Miss Bedelia was originally shipped with an instruction booklet, which I was lucky to find on eBay. It’s got very complete directions for fitting the dress form, and is, all in all, a marvel of clear English. Which is more than I can say for any other instruction manual I’ve seen in, say, the last 30 years or so.
Here’s the cover:
Page One, emphasizing the wide variation of suitable sizes (including the suggestion that “Aunt Jane” may be “a size or two, or even three, larger than you”:
Page Two, fitting the halves to Aunt Jane (the implication here is that you’ll need a helper to fit “My Double”, and that is correct. Very correct:
Page Three, a description of the two distinct types of meshes, and how to adjust each properly:
Page Four, molding the form to the body in question:
Page Five, fitting the bust, upper back, waist, lower body, and collar
Page Six, double checking and removing the form:
Page Seven, assembling and adjusting the stand:
Page Eight, using the adjustable sliding rods to make the form rigid on the stand:
Page Nine (to be done before the steps on page eight), checking Aunt Jane’s posture to ensure it’s duplicated correctly:
Back Page, attaching tapes for pinning dress material to the form:
Miss Bedelia was unfortunately parted from her internal rods at some point in her life. I am still debating how, and if, I need/want to replace them, since I suspect there is little or no chance of finding anything like them at this point. Unless, of course, a miracle occurs, and I run across them in someone’s old donated sewing supplies at a thrift shop. Here’s what they look like, in a bit more detail:
You can understand, I’m sure, the longing with which I read this note on page ten:
If you want extra sliding rods for “My Double” they are available at 20 [whoa -- there's no cent sign on my keyboard! talk about extinction! -- ok, read that as 'twenty cents'] each.
That’s the kind of time machine I’m interested in — the one that lets me order from the past!
Related: Miss Bedelia: My New Dress Form
Oh, wow, this thing is even more amazing than I thought! I hope you find the rods somewhere. The thing is, you know they are out there, just who has them doesn’t know how valuable they could be to someone. I just saw a vintage sewing machine, table, assorted attachments (including a pristine buttonholer attachment), and all its manuals at a thrift store for $50 in Hampton, VA. I’ll be writing a post about it after I do some research. Even though it was so cheap I didn’t buy it. But that could have gone for a lot of money on Ebay, right?
It just kills me that those rods are out there, just as you say, in somebody’s hands (or in a lot of people’s hands!) and they don’t have a clue what they are, or that this hungry sewist really, really wants them — and would use them!
Actually, I’m drooling over your vintage sewing machine, too! (But I have no business doing that, since I’ve got a complete Singer Featherweight from mid-century.) There seem to be a lot of vintage sewing machine bargains on eBay, and people claim that they exist on Craigslist, too, but I bet a lot remain unsold because shipping is such an issue. Craigslist might be a better bet for sales and for treasure-hunting.
I worry about all the thrift stores I don’t have time to visit. Those rods are out there . . . somewhere! And who knows what other good stuff we’re all missing?
Thank you so much for posting the instructions! You are a gem! I purchased this vintage dress form at an estate sale for my daughter to use. I asked about accessories/instructions for it, and they had no clue. I should have bought the sewing maching too, (didn’t really need it), but I bet the rods were with the accessories! I could kick myself! Even if we don’t get to use it for its intended purpose, it is a neat item to display!
I’m so glad you found them helpful! This is exactly why I posted them; the instructions are so hard to find, and they’re such a good manual for using the dress form!
thank you so much for posting the instructions. My husband was at an estate sale and bought a few things for me because I have always sewn my old clothes, and I love antiques. Some dear soul had this dress form all tied up with all the parts intact and the little ID label still on it, which is how I knew it was a “my double” dress form. Now I can put it together!
How wonderful, Deborah! I’m so glad the instructions helped.