Project Blogway or How to Make a Paper Gown and Dressform fit for Alice Through The Looking Glass

Remember the Project Blogway post?
Well...for the past few days I have been working on an entry and would like to share it with you since today is the Big Day!

First, let me begin by saying that I created a paper mache

dress form to display my dress on.
After I had made the one earlier in the year, I had several people ask me how I did it so I thought I'd make another and take pictures to show you.
First cover your dress form with cling type Glad wrap- it sticks to itself and covers the form nicely as it protects your dress form from getting messed up with the paper mache.

This shows one layer of torn paper bags dipped in wallpaper paste
 covering the dress form.
I shopped around and Ace Hardware store had the largest amount for the least cost of all the places I looked for wallpaper paste including Walmart and Home Depot. Thin it out with hot water until it is the consistency of yogurt.
I use a small bin with a lid dedicated to this project so that I don't have to clean up I just pop the lid on until the next day.
 Once you are finished you will of course want to wash it out with the hose and not inside in the sink. Cover with several layers of brown paper and smooth it with your hands as you go to remove any air bubbles between layers.
 Next I use a layer of newspaper because it is thinner and easier to smooth.
 This will dry rock hard over night.
Place in front of a fan or under air conditioner vent.
 If dry in the morning, carefully cut from dress form with sharp scissors or exacto or razor blade.
Don't cut through the fabric of your dress form!
I usually cut up the side but this one has longer hips than my other dress form so I cut up the back and then made a Y incision to the shoulders.
 Work slowly and carefully lifting the paper from the dress form and tear plastic as you work to loosen it. It will come off and retain its shape as long as it is dry.
I used linen book mending tape that is made from fabric and found at office supply stores or online to seal the cut paper back together.
I also used it inside on the seam.
 Next use more strips of torn paper dipped in paste (and smoothed off with your fingers leaving a thin layer of paste on paper)
 Did I mention using plastic garbage bags to
 protect the floor and table where you are working?
Continue layering on newspaper until you have covered it again.
 Let dry.
To make a base you will need to trace around the bottom edge on to foam core (thanks Cheryl- I had previously used card board and my friend suggested foam core which worked great!)
Cut it out and place just at the inside edge of bottom.
 I turned the dress form upside down in a chair to do this part.
Cover with more paper dipped in wall paper paste and allow this to try.
 This takes several days to make,  btw.
 Not a quick afternoon type project but worth the effort (I think) for additional dress form displays.
I used some Alice Through The Looking Glass pages as my final layer along with some old sheet music gone brown at the edges.
~ Through the glass where down is up and up is down and paper is the fabric for your gown.~
 I used some wrapping paper and some Japanese handmade paper for the dress corset and then make the skirt with matching tissue.
I stitched on some paper bird and botanical flower illustrations
and then sewed the tissue skirt to the corset top.
Alice loves lilacs and they grow in profusion next to the Tiger lilies.
I used faded blue crepe paper for trim and twisted it for the laces.
Brown tissue was used to construct the layer below the butterfly tissue.
Sewing paper is a bit more difficult than fabric but this was fun and I tried to "Make it work!" I didn't use any glue until I added the butterflies.
So thank you for stopping by and my deepest appreciation goes to Lisa and Terisa for inspiring me to pretend to be a dress designer!
 I would love to be a designer for Alice and her cast of characters in Wonderland as well as Heidi and Tim and the gang at Project Runway wouldn't you?!
Auf wiedersehen !
Love & Stitches,
Calamity Kim