Need Help with Bustle Back

[spottedeagle]

What WhoME is talking about is known as straightening the feather. Straightening can be done a number of ways. You can iron the quills, or run them back and forth over a light bulb to reverse their natural curve. Another method of straightening you use your fingernail or as WhoMe said a pair of plier to put small crimps in the quill, working from the large end to the feather tip. You also need to straighten the feather left to right. When you are done it will lay flat on your table and when you look down the quill it will be a straight line. This allows the feathers to lay on top of one another evenly.

[WhoMe]

What WhoME is talking about is known as straightening the feather. Straightening can be done a number of ways. You can iron the quills, or run them back and forth over a light bulb to reverse their natural curve. Another method of straightening you use your fingernail or as WhoMe said a pair of plier to put small crimps in the quill, working from the large end to the feather tip. You also need to straighten the feather left to right. When you are done it will lay flat on your table and when you look down the quill it will be a straight line. This allows the feathers to lay on top of one another evenly.

spotted and summer,

I go with crimping/straightening with a plyer because if you put several hundred crimps with your fingernail, It Hurts.

I also don't go with the lightbulb because the feather will relax and regain some bend.

[Summer_Rain]

Bustle Upate

Hi Guys sorry I havent been able to post my progress, but here's what I have ...

Its been so busy with the Holidays... But I open to Suggestions. Also, any suggestions on what to do to attach the Felt Flaps and also how to put a Belt attachment on, so that he can attach it to a belt?

[billyjoejimbob]

yes definitely 'crimp' or heat and bend those puppies straight!!! nothing looks worse than a bustle with feathers goin every whichaway.

keep the base of the feather, where they attach to the board in a circle or oval, not a square.

make sure you have the outside (top) of the feather facing the right way....like they do on the birds (wings...i know they are turkey tails, but in that case....backwards)

I would avoid hanging heavy things on the trailer.

otherwise, your doing good. you learn as you go. tweak it over and over.

My first bustle was PERFECT....a perfect statue! becuase i did it so tight and secure that it didnt move!

[Summer_Rain]

How Hot?

Yeah, I was wondering about that. How hot should I make the iron when I go to iron the feathers? I was so scared that I would make it too hot and mess the feather up?? Do I put it really hot (Like for ironing jeans) or kinda low for Delicates?

[billyjoejimbob]

i just put it on medium and try a few practrice feathers. hard to say exact.

it takes a lot of heat to mess up a feather.

[soopashinaab]

Bustle building 101

I really enjoyed reading this forum I really like how you guys have handled Summer Rain and her questions, the second attempt at a bustle looks much nicer than the first (no disrespect intended), nothing worse than someone out in the arena struttin with some halfa$$ed attempt at regalia. I like the way the bustle is turning out, I hope your fiance likes the hard work you are putting into it. Good luck!!

[soopashinaab]

What I do is, you have all of your feathers strung up on a shoe lace at the ends of the feathers/extentions if ur using them, where you have the loops (people call these boots).

Then on your backboard, you drill 2 holes, probably right below where the wires come out, that you put each end of the shoelace thruogh, and tie them together in the back, that hooks the feathers onto the backboard, then you hook your first feathers, onto the spikes that are on the wires.

So then your feathers should be hanging upright suspended from your two spikes, and some people just leave it like that,

but what I do is on the backboard, I drill a bunch of small holes in the form of a circle, however big the circle of feathers strung up makes, then I take a seperate string, and i go in and out of the holes in the back, locking the strung up feather bases down.


This pic shows how the feathers are strung up to the base, and are just hanging loose from the 2 main spikes, the bases arn't tied down, but you see 2 rows of holes, becuase it's a double row bustle, and I take it appart and fold it up for travel, so I use wax string everytime I hook it down to the base, and just cut it loose again when I travel.



This is the back of one of my oldstyle bustles, you can see where I used the wax thread to tie down the feather base, and I just string my belt right through the wires, then I tie my spreader right through the belt.





thats the front of that one.


then this is the big bustle put together, with both rows,


then this is my other big one

I like the small round bustle, I like the use of the different kinds of birds you used. Seems like the new trend is really big bustles, we've all seen them 6' wide and 10' tall. You do some killer work.

[Kiwehnzii]

I like the size of the inner bustle. It's the perfect size for me. I don't really like putting on extensions.

I'm more of a humble dancer. Actually, I prefer to dance without one, but within the minds of people, particularly the judges, bigger is gooder. Any northern dancer without a bustle is not looked at during contest. Sad isn't it - especially amongst the Great Lakes people. We never wore bustles until the late 50's/early sixties.

I better shut up. I'm too old school.

[soopashinaab]

Old school all the way!! I don't use a bustle either. I reside in Lac du Flambeau, Ojibwe all the way!!

I like the size of the inner bustle. It's the perfect size for me. I don't really like putting on extensions.

I'm more of a humble dancer. Actually, I prefer to dance without one, but within the minds of people, particularly the judges, bigger is gooder. Any northern dancer without a bustle is not looked at during contest. Sad isn't it - especially amongst the Great Lakes people. We never wore bustles until the late 50's/early sixties.

I better shut up. I'm too old school.

[Summer_Rain]

Yeah, these guys have been unbelievably GREAT with helping me. And I am Forever Greatfull!!

Its down to "Crunch Time"... only 4 days left.

Im pretty confident in what I will present to him (Especially after I "re-did" it hhaahaa)

Thank You again Guys.. Youve been So helpful

Blessings to You ALL!!

[spottedeagle]

So how did he like his new bustle?????

[anishtradish]

Glad I was of some use summer. Now we wanna see pics of him wearing the bustle :)


I just finished my new bustle, little bit bigger than what I wanted, but I'll change it around eventualy.

[spottedeagle]

Nice looking round bustle anishtradish!!!!

[Summer_Rain]

Pictures of the Completed Bustle... next weekend

Hi Guys, Honestly... I was Worn Out from working on it so hard before Christmas. I presented it to him, but I had to finish adding some "fluffs" and attaching the belt. So next weekend, Im Going to post the completed work.. I would also appreciate it any of you can give me feedback on how to finish it off once I post the pictures.

Again, thank ALL of you for helping me through my "First" Bustle"!! ...

**p.s. My Fiance' Loved it!