The BLOB!

Remember the 1958 movie The Blob?  Classic B-movie fare -- weird red oozing matter from outer space takes over a town.  The thing is, it really wasn't that scary.  You could outrun it and it's krytonite was cold - you could easily defend yourself with an ordinary fire extinguisher or you hide out in a meat locker till it moved on.  Definitely not as scary as zombies, or Godzilla for that matter. What does this have to do with dress forms?  That's what step 3 of the body double is all about -- weird oozing matter!

me

Miss Hallie

It's really enlightening to look at your plaster cast because it reveals your body's peculiarities.  For example,  I have bony shoulders and Hallie has one shoulder that is higher than the other. Not a big deal, of course, but these things definitely affect the fit of a gown.  If you don't know about them you're probably wondering why you always have to make adjustments to your shoulder straps every time you make a gown.  Do you have one hip higher than the other?  That will show up in your form, and you can make the proper accommodations when you fit your gown. Few of us are perfectly symmetrical and a body double will help identify where you have fitting issues and you can anticipate them rather than let them frustrate you.

Now for some sci-fi! With our plaster molds all dry and prepared, we're ready to fill them with foam.  We're using a two part mix that creates a foam that expands slowly -- kind of like The Blob.  A faster or more aggressive foam might blow out the cast.  So slowly we filled the forms. Slow moving oozy matter!  (And like the original Blob, it doesn't like the cold!)

The Blob

Next: The Unveiling

If you can't make our workshop this weekend, we're taking appointments to help you create your own body double -- hiveworkshops@gmail.com  We supply the materials and do most of the work -- you end up with a great dress form.  The cost is $175. By the way, for those of you who do different time periods -- this method works great for you too!