Vintage Dress Form Makeover with Paint & a Stencil
January 09, 2019
Back in September, I shared a blog post with items I was trying to sell from my mom's old apartment, after her move to assisted living.
One of the items was this vintage seamstress dress form.
My mom purchased it about 20 years ago, even though she didn't sew.
My mom had her grandmother's wedding dress displayed on the dress form in her bedroom. The dress was in very fragile condition, and was sort of a "dust collector".
As you can see, the dress form has worn and dingy areas, so it wasn't something I wanted to display. I tried to sell it locally but had no luck.
(When you click on the bold Amazon, Old Sign Stencils or Dixie Belle Paint Company affiliate links you will be taken to the products I use for this project. If you order it does not change the price or service at all. As an Amazon Affiliate, Old Sign Stencils Affiliate or Dixie Belle Paint Affiliate, I earn from qualifying purchases.)
Then I remembered that Susan from the Homeroad blog had upcycled a mannequin. It turned out so awesome!
It was similar to mine, but mine had a rougher fabric and was in rougher condition. It was not a display piece, it was an actual seamstress dress form.
I was worried that my dress form would soak up a lot of paint, and/or bleed through, so I gave it a couple coats of Dixie Belle Paint Company Boss in clear.
You could also use Zinsser Odorless Primer and Stain Blocker in White
.
. 
I then painted my dress form with two coats of Fusion Mineral Paint in Algonquin
.
I used a Zibra 2-Inch Cut-in Paint Brush.
.I used a Zibra 2-Inch Cut-in Paint Brush.
After the paint was dry, I laid the dress form on the table, preparing to stencil on the bottom half with Fusion Mineral Paint in Coal Black
.
I used the Coal Black on the feet, rod, and top knob too.
.I used the Coal Black on the feet, rod, and top knob too.
My stencil is DecoArt Americana Decor Stencil, The French Inn
. I have used this stencil on other projects too.
I didn't seal the paint or stencils at all.
. I have used this stencil on other projects too.
With Fusion Mineral Paint that step isn't necessary.
The measuring tape around my dress form's neck was my grandma's vintage Sears, Roebuck and Co. tape.
The slogan surrounded by quotation marks says "Beauty begins in the bathroom"! LOL! Whatever that means?
I am going to display my dress form in one of the bedrooms.
I also used the French Inn stencil on this mid century table upcycle.
A thrifted jewelry mannequin gets an upcycle HERE.
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It came out amazing!! I just sold mine this weekend.
ReplyDeleteI love it ! It turned out great. I have always wanted a dress form, originally to display my mom's wedding dress, but with cats and dog hair, that probably wouldn't be a good idea. This is perfect!
ReplyDelete