We get asked about dress forms all the time and have to say that the Uniquely You form is one of the best for home sewing. Versatile, pinable, and without scores of separate pads and layers to lose or store.

The form itself is a polyurethane foam that is about 1.5 times as large as your actual body.
It comes with a poplin cover that you then alter to fit your shape rather than just your size.
In action:

Once the shell is fitted to your shape you zip it over the foam form and have a relatively accurate duplicate not just of your size and the correct measurements, but of your shape. As an aside: The instructions will tell you that it is possible to do alone. While perhaps not as impossible as licking one’s elbow, we have found again and again that two people work better.

We will post more about the Uniquely You form as the blog develops and more students make them, but wanted to link to Sew-Vac direct. They have great service and delivery.