Review: My Body Model

  Disclaimer: Some of us tested the My Body Model system before it was released and other received credits to create croquis in exchange for this review. Our opinions are all our own.

My Body Model is a web app that generates fashion croquis (a body outline for sketching garments) based on your measurements.

The site has unlimited free previews that allow you to make sure that you croquis looks like you before you purchase.

You need zero drawing experience to use the croquis. There are tutorials on the website. There are also several different templates you can download to help you sketch, including one for hair.

Once you create your personal croquis, the credit includes several different printable templates (check out the table of contents here to see what is available). Since creating your My Body Model also includes several measurements, you can also print off your own measurement page for reference as you are cutting out patterns. And finally, there is a jpeg provided for digital drawings making it a very versatile package.

Most importantly, My Body Model is created with the “curvy” community in mind. There are countless fashion croquis for thinner people but a definite lack of variety in sizes and shapes and heights and so much more.

My Body Model is currently for people with breasts, but as it is an outline, these can also be sketched out of the croquis.

Andie’s My Body Model

My Measurements are 46 inch high bust, 52 inch full bust, 44 inch under bust, 48-50 inch waist (depending on my chronic pain/swelling), and 55-57 inch hips (again depending on swelling). I am 5’3″. I have been part of the testing for My Body Model throughout. For me, my croquis is a game changer. Previously, I had used the Cashmerette sketchbook, which was amazing. I really wanted to get into digital sketching.

For me, the whole concept of My Body Model is huge. I’ve never felt represented by fashion croquis available for free elsewhere. It’s a lot of work and knowledge of more than Microsoft Paint to create your own from a picture. It was also important to me to be part of the testing process to get it as close to perfect as possible. It also helped me understand Erica’s larger vision, which is all about making sure that all bodies are represented – something that the fashion world doesn’t do well.

Here is my bare croquis and me in my latest jumpsuit:

My croquis is not 100% me but it’s close enough and I just love it. I do notice that there could be some improvement in the lines under the bust as my bust in the croquis definitely appears smaller. Of course, a 2-dimensional outline is not going to reflect the projection of my bust or capture my double belly.

I use My Body Model to plan out projects for fabric placement, style or design changes, or to decide what view to go with. The danger of making several different styles is that by the time I see the sketch, I want to make them all! It’s such a great visual tool.

Below, I planned out Cashmerette Ipswich Swimsuits using the three croquis template. I was trying to decide what ones I wanted to make first. In this case, I settled on #1 and #2, because I loved them both. I want to make #3 still but I haven’t located a white swim knit with big polkadots yet.

For Me Made May, I chose to do a digital sketch for every day of the month based on my daily outfit. Over the month, I used a basic program to do digital sketches with a stylus pen. I love the result. A few people have suggested creating a print on Spoonflower with the sketches and I love that idea. I would definitely wear a dress or a onesie of my “me made” creations!

You’ll notice that I can redraw my cleavage creating a really accurate sketch.

I sketch a lot now with My Body Model. While I don’t sketch every project, I use the croquis often and I love it. I also received the most lovely feedback from my month of Me Made May. People on Instagram really responded positively to that project which definitely made me feel great. I also had so much fun doing it!

Tegan’s My Body Model

My Body Model has been a huge help in planning out my sewing projects. Given that my proportions are quite different from the blocks most pattern drafters use, I often have a hard time visualizing new designs on myself just from pattern line drawings and sample photos. I especially appreciate that it takes various length measurements into account in addition to circumference measurements since being short-waisted and large-boobed makes a big difference in how a lot of design elements sit on me. I do wish the bust appearance had some additional customization for shape (like the ability to show the bust wider instead of just lower after your full bust measurement goes past a certain point), but even with that limitation I’ve still been able to play around with it to get proportions that match me pretty closely. I’ve gotten the most value out of making a sewing sketchbook using my croquis, I love having one place where I can organize all my upcoming sewing projects and see my ideas laid out at a glance with accurate visuals. These are some examples from my notebook, I tend to wait until I have specific fabric choices in mind to color.

Tanya’s My Body Model

For those of us who aren’t adept at fashion drawing, a croquis is an excellent way to sketch out ideas and plan projects.  It’s even better when the croquis matches your body type.  I don’t use a croquis that often, but when I do, I find it to be the best way to see how a garment might look on me as well as an idea of design placement and colors I might use.  It’s also nice to look back and see how close your croquis looks to your final project and have a record of your project’s details.

I found My Body Model to be an easy and straightforward program to use.  It was a little daunting to take all of the measurements needed for your custom croquis, but the site instructs you how to do it.  Once you’ve obtained all of your measurement data, you get a project planner which includes several croquis which you can download and print whenever you want.  The croquis vary between full size to twelve per page to help you plan projects or outfits or sketch out designs.  There are front and back body versions to help you fully sketch your projects.

My current body measurements (FB 50″, W 46″, H 54″) at my height of 5’8 are reflected well in my croquis, although it’s not quite a facsimile of me.  It is, however, a good representation of my body.  I like to use the full page croquis with project details on the side.  For this project I’m doing a sheer(ish) yellow dress, so the body outline shows through light colored sketches.  It works to show you my croquis, but I’d probably print in greyscale next time to help hide that more.  I love how you can print off as many as you want.  Mine are currently in a folder, but I plan to make a binder out of these and have a sewing journal.  That is — if I can remember to sketch my projects out!

Jessica’s My Body Model

I am so terrible at drawing, but I’m so good at coloring. My Body Model has made it so much easier to plan my future sewing with a good starting point for a figure. Like others, I find the shape is not exactly me, but it is much closer than any typical croquis I’ve found. For example, it is proportional to my actual figure! No stretching the length like in fashion drawing!

My measurements are high bust 37.5 in, full bust 40.5 in, waist 34 in, and hip 46.5 in, but what I found more useful were all the other measurements My Body Model requires. No wonder all my bodices are too long if my back neck to waist length is only 15 in! Or if my high hip is 42, then that means I need to blend sizes earlier from waist to hip to get from 34 in to 42 in only 3 inches of length.

What I didn’t like about my croquis is you can’t customize where your flesh is on your body. I have a pretty narrow back and a pretty decent sized belly, but My Body Model seemed to distribute it evenly around my figure. Also, I am busty, but most of my bust protrudes forward and My Body Model has it showing more to the side and makes it harder to add style lines like princess seams.

I have found My Body Model to be really useful though. I have a big costuming event coming up in July and I want to make a dress for a pool party, but I was having so much trouble picking a pattern. My Body Model has really helped me determine which pattern I like better on my figure. It was so worth 10 minutes with crayons over spending hours on a dress that doesn’t achieve my vision!