Burning Man Feather Bustle, Buttons, and Sleevelets

With an extra free day today, I spent the morning finishing up my Burning Man costume.

First up was the "bustle". I had a general idea of how I wanted this to look, so dug into building the base, which all the feathers and frills would be attached to. Using buckram and millinery wire, I made a heart shaped pad which I essentially quilted with batting and some thick fabric scraps, and backed with some faux leather. What I ended up with was a strong, solid base which I will snap and hook onto the bottom center back of the corset - that way the costume can travel easier and will last longer!


First I used millinery wire to wire a strip of lace I cut to use as a large bow. After pinning said bow in place, it was time to play with feather and fabric placement. Once I figured out how I wanted the colors of the feathers to blend and where I wanted them to lay, I heated up the trusty hot glue gun and started adhering them to the heart. All the feathers were glued down first, followed by the bow, some fabric scraps, and finally a vintage hair clip I've had forever. I finished it off with some of the same glass beaded fringe from the corset.
I think it turned out really cute! The last step, which will have to wait until I can get to a fabric store, is to sew on giant whopper poppers (the very technical name for giant snaps) to the corset and to the heart. Than, voila! A feather bustle fit for a Cigarette Girl!

Earlier this week I finished the closure on the pumpkin breeches - four cute gold buttons.


And finally, I also whipped up some cute little lace sleevelets. They're almost done, though I'm keeping my eyes open for the perfect lace to trim the hand in.


So the costume is almost complete! The last big component is the hat, which I hope to start in on soon!!

Thanks for reading and if you have any ideas or suggestions please let me know!