Plagued by unfinished costumes? Sick of all-nighters? Big ideas that never quite come off? Here's how to make sure it works next time.

For the Victorians, methods of folding and draping the fabric of a bustle truly developed into an art form. There were many different styles with assorted fanciful names like "The Waterfall", which burst in and out of fashion.

I'm going to show you how I created my ladybird gown's "Butterfly" bustle drape. It is very simple and needs no pattern at all, being created from just a rectangle of fabric.

Other dressmakers and designers have experimented with this style too, and it can still be seen in some museum pieces. It is made to be worn over the bustle cage and a plain skirt.

The bustle was allegedly invented in the mid-1860's when a society hostess's crinoline collapsed and her maid re-pinned the excess fabric to the back of the gown.

This story, while entertaining, is almost certainly apocryphal, and the design probably came about much more naturally as the train on a crinoline took on larger, more sweeping proportions.

Let me show you how to create a small boned cage, based very loosely on Hunnisett's 18^th century pocket hoop pattern in Period Costume for Stage & Screen: Patterns for Women's Dress 1500-1800. This is not a totally historically accurate reproduction but it creates an exceptionally easy-to-wear support that gives a lovely period silhouette.

Vicky Clarke has a mission: to bring back historical fashion that flattered curvy women so well in the past, and make it practical and wearable for our 21st century lifestyles.

The skirt we'll be making in this article is a hybrid of original 1910s design, 1970s revival and design simply intended to flatter the body as it is.

We'll start by drafting a custom skirt block, which we'll then slash and spread to get the pattern we want. There are also instructions for an optional applique panel to accentuate the waist: another nod to the original Edwardian style.

To ensure your 1860's day dress is always smooth and perfect, you really need the extra layer that a petticoat provides. Nothing can ruin the line of a beautiful gown faster than the tell-tale lines of a hoop skirt showing on the outside! But where do you find the time for all this underwear?

Ginger Breo shows you the fastest way to rustle up a great 1860s petticoat. It's easy, it's lightning fast - you can have a new petticoat in just a few hours - and it'll work equally well for all petticoats that are worn over a hoop skirt of some kind. Ladies and gentlemen, start your sewing machines!

Last year I made a red and gold Pirate Dress of the type worn by Keira Knightley in the first Pirates of the Caribbean movie.

More historically accurate than the Disney version, yet far enough from accurate to be quick, easy and inexpensive, it has advantages for the lucky owner too.

It was designed for maximum wearability in a dizzying array of ways. It has detachable sleeves, an overskirt that can be hooked or gathered up or discarded completely, and separate pieces that can begin to form a versatile mix-and-match costume collection.

It was so much fun and so popular that I did it all again a few months later, this time in black and ivory. The “Black Pearl” gown is to be one lucky bride's wedding gown in 2009.

Just for fun, I gave some details of how the dresses were made at the time on my blog, as well as a few teaser making-of photos.

But as a special treat for readers of Your Wardrobe Unlock’d I’ll reveal, for the first time anywhere, the complete details of how to make your very own Caribbean Pirate Gown!

How to make your own personalised custom Victorian corset pattern - a tutorial suitable for beginners!

One of the most frustrating challenges in corsetmaking is to get the darn thing to fit properly. Corsets are such unforgiving, tightly fitted garments that a good one must have a perfect fit; there's no room for error.

After getting frustrated with commerical patterns, you're probably starting to wonder how to draft (draw out) your own patterns from a list of measurements. Here's how, in a step-by-step format specially designed for complete beginners.

I've devised these instructions for you based on corset designs of the late 1870s. You'll still need a mock-up to check before cutting the expensive fabric, but you will be very surprised how well it fits...

The single most freeing skill that a dressmaker can have is to learn to draft his or her own patterns. To take your own measurements and a blank sheet of paper and draw a pattern that fits you individually frees you to understand the makeup and adjustment of a pattern better, not to mention the scope it gives you to shape the design.

Yes, the traditional process of pattern drafting is complicated and mysterious. Sparsely explained diagrams dizzy us with geometry and jargon. But I want to change all that for you. With sixteen years of sewing and a Maths degree under my belt, not to mention three year's training as a teacher of Mathematics, I'm well-placed to take the mystery, the jargon and as many numbers as possible out of the process. Baby step by baby step, I'll show you how you can harness the freedom of drafting your own patterns.