✂ Designer's Tip of The Day- The Anatomy of a Dress Form

Back to Basics!

This may seem elementary to some, but knowing the anatomy of a dress form is important, especially if you plan to venture into draping.  There are several types of dress forms on the market, the most commonly used dress form by designers is the muslin padded dress form.  This form, set on a movable, height-adjustable stand, duplicates the human body shape.  It is firm yet resilient, and does not resist pins. This diagram shows the seams and parts of a basic dress form.
Each seam, marking, and tape all have a specific purpose- to use as reference points in draping a garment, particularly the Center Front and Center Back, The Neckline, Shoulder Seam, Apex, Waistline, Side Seam and Hip Level.  But depending on the project all points can be very useful!

Source: The Art of Fashion Draping, by Connie Amaden-Crawford