Wedding Gown Bustle Instructions

flowers on hip with wedding dress image by Paul Retherford from Fotolia.com

Bustling a wedding gown is something that many brides choose to have done to their dresses after the wedding ceremony is over so that they can move freely about the reception, and dance and dine without ruining their dresses. Bustling involves picking the train of a wedding dress off the floor and securing that material to the dress itself so that it does not drag along dirty floors or become an encumbrance for the bride.

Ask the bride to wear her wedding dress and shoes sometime before the ceremony so that you can design a bustle that brings the dress to a length appropriate for the shoes she plans to wear at her reception.

Paint a small fabric hook with white nail polish (or cream for a cream-colored dress), and allow it to dry so that it blends in when sewed to the wedding dress. Locate the center of the dress’ train and pick it up gently with your fingers.

Mark the spot on the back of the dress where the hook will go with sewing pins. Remove the dress from the bride, then sew the painted fabric hook to the dress with woven beaded cord instead of regular sewing thread to add strength to the hook. This allows it properly support the heavy train without becoming detached from the dress.

Test the hook’s integrity and placement by having the bride try on the dress. Ask one of the bridesmaids to practice picking up the train and attaching it to the fabric hook. Make any necessary adjustments.