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TUESDAY,JANUARY1,2013

V346:HowtoMakeaVictorianBustlePatternandInstructions

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Hiall!Okay,I'mgoingtoattempttoexplainhowtomakethelobstertailbustleIpostedabout
lasttime.Iwanttostressthatthereisnorightorwrongwaytodothis,andthewayyouput
yourstogethermaybedifferentthanhowIdidmine.You*will*needsomepatienceandmath
skills,butanyonecanmakeoneofthesetournures,solongasyouarealittlecraftyandhave
somesewingknowhow.Ready?

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Makenoteofthe1/3ruleyoudon'twantthebustlebackcomingallthewayaroundtoyoursides,whichiswhyit
is1/3andnot1/4.

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Thefinishedpieceitsits2"belowthewaistline.

I'vetriedtobedescriptive,butI'veprobablyforgottensomething,soifyouhavequestions,go
aheadandleaveacomment,andIwilltrymybesttoanswerthem.:)
PostedbyLaurenStowellat5:03PM
+13 Recommend this on Google

Labels:HowTo,Undies,Victorian,Vintage365

40comments:
E.Waterman January1,2013at5:21PM
Youwinatlife.
Reply
Replies
LaurenR January1,2013at6:35PM
Iheartyou<3

ViennaLaRouge January1,2013at11:55PM
I'llsecondthat)
Thanksforsharingthepattern!
Reply

Kat January1,2013at5:36PM
This is fantastic! Do you have any fabric recommendations? Or should we just avoid anything
withstretch?
Reply
Replies
LaurenR January1,2013at6:37PM
Miss Elizabeth L. recommended to me a stiff, strong fabric like taffeta. I didn't have
any, so I used cotton, nice and starched. So long as it is lightweight yet sturdy, it
shouldwork.Youwanttoavoidsomethinglikecanvas,asitistooheavy.
Reply

JennyWren January1,2013at10:47PM
Thismightbeanoobquestion,but...howonearthdoyousitdowninthatthing?
Reply

Replies
LaurenR January4,2013at2:35PM
Haha,goooodquestion.Afriendofminedemonstratedsittingwherethetailispushed
offtotheside.Ihaven'ttriedityet...

synjmunki January6,2013at8:36AM
I wear boned bustles like this you have to sit straight down ("perch" is preferred").
notetheloopshang,theyaren'tsetwithotherboningtostaythatfarapartwhenyou
sittheloopsgoupasyougodown.

JessieRatledge April16,2013at8:02PM
I agree with you I have one and it all folds up as you sit and it is very hard to do
anythingotherthanperchasyourcorsetlimitsyou.
Reply

Serafine January2,2013at2:29AM
ThankyouSOmuchforpostingthepatternandtheinstructions!
Reply

MrsC(Maryanne) January2,2013at3:00AM
It'ssoclever,butIdofeelitneedstobebrightlobsterred!)
Reply
Replies
LaurenR January4,2013at2:38PM
Iagree!Abigger,badder,brightredtaffetatail!
Reply

AuntieNan January2,2013at4:54AM
I am so impressed! Wow, looks like you put your New Years weekend to very ingenious use,
unlike some of us pajama clad slug bottoms, who sat around trolling the costume blogs and
watchinghistoricfashionporna.k.a.PBS,LOL!
Itissokindofyoutosharethepattern,too!letmeknowhowtheadjustabletapetiesworkfor
you,whenwearingthegown,arealargumentforthatratherthanmy"puptent"suggestion.
Many,manyhappydaysareahead,
NancyN
Reply
Replies
LaurenR January4,2013at2:38PM
Ihaven'twornthethingyet,butImaybewishingIdidthepuptentmethod.Ihearthe
tiescanbeannoying...
Reply

Mutemouia January2,2013at7:56AM
Thankyousomuchforsharingthepattern!Youmakewonders!
Reply
Replies
LaurenR January4,2013at2:39PM
Youarewelcome,andthankyou!
Reply

Isis January2,2013at12:30PM
That'swonderful!Thankyou!
Reply

Beara January3,2013at8:20AM
That'sthethingIwassearchingforanddidn'tfound.Thanksalot.
Reply

Reply
Replies
LaurenR January4,2013at2:39PM
Youaremostwelcome.IamgladIcouldhelp:)
Reply

Robin'sEggBleu January3,2013at10:42AM
Thanks so much for this fabulous tutorial! Our house museum is changing it's period clothing
programfrommidCivilWartothemoreappropriate1870+eraandIaminchargeofsewinga
completenewwardrobeforallthedocents.
I couldn't even think of getting started until we had the proper foundations so I have been
hedging,tryingtothinkofhowtodothiswithoutbuyingapattern.Beinganonprofitwehaveto
budgeteverycent,andonelesspatternboughtprovidesanecessityelsewhere.
Itturnedoutgreat,I'ruffled'allbutthetopboningchannel,sothatwewon'tneedquitesomany
(if any) heavily ruffled petticoats atop them. I am repurposing the skirts from all our ratty 10
yearoldCivilWarstyledressestomakethesebustleformsandscavengingtheboningfromall
the old hoops, and we're reusing the boneless hoop skirts as extra petticoats. I love being
green.Thanksforallyourgreatwork!
Reply
Replies
LaurenR January4,2013at2:40PM
Thatisaverygoodidea.Themorerufflesthebetter!Upcyclingoldstuffintonewis
splendid,andveryperiodcorrectaswell.:)I'mrighttherewithyouwhybuyallnew
materialswhenyoucancannibalizeoldertingsforrepurposing?Genius:)

