It all started last Fall, as the Halloween shopping frenzy was in high gear. Social media was a buzz as Halloween fanatics posted pictures of their amazing finds along with where to find them. No surprise that these images sent everyone else into a tizzy running from store to store hoping to have the same luck. For the most part, I was able to find almost everything I coveted… except one thing: A Skeleton Dress Form. I LOVE dress forms. Who knows… it probably stems from my long background in the fashion industry. Whatever the reason, I collect them… all shapes, sizes, and functionality. But a skeleton dress form? This, I did not have, and I quickly became a woman obsessed.
It was a simple white torso dress form with a black image of a skeletal torso printed onto the front. This dress form had been spotted at a TJ Maxx store. I have 19 TJ Maxx stores less than an hour drive from my house. I didn’t make it to all 19, but I made it to most of them…. several times. I was on a mission to find this dress form. I even asked friends in other states to be on the lookout for me! Eventually, the store shelves cleared of Halloween, and the Christmas decor took over. The search had ended, and I came up empty handed.
I’ve thought about that dress form from time to time, always disappointed that I never found it. Last month, as the Halloween shopping frenzy began all over again, it reminded me of my failed attempt, and I decided I wouldn’t let it happen again. There was no reason I couldn’t make the dress form myself. And now that I did, I’m kicking myself for waiting an entire year… because it was oh so easy, and she looks amazing. I’ve named her Lenore.
Here’s the beauty of this project. Do you have an old dress form that needs an uplift? No need to buy a new dress form…. we’ll cover up the old one! And if you are buying a new one, the skeleton cover is completely removable, so you basically are getting two in one!
Here’s how Lenore came to be:
- Torso Dress Form
- Dress Form Slip Cover
- Black Paint (as needed)
- Printable Skeletal Image
- Printer
- Straight Pins
- Transfer Artist Paper (Iron On Transfer Paper)
- Iron
- Styrofoam Skull
- E6000
I decided to give one of my old dress forms a makeover. The cover was stained and I wasn’t thrilled with the light wood base.
I removed the form from the base, taped some paper around the metal rod of the base (to protect it from the black paint), and painted the wood stand black.
My form did not come with a neck cap, so I had to make mine. You can also order them online, like this one
To make mine…. I used a black lid from a candle jar as the cap. Then I purchased 2 short table legs. One was cylindrical shaped, and fit exactly into the neck. I cut it down to size and glued it to the under side of my lid with E6000 glue. The other was a decorative leg. I liked how the details mimic the shape of a spine. I also glued this one to the top of the lid.
Now for the fun part…. the skeleton…
I found my image on google images. There are a TON out there… just use various searches like Ribcage or Skeleton Torso.
First you need to figure out how big of a skeleton you’re going to need to fit your form. A good starting point for this is the across shoulder. Resize your image so the shoulders are the correct width. All of the other bones can pretty much just wrap around the dress form.
Print the image on regular paper. Obviously the image is much bigger than a letter size paper. Keep the image the accurate size, and simply print out different sections of the image, and tape together.
Put the Slip Cover onto your dress form, and pin the paper torso into place. If you need to readjust the size, do so, and reprint, and pin.
With a straight pin, mark the top and bottom of your image on the slip cover. This step is critical because the slip cover stretches on the mannequin, and you need to know exactly how much to stretch it out once it’s laying flat to iron on the transfer.
Remove the paper torso, and the slip cover from the dress form.
Print the image onto your transfer paper. I used something called Transfer Artist Paper (TAP). I didn’t realize until I sat down to write this article that it is currently discontinued, but a replacement will come soon. When it does, I will update this post. Until then, I see no reason why you can’t use another image transfer paper that you trust.
Technically, you need to print a mirror image, but that is up to you. I was not particular about what side of my ribcage was on the right or left, so I just printed as is. If you have a preference, be sure to adjust your image accordingly.
Once you print your pages, you will have several parts of the image that printed more than once. You should avoid overlapping the iron on image if possible. Overlapped images will be darker, and more noticeable.
To avoid this, cut a single instance of your image out of the transfer sheets. It is easiest to cut the skeleton out in sections. BUT beware…. all of your images MUST line up exactly! Try using the exact same cut line for side by side sections if possible.
Another tip: When you iron these images onto your slip cover, the paper will be upside down. It is helpful to have uneven lines or notches when you cut your shapes out vs straight lines. This helps to line the images up when ironing by matching the edges, since you cannot see the image itself.
Heat your iron according to transfer paper directions.
Prepare your slip cover for the transfer. First, find the center of the slip cover. The slip cover has side seams, so just measure from seam to seam, and mark the center with a straight pin at the neck, chest, and waist.
Next, you need to be able to stretch the slip cover over an ironing board, or some other type of board to mimic the stretch over the dress form. Lay the paper torso onto the slip cover. Line the top up with the straight pin you previously added. Then stretch the slip cover until the bottom pin aligns with the bottom of the paper. You may want to pin the slip cover onto the board to ensure it doesn’t move.
I found it easiest to start at the bottom of my skeleton and work my way to the top. Use your bottom pin, and the center pins to guide the placement of your skeleton. The spine should run up the center of the slip cover.
Place the image face down onto the slip cover. Remove any pins that are under the transfer paper, and begin to iron.
Because the slip covers are not 100% cotton, you will need to keep the heat on the paper longer than normal. The transfer of the image will not be as pronounced as a cotton material, but as you can see in the pictures, it still turns out great.
Continue moving the iron around and applying the heat all over the paper for several minutes. The longer the better. Be sure not to allow the paper to shift while you move the iron otherwise you may end up with a blurry image. If you need to hold the paper in place, wear gloves.. the paper gets HOT!
I like to pull a corner up to test how the transfer is going before pulling the paper off. Make sure to pull the paper off while hot.
Continue adding each section of the skeleton, lining the pieces up, so there is no gap in the design. Try to avoid running the iron over the image that has already been transferred…. ink may transfer to your iron, and then spread all over your slip cover.
Once the skeleton is done, pull the slip cover onto the dress form, and adjust to ensure the bones are hitting the form in the correct places.
I chose to take the dress form one step further, and add a skull. (The original inspiration was headless) I have a habit of adding skulls to my dress forms, so this was nothing new, but if there was ever a dress form that needed a skull… it was a skeleton one!
Depending on the type of post on your neck cap, you can either glue the post directly to the skull. Or, carve a cavity into the base of the skull. This is why I use a styrofoam Skull!! Insert the cap post, and glue. E6000 takes about 24 hours to completely set.
Now your girl is ready to assist in your sewing, display your fashion, or just be a guest at your parties. In my case, Lenore will be all of the above!
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Again, your imagination and talent are making me insanely jealous!!! Excellent work, as always.
Thank you so much Karen!!
I love Lenore. I feel she and Mrs Jewelled Skull Mannequin would make the best of friends!! Sx
HaHa! I know! Can Lenore come to your house for Halloween? She’d fit right in!!
We would both be honoured x