Death knell for Missy?

I'm stuck!

I'm trying to fit a tight fitting cover to Missy my little dressmaking model.

The idea is that I took the model down in size,  I think,  and then pad out to Helen's sizes.

It sounds easy but I've been struggling and putting off. Help!

Because I was procrastinating, I bought a stretch cover for the model in size 12 - but can’t get it on. Those shoulders!!

I fitted Helen into a basic toile made up into a dress. I'm concentrating on the skirt here,  though. I have made some minor changes to the bodice.

The skirt wasn't too bad as it was on Helen if it had just been for help in making garments. My tutor tightly fitted Helen into it. The darts were lengthened and the sides and back seam taken in a lot. A lot. The skirt was very fitted and curved under her bum at the back. The diagonal marks are the position of Helen's bum fullness. I don’t have any pictures of Helen in it.

Too big at waist and tiny at high hip, though not sure why.

Now,  I guess this does fit Helen as she was fitted into it though I can't check. It’s possible I've made some major error. Helen's body isn't entirely symmetrical according to my tutor's pinning and I was sometimes not too clear about how to pin, so maybe that's it.

Or is it that it's difficult to judge on a dress form due to the lack of flexibility?

It looked okay on - until you got to the back that is. I had to reduce Missy's sizes quite dramatically to get the skirt to lie reasonably at the back. However,  although the model size is now a lot less than the skirt size in the waist particularly,  the whole thing fails to meet at zip area at the back. 

The waist meets as does the area below the zip but the zip area just doesn't work. I'm not sure whether this is because Helen has a more hollowed back, certainly much less fullness at this point. Maybe this is due to the fact that the model is too short - the marks on the fabric for the bum fullness are considerably below the bottom of the model which means that the fullness in the model is too high.

Helen is approx 6’ tall and I realised I couldn't use the model to determine floor length for her. But it seems I can't even use skirt length!

The model is currently extended to its longest length.

The pin marks the end of the model. You can just see the shadow of the body underneath. The curved lines are to mark bum fullness.

Do I have anywhere to go with this particular model or do I have to give up with it? I'm thinking the latter. Do I ask Helen to go to one of the model making courses in London - that would get a Helen shaped model. Alternatively she would have to come home here for a weekend which would cost just as much with train costs. There would have assistance and here we'd be on our own. There would be issues transporting back to my house. Don't know what to do!…

Thank you for all the advice and comments I've already been given - please don’t stop there, though!!! I'm just off to read some blog posts as posted by Mary Funt of Cloning Couture - thank you for the head's up. Edited to add - I've now read the post (linked, now) - very interesting and a wonderful form results - but conclude that Missy is not suitable for this process. Too big, too flimsy, too short. I share Mary's view of duct tape models but then, sometimes needs must?

I had bought a pattern with plenty of seams for fitting and which looked pretty fitted at the back and I thought that would be good to try for Helen. I forgot she doesn't like asymmetry and didn't like my description of skirt C here, which is the one that attracted me to the pattern. However, I decided to go ahead and make up a toile, using straight pattern sizes 12, of the symmetrical version B.

           

I'm showing a photo of Missy in the straight size 12, made up without the lining and not hemmed but otherwise the sizes are per size 12.. Approximately fitted to Helen’s sizes. The waist is rather loose. The rest is okay but I reckon could be more fitted. I'm going to post this toile to Helen to get her to try it on.

I'm feeling rather despondent about managing to fit Helen into her dress eventually.