Robin'sEggBleu March25,2013at9:21PM
HiLauren,
Sosorrytobugyou,butI'mhavingalittleproblemwithourfirstdocentrecipientofa
bustlegown.Sheinsiststhatthebustleformiscausingher'painatwork'.Lowerback
painfromthebustle,whichweighsnexttonothing.Now,Ifiguredtheskirtmightbe
tooheavysoItook1/3oftheweightoutoftheskirt(asmuchasIcouldgetawaywith
and still have it look correct). NOW the gal says the bustle form is causing her
abdomenandlowerbackpain,itridesdownsothisiswhatiscausingit.Inotedthat
according to your tutorial, it's 'supposed to sit 2 inches below the waist' and this gal
swearsit'sfallingoffher(tinywaist,widehipssohuh?notlikely!).Anyhoos,sinceI've
yettowearabustlegownandcannotpossiblyrelatetowhatshe'sgoingthrough,do
youhaveanyadvice?Arethesecontraptionssomethingonemust'getusedto'?With
thenatureofgravity,Ifeeltheformmustsurelybeforcedtoridesomewhatlowerin
thebackthanthefront.Andthisgalsaysthat'saproblem.Yikes.

FayeEdwards July7,2013at1:51PM
Isshewearingacorset?Ifnot,theweightoftheskirtsmightbemakingitcutintoher
abdomenandhangweirdly.
Reply

baroquemaiden January3,2013at2:21PM
Thankyou!!!!!Youjustsavedmefromhavingtobuyone!:D
Reply

MajaCrkaZegarmistrza February5,2013at12:14PM
Thankyouverymuchforthisamazingpattern.Ihaveonequestionwhatkindofboningdidyou
use?Whatkindisbest?:)
Reply

KarenA. February21,2013at8:11AM
Thisisamazing!
Mynextcostumeisgoingtohaveoneofthese...
Thankyouforsharing.
Reply

BiolArtist February23,2013at2:27AM
Thankyou!
Reply

Reply

GabrielaSalvador July27,2013at6:50PM
I'm in charge of the fashion exhibit in my town's museum. There's an 18781882 bustle gown
(withanglaiseback)that'sdisplayedonawickermannequinandhasabustlemadeofcrumpled
up newspaper. I originally had gotten the TV 101 and the bones for it, back when I thought it
was early 1870s. Is there a way I could adapt TV 101 for this? Also, can I make this lobster
bustleoutofmuslin(asthat'swhatIpurchasedthroughthemuseumbudget)??
Reply
Replies
LaurenReeser July27,2013at10:27PM
Hi Gabriele yes, you could absolutely make this out of muslin. As for adapting TV
101,thisIdonotknow.ThisbustleissimilartotheTrulyVictoriantournurepattern,
butIhavenotmadeTV101.Theconceptissimilar,somostlikely.Itmaytakesome
experimentation.
Reply

GemmaMelody August25,2013at5:16AM
Yousayinthesidepiece7inchbelowwaistbanddivideby3andmarkonpattern.Doesthis
meanyourmeasurementakahipmeasurementdividedby3?ForgivemeI'matadconfuzzled,
toomuchpatterndraftinginaweekend.XD
Reply

yashahime September5,2013at3:47PM
Howdoyou"decideonthewidthofyourhoops?"I'maveryplussizedlady,soIdon'twanttogo
with20"and30"andthenlooklikeI'mbarelywearingabumpbecause1/3ofmywaistmeasure
is20".ThisisthebigproblemIcomeupwithoftenforhistoricalsewingI'mnowherenearthe
"average"sizedwoman.
Reply

Teresa November2,2013at11:45PM
Hi,thankyousomuchforthistutorial.Ihavejustfinishedmakingitfora23inchporcelaindoll
usingcabletiesforthehoops.Delightedwiththeresult!
Reply

GELI February17,2014at8:48AM
Enhorabuena!!!!!
Reply

JenniferEdwards February20,2014at1:56PM
Thankyousomuchforthistutorial,it'samazing!OnequestionIhaveistheinstructiontoputthe
bonesinafteryou'vesewnthesidepieceandtiestothebackpiece.Howwouldyoudothat?
Aren'ttheopeningstotheboningchannelssewnshutatthatpoint?
Reply

LadyD July28,2014at12:04PM
How does the length of the bustle tail effect the shape it creates? I'm going to try making this
frommystash..notsureIhaveenoughfabricforoneaslongasyours.
Reply

KSullivan September21,2014at8:29PM
Hi!
Isitimportanttocutcenterbackastwopiecesinsteadofonthefold?
Thanks!
Reply

GejiSister October14,2014at11:58AM
Thisisagreatarticle!Ialsomade
areferencetoBustleadetailedillustrationofyou!Thankyou

Reply

LadyD October15,2014at12:48PM
Here is my bustle complete http://stitchintimeandspace.blogspot.co.uk/2014/10/hsf2014
challenge19hsfinspiration.html
Reply

Reply

AlisonJackson February4,2015at12:38AM
Hi there, thanks for this pattern, I've just used it for my HSF/M 2015 challenge 1 foundations.
Greatblog.Allyfromhoneypotcreationshttp://honeypotcreation.blogspot.co.uk/
Reply

AlisonJackson February4,2015at12:40AM
Hi there, thanks for this pattern, I've just used it for my HSF/M 2015 challenge 1 foundations.
Greatblog.Allyfromhoneypotcreationshttp://honeypotcreation.blogspot.co.uk/
Reply

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