Lace Dress Form

Now here's a little piece of beauty all seamstresses needs in their lives – a lovely lace dress form! Easy to assemble and a refreshing addition to any work space, this tiny form is sure to bring a smile to anyone who encounters it.

Supplies & Materials:

First things first: you'll need to download the Dress Form (Lace) design and stitch out the four lace segments on your embroidery machine. Check out this tutorial for details on stitching freestanding lace.

To assemble your dress form, you'll also need:

Hand-sewing needle and thread to match the color of your lace
Scissors
Wooden dowel (7.5" tall for the smaller dress form, 9" tall for the larger dress form)
Big sturdy button or block for a base
Hot glue gun and glue
Large paperclip or sturdy craft wire
Masking tape
Jewelry pliers or small needle-nose pliers

The design featured in this tutorial is:

Dress Form (Lace)

Get Started:

After stitching out your lace, rinsing it, and letting it dry you are ready to begin.

Start by hand-stitching the darts together in each of your top pieces.

Gray embroidered lace patch shaped like a dress form with symmetrical scroll and swirl patterns, black arrows pointing to the bottom edge.

I found it useful to pinch together the lace, with the right side of the lace facing in, and hand-stitch starting from the inner point of the darts.

Hand holding a small piece of gray lace fabric shaped like a curved panel with intricate scrollwork design and visible thread running through it.

Next, stitch the darts on the lower pieces in the same manner.

Hands sewing a small piece of gray lace fabric with an intricate swirling pattern using a needle and thread over a white background.

Once you have all four pieces properly darted, they should look like this.

Four pieces of gray lace with intricate scroll patterns, shaped like parts of a dress form, arranged on a white background.

Next you'll need to connect each bust piece to their lower torso pieces. I did this by folding the right sides in together and stitching the edges together.

Hand holding delicate beige lace pieces shaped like a stylized dress form, featuring scroll and grid patterns, against a light background.

Once you're finished, your two halves should look like this.

Two lace embroidered pieces shaped like dress forms, in gray thread on a light background, featuring swirling and looping patterns in grid sections.

Next, line up the two halves and stitch from the top of the neck down the sides of the form.

Note: Leave the neck and base open so you can slide in your stand later.

Hand holding a small embroidered lace fabric in the shape of a dress form with beige thread stitching intricate swirls and lines on a light background.

When you are finished with one side, flip over your dress form and stitch up the other side.

Hand holding a small, gray embroidered fabric dress form with intricate swirl patterns in light blue thread, against a plain white background.

Your finished dress form should look similar to this, with the top of the neck and base still open.

Hand holding a small, detailed gray lace mannequin form with intricate swirling patterns, shown against a plain white background. Inset shows a side view.

Four-panel sequence showing hands using a wooden tool to manipulate thin cream-colored cord. A small, decorative dress form with swirled lace-like patterns is held in two panels. Background is a white table.

To create your stand, gather your paper clip and wooden dowel. You can use the bodice to determine how long you want the dowel. We suggest using a 7.5" dowel for the 3.27 x 3.23" Dress Form, and a 9" dowel for the 3.86 x 3.86" Dress Form. Once the dowel is cut to the desired length, open your paperclip and twist it around the top end of the dowel. Use your lace piece to match the wire at shoulder length with the top of the dowel, so that it sits below the neck opening. Secure your wire in place with hot glue or masking tape.

Next, bring in the sharp edges of the paperclip by rounding each end down and in with your pliers.

Hand holding needle-nose pliers shaping thin silver wire wrapped around a wooden stick with masking tape, against plain white background.

Use your dress form as a guide for the wire -- this needs to be wide enough for the inside shoulders to rest on, but not too wide that you can't fit it inside the dress form.

Gray lace dress form with intricate swirling lace pattern, a light wooden stylus or tool placed diagonally across it, isolated on white background.

Next, grab your hot glue gun and base piece. Set a large and even amount of glue in the base of the button.

Close-up of hands using a white hot glue gun to apply glue on a small wooden button against a white background.

Attach the wooden dowel to your base by holding it upright in the center of the hot glue.

Hand holding a wooden thin stick, inserting it into a small round wooden base with a hole in the center, all on a white background.

After the top of the base is set and dry, I also added glue to the bottom of the button to flatten it out. Place the glued surface on a piece of aluminum foil or other non-porous surface that you'll be able to peel it off of later, and let dry.

Close-up of a white glue gun applying hot glue to a small wooden oval shape attached to a white stick, held by a left hand.

This should create a solid flat surface to ensure your dress form stays upright!

Close-up of a hand holding a small wooden stick with a round, flat wooden piece resembling a button or top, light beige with four holes.

Carefully slide your dress form over your stand. If you are having trouble getting the wire past the waist of your dress form, you may want to curl the wire in a little bit more.

Don't be afraid to use your pliers through the top neck area to make adjustments!