Modern and Fantasy Garments Sewing Workshops

Copper Bustle and Other Belated Stuff

by Sidney Eileen

This blog has been pretty quiet for several months.  This is due in part to my health, but also a result of issues I’ve been having with my web site returning database errors, no data errors, and generally hideously slow page load speeds, all of which made updating this site a painfully tedious process.  Thankfully, yesterday I found the problem and removed that plugin from my site, and low and behold, it’s working properly!  So, yay, now I can give you some belated updates on what I’ve been doing the past three months.

Copper Bustle and Other Bustley-ness!

Leather and Copper Bustle, by Sidney Eileen
Leather and Copper Bustle – Modeled

Two things that come to mind when one contemplates steampunk are copper and leather, so for years I’ve been wanting to make a copper and leather bustle.  I was asked to give a workshop at the Nova Albion Steampunk Exhibition this past April, so I figured that was the perfect opportunity.  First I figured out a way to make simple foundation bustles in a workshop setting without sewing machines, using plastic boning and rivets or safety pins.  Once I understood how to configure the bustle, I made myself one out of leather, copper hanging tape, and rivets, and I proudly wore it that weekend.

Leather and Copper Bustle, by Sidney Eileen
Leather and Copper Bustle – Side View
Leather and Copper Bustle, by Sidney Eileen
Leather and Copper Bustle – Quarter View
Leather and Copper Bustle, by Sidney Eileen
Leather and Copper Bustle – Back View

These are the sample bustles upon which the workshop bustles were based.

Basic no-sew bustle made with featherweight boning, twill tape, and safety pins. It's very lightweight, so it won't hold up a very heavy skirt, but it does work.
Basic no-sew bustle made with featherweight boning, twill tape, and safety pins. It’s very lightweight, so it won’t hold up a very heavy skirt, but it does work.
Basic no-sew bustle made with rigilene, and rivets. There are two layers of rigilene along each length. It's very lightweight, so it won't hold up a very heavy skirt, but it does work.
Basic no-sew bustle made with rigilene, and rivets. There are two layers of rigilene along each length. It’s very lightweight, so it won’t hold up a very heavy skirt, but it does work.  The cut ends of the rigilene needed to be coated with hot glue to prevent them from catching on everything.

The two-hour workshop was enjoyed by all, and a number of people left excited to use the knowledge they gained to make other bustle projects at home.  A wonderful friend, Roget Ratchford, photo-documented the workshop, so if you are interested in viewing that, please visit his gallery 

Nova Albion 2013 – Bustle Building Bonanza.