Homemade Dress Form

Lately, I've been thinking about making aprons to sell online through Esty. I figured I needed a way to display them, such as a dress form. I started looking around, but I'm not very patient. I did find a vintage one at an antique store, but even on sale it was $230. I found another one on craigslist, but it was too small. I searched online, but they were too expensive also. So, I thought to myself, why not make one? I picked up an old floor lamp with a chunky base from St. Vinnies for $18. A couple of wire baskets, wooden bowls, and a wire candle holder were purchased from another thrift shop. We had some scrap wire mesh in the shop, and I purchased a can of black spray paint. Some old sheet music, flour, and water, and I was in business. All together, it was about $30 in supplies.

I haven't decided yet if I'm going to use the heavy black bars shown in the picture. I was making an oval shape out of two of them that would hang by small chains from the bottom of the form. This would give more "fullness" to the aprons. The jury is still out on that thought. Also, not shown, is a wire candle holder that, when cut in two, became the "arms" of the form.

At this point, I figured paper mache would be a good way to go. I had purchased some old music books at a garage sale for .10 cents a book. They were perfect!

She looks pretty curvy from this angle with her

skinny little waist and full bust line.

The finished project...what should I name her?

This is what she looks like sporting a new apron.