Bustle Petticoat Update

I  have been sewing ruffles, lots of ruffles!

It was nice to have a rainy Saturday to work on all those ruffles for my new bustle petticoat.

And now I have the basic petticoat done except the hem length.

The Overlay is the part that goes over the boning that makes up the bustle.  It has all the ruffles. It's job is to smooth out the boning and give support and shape to the skirt that goes over it.  The Overlay is attached to the basic petticoat and a bustle pad is worn above it, you know, for even MORE pouf back there.

Underneath on the basic petticoat there is a whole superstructure of boning.  The boning is held in a curved shape by pulling tapes underneath at each end of each boning and tying them.  The shorter the tape is tied the more bowing of the boning.  You can see this when the overlay is moved over.

See the difference when you pull the ties tighter!

So now you really have leverage!  A bustle pad goes on the top at the waist.

I have a bit of "pullage" going on here.  I think I need to make sure my tapes are attached exactly at the end of the boning.

Meanwhile, I'm getting in the mood for a bustle dress, doing research.

Just look at all the action going on in this dress.  The main fabric looks like a polished cotton.  See how structured the bodice is....a pretty strong underlining here and very well fitted.  And check out where that print fabric shows up! It is used as the vest, in some edging, in the pleats, around the wrists and... look at that piece that actually wraps completely around the skirt enveloping the bustle area.  And then there is at the top of the bustle a braid affair using that print that tops off the bustle.

And look at all that fabric in the bustle area!  It even pops out under that band of print!

Can you imagine being brave enough to pull all that off!  Well, lets just add a little more ruffle to it, just because!