A bustle allows you to pin up the train of a wedding dress to pick the train up off the floor. The two primary types of bustles for a wedding dress are the over bustle and the under bustle. For a wedding dress with an overlay, you can choose either type of bustle, but an under bustle allows you to add the buttons and loops to the inside of the dress, so it does not damage or disturb the overlay material, which may be tulle, organza or another material.
Turn the wedding dress inside out. Place the dress on a flat surface and spread the gown out so that everything is lying flat, including the train or skirt of the dress.
Measure to find the halfway point between where the train on the dress begins and the tail where it ends. Mark this area with a pin, and pin one of the bustle loops to the dress. For long trains, you should also measure the halfway point between where the train begins and the midway point you just marked with a pin. Place a pin and a bustle loop here as well. You should also measure the halfway point between the center pin and the tail of the dress and add a pin and bustle loop there.
Identify points on a higher area of the dress where you can attach the train at the points you have pinned to bustle the dress. According to Sewing.org, the higher points may be on the skirt of the wedding dress or near the back part of the waist. Pin a fabric-covered button at each point.
Turn the dress right side out, try it on and have someone bustle the dress for you. Have them arrange and rearrange the overlay fabric so that it looks right. If adjustments are needed, mark the areas where additional bustles should be added or if existing ones need to be moved. The best way to find the bustle points on a wedding dress, according to Sewing.org, is trial and error.
Turn the dress inside out again and sew the buttons on the inner part of the dress higher on the skirt or the waistline of the dress. Sew a coordinating loop for each button on the underside train of the dress.