Oxford Democrat., 1920-06-15
HOMEMAKERS COLUMN.
Correspondents on topics Of interest to the ladies'
is sohcited Address: Editor HoNKMAKERs'
COLUMN. Oxford Democrat. South Paris. Me
Make Own Dress Forms at Home.
NEED LONG FELT BY WOMEN WHO MAKE
THEIR OWN CLOTHES.

Every woman VINO MAKES garments
for herself longs for dress form, II she
does not already possess one, and, II she
does, she regards 1t as one of the most
necessary pieces of sewing equipment
that she has. 1t is very difficult to fit
oneself. When the arms are moved to
change pin or q bssting which needs
adjusting, the fit OF the whole garment
is changed, and the filter does not know
where the right place is for the seam or
the trimming. A dress form or Betty,
as It is often called, does away with this
difficulty, but because of the expense Of
the commercial ones few women in the
past have felt they could afford to own
one.
Garment-making clubs are among the
most popular Of the many organized by
the home demonstration agents who are
sent out by the United States Depart
ment of Agriculture, and their members
are learning easier and better ways Of
dressmaking. The extension workers
soon discovered that the farm woman
who attempts to do part or all Of her
own sewing-and the majority OF them
do-encounter the most difficulty in flt-
ting the garments and adjusting the
trimming. What she needs is q dress
form, and since dress forms are beyond
the means of the larger number, the
home demonstration agents had to set
their wits to work and invent q home
made substitute.
KINDS OF DRESS FORMS
To-day thousands of these home made
dress forms are In use in the rural and
small town homes of this country. In
have been organized, or have organized
themselves, for the purpose of making
dress forms. This means that the ma
jority of women in that county will have
one of these convepiences.
At present four kinds of dress forms
are being used. The first is the most
expensive, and is made with a COM
mercial dress form and lining to fit all
the lines of the wearer's figure. The
lining is adjusted over the dress form,
and stufing is put in between the lining
and the form until the lining is tightly
filled.
Another variety Is made by stufing a
tight fitting lining with excelsior, cotton,
VI IhC SuUotduCO. uio 10 uot 90
satisfactory as 1t might be, for great care
must be exercised to give the dress form
the right lines and it loses its shape more
or less rapidly.
A third method is to cover a tight-fit.
ting lining, while it is on its owner, with
plaster of Paris; this is allowed to hard
en-, and the whole is then carefully re-
moved. The lining should have an
opening down the front. Stuffing is
then put in until 1t Is firm.
The most satisfactory homemade Bet
ties, however, are made with gummed
paper. This variety costs less than
dollar, and is said to give as good salts
faction as one which brings $40 across
counter. They are made by pasting two
thicknesses Of gummed manila sealing
paper on tight.fitting undervest while
on the prospective owners figure. When
the gum has dried, the jacket is removed
by Sitting down the back and front.
These halves are then put together again
with gummed paper. The general effect
is that of heavy papier-mache form.
One of the best features of Q homemade
Betty is that 1t is an exact duplication
of the woman's own form.
The dress form means real saving 10
money ss well as time and patience to
every woman whether she is making new
clothes or making over old ones.