Maple Garden Quilting: Acme Adjustable Dress Form

Back in and around the 1950's (don't quote me on the exact year) the Acme Adjustable Form was very practical in the art of dressmaking for the home sewer. She had all kinds of body sections that could be adjusted (wing nut and sliding rods). They came in A & B size, I think.....

I had a old one from around the 1960's period that came from Sears Roebuck, but somehow it got lent to someone for something & it never did return. As they say, life moves on and you get busy doing other things, and you get new hobbies and the rest is history.

I have been wanting to make some summer dresses for some time now, and with this heat wave we have been experiencing, the need was even greater to have something cool to wear.

I was on the hunt to purchase an old style dress form as this was what I had experience with and was quite fine with the old 'wing nut and bar' style of adjustments on these older style dress forms.

Low and behold upon mentioning this, a sweet friend Janie dug one up. I mean no disrespect when I say, "dug one up." But... lets face it, you either have had one, or have one and still use it, or have one and don't use it at all, and it's now stored and/or shoved into the back of a closet to lead a very lonely life. Well for me, she is no longer lonely! Yes, she's the kind of women I like, she's all about just wing nuts and sliding bars, yahoo, I am doing the happy dance.

I bartered for her, and am so happy, I call her Amazing Amy - "no" not because of the movie or the books, just because it's an "Acme Adjustable" hence the AA, and the Amazing Amy. Okay I sometimes give things I own names...maybe it's a possession thing.

So I took to adjusting my Amazing Amy to be as close to my body double as possible. OK, this is no easy task, a few lumps and bumps here and there, and we're good to go!

Obviously as a quilter I always have left over bits and pieces of batting - what a great use for some of them.

She is now adjusted, padded, covered and decorated (neck) with lace and fancy head long arm/hat style pins.

Presenting.... (drum roll please)... " Amazing Amy "

Acme Adjustable Form - original

Covered in left over left over pieces of quilt batting

View from the back

now covered over the batting, needed some tucks/darts

I used pins to create the tucks/darts until I can sew down

I hand sewed down all the darts/tucks during the power outage last weekend.

I added lace around her neck, and then added for decoration only, but very useable large hat pins in red and white. I added for decoration, but they can be used as well.