Things You'll Need:
- Wedding dress with a lengthened skirt back
- Matching ribbon
- Matching covered buttons or hooks
- Sewing equipment and supplies
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Step 1
Determine the style of bustle that is best for your dress. Consult the links in the Resources section of this article for bustle style options. Since some bustle styles may be too complex for a beginner, this guide addresses the "overbustle" style, which is the easiest and most common type of bustle used on wedding dresses.
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Step 2
Decide whether you will be using buttons or hooks to attach your bustle. Covered buttons are more secure, but do not always look right with every wedding dress. On the back of your dress, determine where you will place the buttons or hooks. Find the center back of the dress first. You can place either one or two buttons or hooks on each side of the center back, spaced evenly apart. Mark these places with pins.
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Step 3
Put the dress on your body, or on a dress form that is the same height as you. Get a friend to help you lift the back of the wedding dress skirt, so that the hem falls where you want it to. Make sure that you are lifting from the middle of the skirt. Pin the middle of the skirt to the button markings.
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Step 4
Put the dress on a dress form, if you have not already. Detach the skirt from the bodice, leaving the pins in the skirt to mark the placement. Refine the pin placement by making sure that all pins are level, then find the center back of the skirt. At the pin level, on either side of the center back, place as many pins as you are using buttons. These are called "bustle points." Remove the rest of the pins.
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Step 5
Pin the bustle points to the button or hook placement markings, then step back and see if the draping looks correct to you. If not, unpin the skirt and readjust the bustle points until you are satisfied.
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Step 6
Sew the covered buttons or hooks to the button markings, then sew loops of matching ribbon to each bustle point. If necessary, hand-stitch the loops to the skirt so that the stitching is less noticeable. Take each loop and attach it to its corresponding button or hook. Remove the wedding dress from the dress form and put it on your body to test the drape and fall of the skirt one last time.
