Wow, I really love the way that this commission turned out, and I was able to photograph it pretty well considering it is a plus-sized piece on my tiny dress form. What a blast this bustle was to design, pattern, and sew. This is another piece commissioned by the Whip City Witches for use in a Celtic-bellydance fusion performance. I love that this piece really compliments the personality of the witch that will be wearing it.
This bustle has a very youthful quality about it. The design was inspired by flower petals, forest sprites, and the Fae. Four large overlapping petals make up the bulk of the skirt. Gathered along the top to create volume and soft feminine folds. On top of that sits the over-bustle, a very large triangle of lined fabric, the rest is hemmed, gathered laterally along the top edge and vertically down the center back. Pickups complete the drape and the whole thing is held together with the waistband which ties in the center front.
The bustle flatters in that it adds maximum volume to the behind with minimal impact on the hips. I kept the project extremely fabric-efficient by constructing the entire thing out of only geometric shapes. It took every inch of 11 feet of fabric to make those cascading folds of fabric.
