I've just been bought a dress makers dummy, and I'm wondering how to use it to fit corset toiles. I love Laura's method here -

www.foundationsrevealed.com/articles/cor...oft?showall=&start=5

- and I was thinking about what could be done for the belly. Can anyone think of a way of using jelly in that area? And what are the alternatives?

I know about using cotton wadding to make a dress-form more like your figure...but how does that work when making corsets? Should you pad your dress-form to your dimensions when wearing a corset...or your natural dimensions?

Just wondering what other people do!

I have not tried this, as I don't have a dressmaker's dummy, but here are my thoughts on the matter, it's something I've been considering myself.

If possible, set your dummy to a little less than your corseted dimensions. Construct a firm cover - perhaps using coutil - that is exactly your corseted dimensions and desired shape and apply it to your dummy then, using wadding pad the voids firmly. Next, construct a looser cover (muslin, jersey?) that is exactly your natural measurements and shape, and again apply and pad.
As for using jelly to pad the belly,I would look into how pregnancy belly simulators are constructed, and make one in the size and shape of your belly, (start with the two different covers to determine the shape) you can then insert the jelly packets into this belly.

I think that this should work, in theory anyway.
This is obviously a lot of work to do for a client, but for yourself, I think it would be worth it.

That's a great idea! I hadn't thought of combining the two dimensions. I wonder if it would be possible to pad the second layer with something squishier? I'm guessing you'd need to make your corseted section smaller to compensate for the second padding when it gets forced inwards by the corset - will add an inch or two I think. Have you any ideas on what sort of packs to put the jelly in? Laura's method is balloons tied off with clips - which wouldn't work for the belly as the clips would get in the way. Oh I definitely think it's worth it...so long as you don't tend to lose/gain weight a lot!