 3 cans - 140 + 140 + 140 = 420 p.
- knife construction OLFA - 1 pc. - 250 p.
- blades to a knife for construction - 1 pc. - 200 rub.
- marker - 1 pc. - 15 p.
- gauze - 1 pc. - 55 p.
- plaster bandages - (6 pcs. - 32 p., 1 pc. - 55 p., 4 pc.- 22 p.) = 337 p.
- toilet paper - 10 rolls - 5 r. = 50 p.
- batting - 1, 20 = 60 p.
- supplex - 1, 10 = 550 p.
Total: 3097 p. + rack for a mannequin - 1400 p.
11. Time spent: 1 week (not including drying time for all layers of the mannequin).
12. Conclusion: I liked the work on the mannequin. I was satisfied with the result. The mannequin is fully consistent with my parameters and individual characteristics. I even managed to use it for its intended purpose - I sewed a jacket with a hood for yoga. The fact that I would have corrected two hours before, or would have to call a friend - to take the back and sides. On a mannequin, I did it in 5 minutes. I never had such a perfect back.

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