How to Tuck Up a Wedding Dress

·  Protect your wedding dress train by tucking-up the ends of the dress, after the wedding. A bustle is the best method for this, because it leaves the bride's hands free for greeting people and dancing at the reception. Bustling a dress originated the 1800's, when ladies wore heavy gowns that needed to be supported off the floor. The bustle is held up by a series of hooks and eyes that are discreetly hidden in the folds of the material

·  Clean your hands before you touch the white wedding dress. Check that the supplies you will use to create your bustle are also clean

·  Put the wedding dress on the bride and have her stand up straight. Measure the back of the gown, to determine where you will put buttons for the bustle. Lift the gown -- and make a note of where you would like the gown to fall -- once it is bustled up

·  Decide how may folds you will need to get the train to the length that you want: Between one and four folds is ideal. When the dress is bustled up, the hemline should fall even with the front hemline of the dress

·  Place the dress on a clean, flat surface. Wash the surface first to make sure it is clean

·  Place the measuring tape at the top of the train and measure out where the folds will be. Most folds measure between six to ten inches. Mark the spots with dressmaker's chalk. This is where you will place the hooks and eyes that will help hold your train

·  Place three hooks on the top of the train just below the waist. Sew the hooks into place and make sure they are sturdy. This is where the bustle will rest, when it is complete

·  Place the dress on the bride and bustle it up. Hook the eyes onto the hooks, and check to see how the bustle falls. Adjust the bustle, if you do not like it's position

·  Remove the chalk marks that you made, by rubbing lightly on the dress with a cloth