Finishing The Blue Bustle

Here is the finished blue bustle from Laughing Moon Mercantile pattern #112 view E. My very lovely model is shown here wearing it. The pattern went together fairly easily and quickly. I did need to make a few adjustments and changes.

I selected the pattern by my hip size since I wanted a slightly larger bustle. This choice led to the necessary change of making the lacing panel smaller because it laced completely closed without even creating the desired bending of the hoop wire. The following photo shows the tucks I made for fitting prior to cutting that amount from the side seams.

Another adjustment I made was to use a self-fabric waistband instead of using grosgrain ribbon. I preferred having a matching waistband. The pattern called for use of safety buckles as the closure on the waistband. I used a flat metal fashion belt buckle I found instead because it had a smaller profile than the safety buckles I could find. Due to the profile of the safety buckle, I was concerned it would cause fabric to bunch around it and thus destroy the fit of the garment in front.

The next part of this project is the petticoat that will help support my Victorian skirts. I am in the process of finishing cutting the petticoat out. The petticoat will be made out of white twill and from the Truly Victorian petticoat pattern. I originally wanted to make the petticoat out of colored fabric and finally talked myself into doing the white because then I could use it for both historic Victorian garments and steampunk. Sometimes fabric sacrifices have to be made because of being on a student's budget. I will try to get the petticoat finished before school starts in a few weeks.

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