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While not essential, tailor’s dummies are a great tool for working on and fitting a garment – particularly for checking the back view or if you’re making an item of clothing for someone else. I had my first tailor’s dummy 40 years ago. A friend of my mum’s gave her to me and I called her Gladys. She travelled with us from house to house until eventually she rusted and fell apart. A couple of years ago, I decided to replace her; I assembled the new mannequin in my studio and started to customise her to my shape. As I worked, I chatted to her. My husband could hear me talking and asked if I had a visitor!

Tailor’s dummies come in different sizes and are adjustable. When choosing one to buy, it’s best to go for a model that is either exactly your size or slightly smaller as you can add layers, as I’ll explain here. My weight fluctuates and it is marvellous to be able to peel off a layer from my dummy when I lose a few pounds!