Since the blog is now in retrospect, I’ll just find photos I took along the journey of Leah’s wedding ensemble and explain what I was doing at that time.
This photo is inside the skirt of the ceremony jacket. At the bottom of the photo is the waistline. In order to make this bustle the most attractive on Leah, I added a triangular yoke (shown here interfaced with hymo, or haircloth). This way the bustle and pleats start lower down the tush, rather than at the waistline, allowing it to all to flow from the waistline to the end of the train in one long graceful sweep. This was a change I made from the original drawings, once I started working on the dress form of her measurements. I also added a peplum to cover the yoke (you can see it on her muslin preview page) to add a little more interest to centerback and emphasize this new sweeping bustle, as opposed to the original ‘bodonkodonk’ bustle from he drawings and research.
Also in this photo you can see what I used to add some of the fullness of a period bustle, without going overboard. It is some semi-stiff linen interfacing, doubled and pleated in one with the skirt fabric, and then sewn into the yoke.
