This was a great pattern that made me fall in love with bustle style gowns – it was clear enough for me to finally light that bulb over my noggin and UNDERSTAND what they were getting at. The best thing about this pattern is that the resulting bustle is adjustable via internal lacing, so you can convert it from early to late bustle period and back again. This pattern seems to be for a much shorter woman than I (I’m 5’7″), I think it is sized for the original wearer, so I extended the bottom by about 10″ when I made it up the second time. (You’ll need to add additional hoops if you do this.) My only complain about this pattern was that the Period Notes section annoyed me because they had pictures of every kind of original bustle EXCEPT the one you are making.
Rated 5 out of 5
Frances Grimble –
Good pattern overall; but, you are instructed to leave gaps in the middle of the boning casings. Presumably, this is to slip the bones in from the middle towards the sides. The instructions do not make this entirely clear. I preferred to leave the casing openings on one side.
Rated 5 out of 5
Carmen Stone –
I enjoy working with these patterns. You just have to be patient and read all the instructions a follow them one step at a time.
Rated 5 out of 5
Jessica Cail-Sirota –
This pattern is very easy, doesn’t require steel hoops, and is adjustable. It laces in the back can be tightened for greater poof. The pattern calls for featherweight boning, but I wanted a bit more strength to carry what will be a very aggressive bustle (I’m reproducing Mina Harker’s red Absinthe dress from Francis Ford Coppola’s Dracula). I used nylobone. It comes in its own casing, which is convenient in most ways save one: you cannot slide in the bones after the whole pattern is complete. You end up wrestling a bit with the stiffly- boned back while you finish the sides. Preliminary testing of the finished bustle (I flumphed onto the couch in it a few times!) has shown that it’s sturdy. It collapses when sat upon, yet bounces immediately back into shape when standing again. The only problem I’ve found is that you can see the harsh lines of the bones through a skirts. So I made 3 more rows of ruffles and used them to cover ALL the bones, with a bustle pad for the top with a row of ruffle across the back edge and the problem has been eliminated.
Lorraine Carson –
This was a great pattern that made me fall in love with bustle style gowns – it was clear enough for me to finally light that bulb over my noggin and UNDERSTAND what they were getting at. The best thing about this pattern is that the resulting bustle is adjustable via internal lacing, so you can convert it from early to late bustle period and back again. This pattern seems to be for a much shorter woman than I (I’m 5’7″), I think it is sized for the original wearer, so I extended the bottom by about 10″ when I made it up the second time. (You’ll need to add additional hoops if you do this.) My only complain about this pattern was that the Period Notes section annoyed me because they had pictures of every kind of original bustle EXCEPT the one you are making.
Frances Grimble –
Good pattern overall; but, you are instructed to leave gaps in the middle of the boning casings. Presumably, this is to slip the bones in from the middle towards the sides. The instructions do not make this entirely clear. I preferred to leave the casing openings on one side.
Carmen Stone –
I enjoy working with these patterns. You just have to be patient and read all the instructions a follow them one step at a time.
Jessica Cail-Sirota –
This pattern is very easy, doesn’t require steel hoops, and is adjustable. It laces in the back can be tightened for greater poof. The pattern calls for featherweight boning, but I wanted a bit more strength to carry what will be a very aggressive bustle (I’m reproducing Mina Harker’s red Absinthe dress from Francis Ford Coppola’s Dracula). I used nylobone. It comes in its own casing, which is convenient in most ways save one: you cannot slide in the bones after the whole pattern is complete. You end up wrestling a bit with the stiffly- boned back while you finish the sides. Preliminary testing of the finished bustle (I flumphed onto the couch in it a few times!) has shown that it’s sturdy. It collapses when sat upon, yet bounces immediately back into shape when standing again. The only problem I’ve found is that you can see the harsh lines of the bones through a skirts. So I made 3 more rows of ruffles and used them to cover ALL the bones, with a bustle pad for the top with a row of ruffle across the back edge and the problem has been eliminated.