Putting Bustles On Your Wedding Gown

UPDATE 11/12/09: Read this post and then go back and read this one for a shortcut on one of the steps. You’ll be glad you did!

I have been altering wedding gowns for 25 years now, beginning with my own, 25 years ago!

One of the things I do often is put bustles on wedding gowns.

Do you need one on yours?

Let me show you how.

Today we are going to learn how to do an under bustle (some folks call them a French Bustle).

An under bustle is just what it says, it is brought underneath the dress (so to speak) and secured underneath. None of the ties, hooks, eyes, buttons, etc. will show from the outside of the gown.

All the workings are hidden beneath.

I use a loop and tie method that I figured out a long time ago. It has worked wonderfully and it is very simple to do.

Once again, don’t be intimidated.

First, begin by pulling some of the train fabric up and under the dress at the center back seam. Pull the fabric up and under itself until the hem edge of the dress is at or just above the floor. Put a pin there making sure to secure the “underneath” fabric with the pin.

Always pin on the seamline, never in the middle of the fabric (unless there is lace or something to cover up the small stitching you will do to hold these bustles in place).

On this dress, I put a pin in between two of those covered buttons to hold the under fabric in place.

I also pulled up fabric to the left and right of the middle bustle and pinned those along the side back seams. (Side back seams are not the center back seam and they are not the side seams. They are the seams that run vertically between the center back seam and the side seam.)

So, this dress needed 3 bustles to get all the train up off the floor.

Normally, I like to make the bustle that is in the middle, a little higher than the outer two, but it didn’t work in this case. The train was of a shape that didn’t allow me to do that.

When making an under bustle, just know that you can’t put the bustle any higher than where the zipper ends on the center back seam. It needs to go at or below the zipper.

Now, let’s talk about how to make the workings of the bustle.

You don’t need many items to do this bustle.

You need some tiny scraps of fabric that doesn’t ravel.

I’ve always used a quilting product called Warm and Natural. This feels like a very soft blanket.

You could also use felt.

You could really use any fabric, but if it tends to ravel, finish the edges.

Whatever fabric you use, use one that is off white in color. If you use white with a white wedding gown, it may show from the right side.

Cut a rectangle of said fabric about 1 inch wide by 2 inches long for each bustle.

It doesn’t have to be perfect, just estimate.

Then, take a piece of grosgrain ribbon that is  1/2 inch wide. Cut a piece that is 5 inches long for each bustle.

Referring to the photo below, fold the grosgrain ribbon in half and sew it like you see in the photo below.

Stitch straight across the ribbon, back and forth, securing it tightly. Cut your threads off.

Now, just flip that grosgrain ribbon over the top of the stitching you just did (see photo below) and stitch straight across again.

This is what you end up with:

Now, you need to attach this to the dress.

To do so, you are going to need to look at the dress again.

At each spot where you have the fabric pinned up, you will need to mark not only the top spot where the pin is, but you’ll also need to mark where the fabric has been pinned underneath. I do this with more pins or tailor tacks.

I don’t use a marking pen because it may not come out.

So, for every bustle, you should have two marks. One will be higher up on the train than the other, but they should be along the same seamline.

If you find that you didn’t pin exactly on the seamline, that’s no problem. Just move the marking over to the seamline.

Once you have all the markings marked, you are going to attach your loop to the dress.

You’ll have one loop per bustle.

On the inside of the dress, transfer the marking from the outside to the inside of the dress with either a pin or a tailor tack.

Working with the top marking only at this time, place the bottom  edge of the loop (that you made earlier) at the pin placement. This means the whole loop contraption is sitting above the pin or the mark you made. (The reason for this is that when you tie the bustle together, it will meet exactly where you want it. If you don’t understand now, you will later when you see how the bustle hangs).

Pin that fabric square onto the dress.

From the right side of the dress, stitch right in the seam to hold  the area just above the loop to the dress. (If we stitch from the wrong side of the dress, the stitches may show if we didn’t line the dress up correctly, and it wouldn’t look very good.) See the talior tack down below the pin? I left that in so you could see all the steps involved.

From the wrong side, it will look like this:

Ok, now we’re going to make sure that the fabric square is really held on good. It is already held on well, but this gives me peace of mind.

Turn the dress inside out again and find the loop.

The bottom edge of this fabric square is not sewn down.

So sew it down.

I do it by hand because I don’t want another bit of stitching to do from the front side in case I get it wrong, there’s less chance for error. So, sew it down to the lining only by hand like this:

Now let’s go to the second marking on the dress,  below your newly attached loop.

Again, mark the inside of the dress, making sure that the lining and the dress are in the correct position and that they lay flat. This time I use a pin, pinning it vertically along the seamline from the right side of the fabric.

Take a piece of 1/4″ wide off white ribbon that is about 20 inches long.

Now, turn the dress inside out and thread that ribbon through the pin that you placed along the seamline. It will be in the perfect position now. See how it is threaded through the pin in the photo below?

Turn the dress right side out and  make sure the ribbon isn’t all scrunched up underneath. Smooth it out and then stitch along the seamline back and forth a couple to times to secure it.

It is barely noticeable from the front. Your guests won’t notice it.

Now, after the ceremony, just have a bridesmaid or someone else who is nearby, lift the skirt and take each ribbon and run it through its corresponding loop.

Tie the ribbons just like a shoelace.

Then, drop the train and smooth it out.

That’s all there is to it!

****Note: After having been to many weddings, as a coordinator and a guest, I just have to say….make sure the bride wears off white under garments. If you/she is wearing a white dress, this is so important because white undergarments will show under a white dress. But, the off white won’t show, unless you are using a yellowish off white under garment. And please don’t wear a colored pair of underwear under your wedding dress! That looks so tacky. Wedding guests everywhere will thank you!