Bandages Too Tight

How To Make A Custom Dress Form: Part One

Jenna Sauers — To any home sewer and pattern-drafter, the appeal of a custom dress form is obvious. Commercial forms don't resemble the human body in the slightest: nobody I've ever met has that weird, smooth monoboob like on the Wolf forms, nor that cleft-less so-called "ass." Plus, those things are like $400 used . Adjustable forms, though cheaper, are if anything even more limited. They collapse when you're trying to pin things to them, their articulated planes wobble out of alignment, they are riddled with gaps, they suck .

To anyone who makes her own patterns or often adjusts commercial sewing patterns, the whole idea of a commercially made dress form becomes questionable. A body's circumference measurements — bust, waist, and hips — are of much less importance when draping a garment than a body's specific shape and posture. The shoulders are key, since most clothing hangs from them. And as Yohji Yamamoto once wrote, "The shapes of the human shoulder are as numerous as the types of faces." So why not have a form that has your shoulders? If you, like me, sew mostly for yourself, then you have certainly craved a dress form that mimics not only your dimensions, but your body's particular way of holding itself. Your distribution of heft. Your scoliosis. All the asymmetries and features you've spent years taking into account when altering commercial patterns. (Perhaps you've craved such a dress form during one of those long sessions spent in front of the full-length mirror, trying to pin a bolt of fabric to your polypropylene long underwear in order to drape a garment? Oh, that's just me? Okay.) A custom dress form is not the easiest thing in the world to make, but it's within the grasp of any home sewer with two weekends to spare. Come see how I made mine.
This is part one of a two-part project. To complete both parts and make one dress form, you will need: 6-8 rolls of plaster bandages (I used some brand called "Carapace," which I bought in a twelve-pack on eBay for like $15); 4-6 cans of expanding closed-cell insulation foam (I used something from Home Depot called "Great Stuff Big Gap Filler," helpfully marked "For Gaps Over 1 Inch"); strong thread or twine; polyurethane varnish or other sealant; eye protection; a face mask; a set of rubber gloves; an old putty knife you don't mind getting wrecked; an old paintbrush; an old pair of craft scissors; a pair of bandage scissors; a container of water; a hacksaw; extra hacksaw blades ('cus why not); a large drop-cloth. And, not pictured: a meter or so of plain, medium-weight fabric, such as canvas or muslin; an adjustable-height IV stand on castor wheels; and a friend, activity partner, or assistant.

Equine Chronicle » Make-Do Bandages

Sometimes an injured horse needs immediate care while you’re waiting for the vet—such as a pressure bandage to control excessive bleeding. Often you can improvise a satisfactory bandage from materials on hand.

For an instant pressure bandage to halt blood flow from a spurting artery, towels or a folded shirt (several layers for thickness) can be put over the wound and wrapped in place with a support bandage or leg wrap. It may take several layers. For a leg wound, several thicknesses of clean towel directly over the wound, held in place with an ace bandage or leg wrap, will usually halt bleeding.

If a major blood vessel has been cut, a more effective pressure bandage can be created by placing something solid, such as a clean smooth rock or piece of wood, padded with bandaging material, against the wound. Secure with several layers of wrap. Don’t apply bandaging too tight or it will cut off circulation.

Don’t be alarmed if blood keeps seeping through the bandage for 10 minutes or so. Horses’ blood clots slowly. As long as the main flow is slowed, the horse will be fine until the veterinarian arrives.

For a body wound that’s hard to bandage, put a clean towel over it and apply pressure with your hands until the vet arrives. To secure the bandage to the horse’s torso, fold a towel into layers and hold it in place with blanket straps, bungee straps or any strapping long enough to go around the horse’s body. A strap on each edge of the folded towels will hold them in place.

If air is going back and forth through an open wound on the abdomen, put a clean plastic garbage bag, folded to proper size, between the wound and towel to halt airflow. Don’t leave the horse unattended. Monitor any bandage continually to make sure it stays in place and remains tight enough to halt bleeding—but not too tight if the injured area starts to swell.

Other make-do bandages can be created from disposable diapers and sanitary napkins to cushion and protect vital structures or hold a dressing against a wound, or distribute pressure of an elastic bandage more evenly. These items make excellent padding for a small wound, being absorbent and not sticking to the wound, and handy for an emergency pressure bandage to halt bleeding.

A disposable diaper wicks moisture away from a wound; the outside plastic helps protect the wound and the self-sticking tabs hold it on the horse’s leg until you can cover it with an outer bandage/wrap. Disposable diapers are also excellent padding for the bottom of a hoof, being durable and waterproof. Apply duct tape around the outside edge at ground surface and over the bottom of the foot to provide more durability and keep the bandage pad from wearing through.

American Red Cross text-book on first aid, Women's ed. A manual of instruction

American Red Cross abridged textbook on first aid, a manual of instruction

Wilderness First Aid, Emergency Care for Remote Locations

American Red Cross abridged text-book on first aid

Minor surgery and bandaging