Thread: Customising corsets for something unique...

Hello there sexy ladies (and gents),

I'm struggling to find corsets that are unique enough to stand out without spending a fortune and I'd love to cutomise one myself.

I'm on a serious budget at the moment but I have found a decent white corset to use as a base. I'm very pale though so am wanting to dye it turquoise or something to brighten it up. Does anyone know if this is possible? And if so which dye to buy? Or maybe a fabric paint? Then it's a case of adding some hand sewn spangley bits I guess

Cheers lovelies xxx

Gretchen B Geil

WARNING

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Hi Chick,

It should be possible to dye a corset, but will very much depend on the type of fabric it's made from. Some fabric and/or mixes don't take dye well. Look on the lable and find out what it's made from. Use a dye like Dylon (probably a hand dye, as a steel-boned corset in a washing machine is probably not a good idea!) The dye packet will tell you what sort of fabric it's sutible for.

If it's brand new or hasn't been washed, hand wash it gently first to get out any treatments on the fabric which can prevent the dye form taking evenly.

Failing that, fabric paint will probably work. I've used that on fabrics that wont take a dye. Same process of washing first though, and most fabric paints need fixing with an iron after applying, once dry.

In terms of customising, some people use hot fix gems, from ebay, quite cheap in bulk. The work well on some fabrics, there is another type available which is ok on all fabircs I think, someone on here will know about it, it's not something I've done myself.

From experience, it's quite hard to sew onto a steel boned corset with a sewing machine, so hamd sewing of trim etc will probably be called for. (I hate hand sewing, and am so pleased at the lack of corsets in my acts for that reason!!)

Have fun with it. I love making our costumes, it's a great thing to have cretive control over so you are not dependent on amazing ebay finds (although they rock too!)

Enjoy! x

You could dye it, depending upon what the fabric is like. I have dyed my pointe shoes which can be quite difficult I would recommend this technique as it is safe and will prevent your corset fabric from shrinking if it is made of satin or silk.

If your wanting to have a very strong colour such as black or red I would recommend using a silk dye it's easy to apply and safe when used correctly.

when using silk dye bear in mind that the colour needs to be applied as thinly as possible, this can be done with a sponge, I use a normal make up sponge. So that the material does not shrink and bunch together. Silk dye is permanent and will not rub off once it has dried.

Try not to make the material too wet as this may shrink when drying and may cause the bones to push though.

You can get silk dyes from most craft shops.


Hope this helps. I would recommend not washing it or getting it too wet encase it shrinks. I posted about dry cleaning corsets last week here is think link for the information I posted too. http://www.ministryofburlesque.com/b...-cleaning.html

Add a row of press studs/snaps to the top and bottom of the corset (or wherever you want), then you can interchange a range of flowers or gems or trims (lace..ribbon..) or or or or.... inexpensive and changes the look

Warning: polyester does not dye at all and if there is any polyester in your corset then you could ruin it by trying to dye it. Polyester is often used in satin type fabrics (at What Katie Did most of our corsets' fashion layer contain polyester). If you check the label it should show the fabric content.

Cotton is fine to dye, as is nylon (but I doubt your corset is made from nylon!)

Good luck!

Katie