How to Make a Bustle on Gowns
Keep your gown and train in mint condition by bustling the train of the gown onto the back of the dress. Bustling is a form of gathering your dress train, so it buttons or hooks to the back of a wedding gown so you can move around with ease. Without a bustle, guests may step onto the dress causing it to rip or become dirty. The alterations for bustling can get expensive if done professionally; therefore, undertake the modification yourself using supplies available from a fabric store. Does this Spark an idea?
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Instructions
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Determine what bustle style you want to attempt on your dress. The most common bustle style is the "overbustle." This style pulls the train onto the back of the dress and secures the fabric with buttons or hooks. There are more elaborate bustle styles to choose from; however, a novice sewer may want to stick with a simple design.
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Choose which buttons or hooks you want to use to attach the bustle. There will be four buttons or hooks on the back of the dress, and four loops of ribbon on the train. You will want to choose the buttons or hooks to coordinate with the dress for a flawless look.
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Place the dress on a dress form to work with the back of the dress. Pleated dresses will have the bustle buttons or hooks inside the pleats, so they are not visible; however, if there are no pleats then the buttons will have to match the fabric. Mark the "bustle points" with fabric pins. The pins will represent buttons or hooks placement. Place two pins on the left side of the center of the back at an angle. Repeat the same process with the right side.
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Gather the train by the center middle and pull it upward to meet the back of the dress. Insert a pin into the place where the train meets the pin marks. You will now have four pin marks on the dress and four pin marks on the train. Use additional pins to hold the dress in place so the pin marks match up. Step back from the dress to make sure the bustle is even in the back of the dress. Make any placement changes before sewing the buttons or hooks onto the dress and train.
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Unpin the bustle, keeping the placement pins in the bustle points and detach the train, if possible. Sew the buttons or hooks to the bustle points on the dress using a needle and heavy thread. Sew four loops of ribbon to the bustle points on the train. Re-attach the train to the dress and test the bustle points.
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Tips & Warnings
For intricately detailed dresses, you may want to seek professional alteration to help conceal the bustle points.
Put the dress on and wear it around while bustled to ensure the bustle remains.
References
Resources
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