How to Add a Bustle to a Bridesmaid Dress
If your bridesmaid dresses have a small train, you might want to add a bustle to each dress. Bustling the dress allows the bridesmaids to pick the train of the dress up off the floor so it's easier to dance and move around after the ceremony is over. If you or someone you know is skilled in sewing, you can sew a bustle to each bridesmaid dress.
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Things You'll Need
- Bridesmaid dress with train
- Sewing needle
- Thread to match the color of the dress and buttons
- Buttons with cloth covers
- Straight pins
- Pencil or fabric marker
- Dress form
- Ribbon to match the dress and buttons
Instructions
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1
Determine button placement. To create a simple bustle, choose where on the bottom of the bodice area of the dress you want to place the buttons or hooks. Mark the location of each button with a pencil or fabric marker. You typically need two to four buttons.
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2
Decide where the skirt attaches to the buttons. Have each bridesmaid put her dress on and you (or the seamstress) pull the train of the skirt up toward the area where you want to attach it to the buttons. You might have to adjust how much or where you pull the train from based on how much the hem of the skirt comes off the floor.
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3
Pin the train. When you have the train pulled up where you want it to be, pin the train of the skirt in place.
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4
Remove the dress and rearrange the pins. Have each bridesmaid remove the dress and place one dress at a time on a dress form. Unpin the train of the skirt from the bodice and replace the pins in the train of the skirt, where it will attach to the bodice.
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5
Sew on the buttons. Sew a button to each area you marked with the pencil or fabric marker.
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6
Sew ribbon loops onto the train of the skirt. At each point where the train of the skirt is going to hook to the buttons, sew a loop of ribbon, which is how the train will attach to the buttons.
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Tips & Warnings
Hand sewing the ribbon loops onto the dress might be better than using a sewing machine. Hand stitching the loops helps you to better arrange the ribbon loops so they are less noticeable when the bustle is down.
