Louisa's costume - Making Louisa's dress

I have used Fabritac to make Louisa's dress with some sewing to gather at the waist. I would like to remake the dress in lighter fabric but also I would like to add a ruffle gathering over the front and a small bustle at the back. The fabritac is quite strong but does tend to show on the seams when they're stretched open. it works well on the hem where I've added a wire. I also need to remove some of the body stuffing which is stopping her bend at the waist very well.

The skirt of the dress is made of six tapered panels glued at the seams and ironed flat. This uses bubblejet set 2000 inkjet printed fabric using a design i've scaled down so its really small.

I've then added wire to the hem of the dress to allow it to be animated more easily and help with draping.

The dress shown on the left would have been more elaborate than Louisa normally wore as she wore it for the photograph (which weren't very commonplace at that time), but the fabric is relatively stiff. 

The bodice is made of one piece of fabric with darts to increase the shape around the bust. all the edges have been glued.

The sleeves are also glued at the seams and cuffs. I plan to add lace to the cuffs and collar. 

This is how the dress looks at this stage but needs an additional bustle and ruffles gathered over the front with collar and cuffs fixed. I also need to remove some of the stuffing from her body.