Padding Where It's Needed

Your new dress model has been designed to accommodate as many and varied adjustment needs as possible. However, there will be occasions when the model has been adjusted, but additional padding is required in order to achieve the required measurement in a specific area. Example - where bust and waist have been adjusted to the correct size, but the hip area needs to be adjusted beyond the capability of the hip adjusters, or, one hip is higher than the other. There is a simple solution to this, and with the use of padding, the required measurement can be achieved. A variety of different materials can be used for this, such as: Hips and Bust - Use polyester batting, cotton wool, or foam to pad out certain areas. (See Fig 2). Then cover areas with a thin bias cut fabric and pin or tape in place. Tip - For the bust, fit your own comfortable bra onto the dress model and use padding to fill out the cups. Use measuring tape, and add padding, until correct measurement is achieved.

• Shoulders - If one shoulder is lower than the other, layer strips of polyester batting over shoulder area to build it up.
• Waist - Use thin strips of foam, distributed evenly round the waist. Build up thickness until correct measurement is achieved.
• Filling in the Gaps - If you have made widening adjustments to the model, attach a strip of wide tape or ribbon to fill in the open areas. A pencil or stitching line can be added to the centre of the ribbon to identify the centre front, for example.
• Cover - If you wish, you could make a pullover cover for your dress model to hide any padding you have added. Use a material that will easily stretch over the body. Alternatively, cover padded areas with thin, bias cut fabric in a matching colour, and pin to model.