Bustle Help

[theladyrebecca]

What do you do to keep the sides of a short bustle from collapsing? Since I am poor and can't afford expensive patterns, I was trying to make a wire bustle on my own. It was coming along pretty nicely in it's initial prototype, but I'm having major problems with the sides. At first, I was just using twill tape to attach the hoop wire to (it's just safety pinned right now), but since that kept crumpling up, I decided to make a casing out of the twill tape for a cable tie, thinking that would keep it running straight down. However, with the cable tie in there, it's just bowing out really strangely. I have a couple pieces of twill tape standing in for the ties that will run across inside the bustle, but while they're keeping the wires from spreading out flat, they don't seem to be helping them stay down.


I keep thinking maybe I should just draft out a fabric pattern to encase it all, but I'm not sure that would wind up fixing my problem either. Help please!


This is what it looks like right now.


The side with the cable tie in the casing:






And the side without it. Please ignore the absolute disaster that has exploded in my room.






And here's my sketch for Jane, which is what I will be wearing it under:

Comments

[gilded-garb.livejournal.com]

I think your problem is that with an uncovered wire bustle, you need to have a different shape. Like this one, this one, or this one (which is admittedly a bit hard to see. No matter what you do, what you've got going on now will always bunch. It's just the nature of the hoop wire.

[centuriessewing.livejournal.com]

I made small bustle years ago without a pattern, let me see if I can find the photo.... I think this is it, http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v481/kayendra/Victorian%20Halloween/pinkbustle.jpg

The back is a large rectangle tapered at the top with casings for the boning sewn on it, and then it laces underneath. I wore a small pad at the top of it to give the right fluff. The side parts were narrow triangles I think. The tension from the line of lacing and the fabric kept the sides from bowing out. It was just something I made quickly.

On yours it looks almost like it is resting right at the side curve of the hip? It is going to keep trying to flex there I think. If you move it just an inch or two behind the hip does it still bow?

[fire-elfweb.livejournal.com]

I soooo love Jane! I cannot wait to see it!

[theladyrebecca.livejournal.com]

I figured out the pattern for the fabric, by draping it on top of the bustle. Now I just need to add the boning channels and the inside part that will lace up. Hopefully, since I'm doing it the fabric way (more like the Laughing Moon pattern I guess), it shouldn't have a side bunchy problem, but I'll have to wait until tomorrow to see.

And on that note - for those of you who have done the standard bustle that has the laces to adjust it on the inside, does there need to be any boning or interfacing by the eyelets?

[hharris.livejournal.com]

The Laughing Moon pattern adds 1/4" boning to the edge of the lacing panel, right before the grommets (just like the back of a corset). I think it's necessary as there's quite a bit of of tension once you lace it up.

[theladyrebecca.livejournal.com]

Thank you! I figured it would need some support.