For one of my planned Lolita dresses I'll most likely need a bustle pad, so I found a tutorial on Youtube by the lovely Traybuff and tried my hand at it.

    What should have been a pretty quick and straightforward craft turned into a matter of 8 days, when I decided to embellish it with wheat embroidery and lace insertion.

   The embroidery pattern from La Belle Assemblée, 1815:

   My first ever attempt at circular lace insertion. Or any lace insertion, for that matter:-) Kind of feels like magic to make, even though I have not quite figured out yet how to force the lace to lie down perfectly smoothly.

   I didn't mark the edge of the smaller circle and as a result it is uneven, ah well. We learn from our mistakes.

   I had no wadding at hand, so I stuffed it with white old rags - they serve well, but I wonder if wadding would have produced a smoother result?


   But overall, I'm quite happy with it:-)))

Fabric and notions used:
A piece of old cotton sheeting
A vintage ribbon (I think it is a silk taffetta, but I'm not sure)
A vintage French insertion lace

It is entirely handsewn.

Project start date: 27. 10. 2013
Project end date: 4. 11. 2013