Meet Rosy!

Yesterday, my friendly neighborhood FedEx man brought me a present - a big one!
Laika gave it a thorough sniffing to make sure everything was on the up-and-up.

Once she gave the all-clear, I sliced it open to find my beautiful new dress form! I'm calling her Rosy. She came in a few pieces that were very easily assembled by one person - wheels, base, pole, and body.

The base is made of sturdy cast iron, so I don't have to worry about it tipping over like some models I've seen. Wheels are great for portability as well as spinnability while I'm mid-project. Her measurements are pretty darn close to mine - a little small in the waist and hips, but the bust is spot on.

I was so excited to see her, I had to give her a test drive immediately. So I pulled out a fleece jacket a friend gave me after weight loss made it too big for her. It was too big for me as well, but we can fix that!

There were also some weird blue-ish/purple-ish faded spots from where it was left out in the sun in my friend's car. No biggie since I plan to use this as my working-out/dog-park-going jacket this autumn.

I put the jacket on Rosy inside out and pinned up the sides and down the sleeves. Since Rosy is sadly armless, I did take it off her and try it on myself before sewing anything.

I made two neat little rows of stitching side-by-side for a good, secure seam and since I don't have a serger (yet!).

Then I trimmed off the excess fabric, and voila! Isn't she lovely?

Oh, you want to see it on me? Yeah, okay, I guess so.

It's super soft and comfy, and it'll be great these next few weeks to keep the early morning chill off my shoulders while I do laps at the dog park and Laika plays with her friends.

The construction was perfect for a simple take-in like this. Now there's just a little less black at the sides, that's all!

And maybe I'll try to dye it at some point to see if I can cover those faded spots. Who knows!