How to make a no sew Bustle Pad from an 80s handbag

If you're interested in Victorian or Steampunk clothing you'll be familiar with the bustle skirt and you may even be aware of the bustle-pad, a cushion-type device for accentuating ones...silhouette.

If you haven't tried using one with your bustle skirt I highly recommend you do. When I started working on my first Steampunk outfit I came across an excellent blogpost and tutorial on the Steam Ingenious blog "How to make a bustle-pad and why you should"

At the time I didn't have a sewing machine so I actually hand-stitched one following her instructions by hand.

Did I mention I sewed it by hand? It was worth the effort but by sheer dumb luck I've now come up with an no-sew version.

A while back I was browsing the handbag shelf in Butterflies ** ,one of my favorite local Op-Shops (thrift store), when among the black PVC bags an orange beacon of 80s ugliness enthralled me. I couldn't pass it by and I didn't know why. Slowly I realised that beyond the fulginess the bag was the same shape as a bustle pad...

So here's what you do:

First, take your 80s bag 'o ugly and stuff it with full of batting. Tie on a couple of strips of cotton - or whatever. [If the bag has big bulky handles you'll probably need to remove them, but in my case the straps were just soft cloth and as the bag was in good order,  (and not being a complete vandal) I decided not to cut the straps.]

And with an over-skirt in place, and a cummerbund to hide the ties I think it worked a treat. So if you can't be bothered sewing one, I suggest keeping your eye out for this shape of bag instead.

** If you haven't been in there, Butterflies is tiny, seriously tiny. St Patrick's day is their busiest day of the year, when ALL the Dunedin students, suddenly overcome with a hankering to dress up in green and drink green beer, descend upon the tiny shop. Do not go to Butterflies on St Patrick's day unless you want to risk suffocation by shoppers.

UPDATE If you're looking for more Steampunk ideas, please check out my

 How to Make Ruffle Cuffs mini-tutorial, 

or you might like my  

Steampunk DIY board on Pinterest.