Bustle Skirt Made From A Curtain

Since the premier of Gone with the Wind woman everywhere have been amazed by what you can do with curtains. In the spirit of Scarlet I present a bustle skirt created from a curtain and an A-line skirt. I created this skirt last year to wear to a Victorian Picnic and wanted something in pink to celebrate spring.

The skirt was purchased at the thrift store but should be relatively easy for you to find at your local store. You will need an A-line wrap skirt like the one pictured and should buy one that is 1-2 sizes smaller than you wear so that you will have an opening to add the bustle. The A-line cut will give the straight skirt front look popular in Victorian clothing. 

For the bustle I used a striped pink and white curtain from Walmart that was 52x84. The width and length is need to create the bustle effect. 

Creating the skirt is easiest on a mannequin or dress form. If you don't have one look for what you can use, I actually used a laundry hamper that is the same diameter as my waist. To make the skirt I hung the skirt wrong side out around the dress form then hung the top of the curtain to the dress form to fill the gap, gathering the curtain to create the pleats at the top. 

Using safety pin begin pulling the fabric up and pinning it to create the ruffles of the bustle. Remember this is the underside of the skirt so you will see the ruffles when you flip the skirt. Once you have the ruffles the way you want them use a needle and thread to tack them in place. 

I apologize for the lack of pictures and instructions on this part. When I made the skirt I wasn't planning to post a tutorial. But this site has great bustling instructions and should help. Bustle Skirt Instructions.

With the bustle complete you will need to stitch the sides of the curtain to the sides of the skirt to finish the skirt. If you don't sew you can use Stitch Withcery for this part.For the waist I ran elastic through the top of the curtain so that I could easily slip it on and off without needing a zipper. I usually wear this over a petticoat so the skirt looks fuller. 

Here is the finished product.