Not every bride needs yards and yards of tulle in her train but when they do, you need a plan to get all of that up off the ground for dancing.
Here is the front with all the multiple uneven asymmetrical layers:
The train just seems to go on and on:
Once the dress is on the mannequin and the top layers of tulle are flipped over the top you can see that the lining has its own layers of tulle as well, so using 5 points should be enough to get it up to floor level.
That works so let’s do the other embroidered tulle layers:
Using another 5 points, most of the tulle layers will clear the floor. The safety pins at the hem hold each layer together at the seams before the buttons and loops are attached.
The mother wanted the shorter top layers of tulle to cover the bustles, so here we have everything like she envisioned it. The last layer will be trimmed to be even with the bustle levels. You can see in the photo below how the safety pins hold the many layers together and the hem level where the longest layer will be trimmed.
The bride wanted some sort of coverage and straps so we are going with tulle. The length will be cut at 25 inches and gathered at both ends with the long raw edges turned under. 
You can hide a lot of chubby areas with tulle but at the same time add a bit of romance to the top of a boring strapless neckline.
The top edge of her bodice will also be snugged up with twill tape.
For those of you who ask about the garden…well, it is almost the end of the frost season and plants in the house are doing well especially this gardenia plants that was almost dead last year. It had a hard winter and never recovered in the garage and during the summer it just was a bunch of brown twigs. Mr Mole was ready to toss it in the compost bin but I said I would work on it. Now that it has spent the whole winter in the living room, it has buds and flowers!!! Gorgeous scent and it has even inspired the almost dead amaryllis bulb from last year to make a flower stem and produce a huge bud!!!
Mr. Mole bought this orchid for me for Easter and I hope it has a long life too!
Not so sure about these seed potatoes though…they have been sitting on the north-facing windowsill for months now and sort of resemble alien life forms don’t you think?
Wishing you all a great week whatever hemisphere you live in!
fit for a queen 
The tulle covering the straps is a very feminine and pretty look, also, to my mind, more appropriate for a wedding. The bustling is a work of art too.
Thank you, Jay and I am so grateful when I don’t have to use 10 bustle points to get the hems off the floor…whew!
How do you determine the bustle points? Yours always look perfect, but it takes me a long time to only sort of get it right.
Hi Sandy, all I do is start with the center seam. Find a point, grab it and pin it to where the buttons will go like somewhere from the end of the zipper to under the butt. If the hem edge is up off the floor then you have a good start. Then I pick up the princess seams if there are any and pin them up too as they will be higher up than the center point. Using colored safety pins helps a lot as you can leave the top pins on the dress and just move the bustle pins (loops position) up or down or left and right. If you have to make 5 points, then usually the outer ones are closer to the top. In the end your loop safety pins are in a triangular formation. You can see lots of them on my posts. It is all trial and error but getting that first center one right makes it go well.Now after all is said and done, there are others who measure from the floor to the hem to see how much extra is there and then measure and take away that amount…you still have to eyeball the results and using a mannequin who is willing to stand all day while you fiddle around is also a help!
That’s pretty much what I do also. I was hoping you had some magic formula.
Although I’m never wearing a dress that resembles any of these in my lifetime, I have a fond spot in my brain for making the attachment points for the train a feature, with beautiful buttons and lovely frog loops. “It’s not a bug, it’s a feature”.
You crack me up!!!!
I never thought if putting gardenias inside, I have four in big pots. What sort of conditions do they want to thrive indoors? I might start having one inside, they can come in on rotation if they start to look unwell.
Mine is in a south facing window and the temp has been 70 all winter if that helps. I think we may move it outside for the summer and keep an eye on it.
I may have to give gardenia’s another go. The last one was over 20 years ago and succumbed to vicious aphids.
Love the romantic tulle coverup
At least there are no aphids in the house!!! Those straps/sleeves can work wonders!
Tulle wedding dresses are not my favorite… my sympathies are with the bridesmaid or mother or whoever is going to do the bustling on the day of the wedding! I imagine her with her head and hands up the butt of the dress, tulle everywhere, whiteness everywhere, fussing with buttons when she doesn’t know the first thing about the dress construction… If it’s a hassle for us seamstresses, it must be a major hassle for the bridal attendants.
You bet! But hey, they buy these silly dresses and they have to want to bustle all that up or I would gladly trim it to floor length. I try to explain to them…first find the button and then travel down to find the matching loop. If that is too hard…tough titty! Making 10 bustle points is certainly a lot for any seamstress!!!
Tulle is very useful, and looks pretty when made into straps like you have. Lots of chubby hiding potential. That’s a pretty dress 😃.
Your plants are looking good. I can’t wait for good weather – it seems to be taking its time this year in the UK. How does it feel with you?
Yes, Kim, we are fed up with frost and muddy plots. It seems the only happy creatures are the hundreds of birds we are feeding while they bulk up before breeding.
You were truly buried in a sea of tulle with this one. The bustling worked out well and I agree with leaving a layer on top. The tulle straps add a finished look. Good start on the garden. I look forward to your wonderful recipes during the summer.
Just trimmed all the spinach plant tops off today along with the chard so the birds could east it down to the nubs along with tiny bugs before we start all new summer plants. When I give away my chard to neighbors, they always think I must be whipping up great ways to cook it like saute with butter and bacon and onion. Ah-No.Three minutes in the microwave is all it needs to wilt and be tasty.
Pretty epic amount of tulle! How do you trim the hem? On the person or on the dress form? I’m just waiting for one of these monsters to walk into my sewing room! Our potatoes look about the same.
If the bride can stand still long enough, I trim it level with the edge of the platform. If she has ants in her pants, I send her home and drag out the mannequin on the weekend and take my time. I use serrated scissors. Fingers crossed even ugly wrinkled potatoes will make all new beautiful ones!
Oh, I just LOVE that dress. The tulle straps are perfect.
I gave up on gardenias after killing the fourth or fifth one. They are divine, but too finicky for my careless plant skills.
We also play spa music every day all day throughout the house so maybe that has something to do with it’s growth?
Hey MrsMole, I’ve been looking at the new designer collections of wedding dresses and it seems like the “mermaid” is over. But there’s a BOATLOAD of tulle out there!
You are right, Shari…https://www.watters.com/wtoo/wtoo-brides/
I’ve noticed that you attach twill tape to the bodice edge on several dresses. Can you explain why? Most of the dresses I work on already have this, or the clear “sticky stuff” meant to keep the top in place. Love your articles-wish I could spend a few days working with you!