AHey all, Just wondering how to make the clothes on fondant figures look real? As in not just roll a ball of coloured fondant for the pants, and a different colour for the top, roll into rectangle and plop a head on. Lol. I tried to make a figure in a dress recently, and when I tried to wrap a piece of fondant around the torso piece, to make a standy outy dress, it just had no shape. It didn't look flowy or anything. And I had a big seam in the back. It looked like one of my kids made it. Honestly.

Any advice on how to make decent looking clothes/ figures or tips would be appreciated thanks

Hi! I'm new to cake decorating and I'm sure there are others with great ideas out there but here are some of mine. First make sure to roll the fondant really thin (like when making fondant roses for example). I think gumpaste is best for this or fondant with cmc/tylose powder added to it to help make it dry harder.  If you have a sitting figure you can gently press pleats with your fingers and then raise them up with pieces of rolled up kitchen paper under them until the dress dries to help make it stand out...flowy. Or you could just forget the pleats and just stuff pieces of paper under the dress to make it more flowy like. If it is a standing finger you can do the same thing but maybe use small pieces of styrofoam (or similar...something that can stand up and the dress can rest on). You can also just create the form you want with fondant (eg. a bell shape for a ball gown) and then cover that with fondant (like you'd make a princess doll cake).

The seam at the back you can try to minimize by taking a little shortening on your finger and rubbing gently. You can also try to do this with the veiner tool if you've got it.  It helps if you have a neat straight seam at the back to begin with. If all fails you can try to add embellishments like buttons, frills and/or a big bow to hide the seam.  Good luck!
 

ARohini, Thank for the tips. Yeah, I think I will start rolling my gum paste thinner all right..... Mine always gets a bit brittle when it dries. Have an groom and bride topper to make and I'm dreading it as mine always end up looking really fat and squat lol...practice practice practice I suppose. Must try harder with my seams too. They do tend to look raggedy lol.

Thanks for the reply.

Your most welcome RedVelvetAntoinette :) Just thought of something else too....I usually let my body (usually pear shaped if under a dress) dry overnight before being 'dressed up'. That way it helps to hold up the dress better I think. Good luck with you bride and groom topper. I'm sure they'll turn out just fine!! Would so love to see how they turn out :)

Ahttp://verusca.deviantart.com/art/Making-figurines-339808803

Lovely visuals from Verusca Walker

AThanks guys for all the I of. Very helpful. My figures turned out a lot better than normal. But I still need a looooooot of practice. I adore cake decorating.....I'm just not any way naturally inclined toward it. Practice practice practice!!

So glad to hear that the topper turned out good!