The first 1:2 scale mannequin for fashion design and prototyping.

Working to scale is a patternmaking method that has many relevant advantages:

– the pattern is designed entirely in your field of vision and the eye can see the entire garment, letting you evaluate the whole

–  you can work from your computer with a CAD program and print everything on an A4 or A3 paper without the need for an expensive plotter.

– thanks to its ease of use, you can try out your ideas quicker, stimulating your creativity.

– pictures of your creations will be so realistic as to be indistinguishable from reality; you can make and photograph collections that are to scale, yet the smaller size won’t be noticeable. Furthermore, because it is made to scale, Minia mannequins look like full-size dress forms in pictures without references.

– last but not least, the smaller size means real savings in terms of time and resources

If you need a to-scale mannequin for prototyping and to try out your new creations, the most suitable option is the black draping dress form. It is robust but lightweight and soft, making it much more practical when pinning and draping.

Moreover, it’s elegant even without a garment

If you need a mannequin for educational purposes or for video tutorials, we recommend the compact, light grey dress form. You can draw reference lines on its surface, and it will come out better in photos and videos thanks to the colour.

Finally, if you want a mannequin to use for design, our limited-edition red dress form is just the thing for you.

With Minia dress forms, you can work with both techniques. If you love the creativity of draping and you like working directly on the mannequin, you will love adding and removing pins, then taking pictures to document your ideas!

If you work by starting with a paper pattern, you can easily and quickly try it out on the dress form, saving fabric: mini-collections and maximum results in the snap of a finger!

No, creating patterns on a to-scale dress form is done according to the same rules of real-scale fashion design: the mannequin is made to be realistic in its proportions and as efficient as a 1:1 mannequin.

All you need to do is to divide the reference measurements and the values by:

– 2 for the 1:2 scale mannequin

– 3 for the 1:3 scale mannequin

– 4 for the 1:4 scale mannequin

Furthermore, designing to scale has the great advantage of occupying very little space. A normal desk is just fine!

Garments made with a scale mannequin in the fabric to be used for the full-size item may vary slightly because of the weight of the garment. However, if your garment and pattern are properly constructed, very few retouches will be required.

The to-scale pictures are quite similar to life-size items; sometimes you can’t even tell them apart!

The mannequin is the anatomical reference of the pattern designer and having it at hand while designing with CAD makes it possible to immediately visualise the reference points, seams and transformations.

Moreover, you can print and simulate, via a paper pattern, the projects in their early stages, which saves you time and helps you quickly get an idea of what the garment will look like.

You don’t need a plotter and can print the pattern on A4 or A3 paper.