I’m getting ready for a few fall and winter craft shows in my area. Last year, I found that dresses modeled on the 18” dolls sold better than the dresses on the clothes rack. Unfortunately, I only have three dolls of my daughters to use and one I always borrow from my granddaughter. With my current table set up, the four dolls are about all I can handle. I know there are crafters that display doll dresses flat rather than on a rack, but I thought that some sort of dress stand would work better for me.
![](http://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0219/0136/products/ljc_dress_form_cover.jpg?v=1368297176)
I found a doll dress form on Pixie Faire and another one that was designed by Patricia Ellis Crook made from PVC pipe. Graciously, she shared the design with me. (Thanks Patricia.)
I really like the PVC stand because it would be faster to create and can be dismantled for storage. With Patricia’s height measurement, I calculated supplies needed. However, with all the PVC parts needed, it was more than I wanted to spend.
Back to the drawing board…
After much thought and trial and error, I came up with a very simple doll dress stand made from wood and foam board. Buying the wood supplies from Michael’s with coupons and using leftover foam board and paint that I had at home, I was able to keep expenses BELOW $3.00/stand! Now, that’s an expense I could afford.
Below, are my directions and pattern.
Supplies:
1 foam board (from Dollar store)
1 1/4” dowel cut to 12 inches (from Michael’s)
1 4” wooden circle (from Michael’s)
1 dress form body pattern
Glue, 1/4” ribbon, scrapbook paper
Directions:
- Cut dowel to 12” and drill 1/4” hole in center of wooden circle.
- Paint wooden pieces.
- Trace 2 body patterns on foam board and cut out.
- Cut groove on wrong side of both body pieces. This is where the dowel will be glued.
- Glue two body pieces together. Don’t forget to have the dowel centered between the pieces.
- Glue ribbon around the body edges.
- Insert dowel into bottom circle. The dowel can be glued to the stand. I don’t for easier storage.
- If desired, I glue one side of the form with scrapbook paper and leave the other side plain.
Click link for PDF pattern: Dress Stand Pattern for 18" Dolls
Thanks for sharing this really neat idea. I have been searching for something like this. Cris
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