Wednesday, September 19, 2012

How to make a Poison Ivy corset

Hi Everyone! So for Halloween this year I really couldn't decide what I wanted to be. I get tired of searching for costumes at a costume outlet for things that never fit right (I'm pretty tiny and short as a munchkin, and one size does not fit all!) so I decided that I was going to just make something as I normally end up doing every year. So the inspiration came a few days ago, sitting on my comfy pillow top couch watching Batman Returns with the gorgeous Uma Thurman. LIGHT BULB! Ive already got the red hair, which will be dyed more vibrant for the costume. (I know, I know, her hair was actually a shade between orange and red, but orange isn't really my color. So shut it!) :p




This project is super easy, just time consuming. Anyone can really make this, just takes a little patience and possibly a few swear words :)

Okay so what you will need is:

  • A plain corset with no embellishments or lace/trim etc. (Doesn't really matter what color it is, just make sure that it fits properly)
  • Hot glue (between 8-15 regular sticks) or e6000 (I usually prefer E6000 but it takes forever to dry and is quite expensive especially for a project that needs a lot of glue)
  • Glue gun (if you are using hot glue)
  • Silk leaves- I used a bunch that I had left over from making bridal bouquets, hair clips and other floral projects for my online shop. If you don't have any, you can purchase them at hobby lobby or michaels. I prefer hobby lobby especially when they have their sales!
  • Floral Cutting Pliers
  • Scissors
  • Exacto Knife




And any other embellishments you might want to use such as glitter, sequins, beads, twine, etc.

Oh and it REALLY helps if you have a mannequin. When you use the hot glue on the mannequin, it helps form to the body (especially the boobs!)


Step 1:

First start heating your glue gun so it gets nice and hot to use for gluing the leaves onto the corset. While that is getting hot, start cutting all the leaves off any stems/branches. You want to get the stem of the leaf pretty close so there isn't any pokies sticking out to get ya. You can also reshape any leaves that you dont like the shape of by cutting them with the scissors.





Step 2:
I would start at the bust part and start figuring out the placement of how you want the leaves to come over the bust. I chose 2 very large leaves to show a pointy kind of top to accentuate the corset. I also saved a large one for the bottom middle part of the corset.. show you that in a few steps.


 Step 3.

 Okay, so once you figured out the design you want to go with, start gluing the leaves. Make sure that when you glue the leaves, you leave a little border around the edge empty so that when you place other leaves around it, you can squeeze them in and wont show any glue. Like this:


  Make sure when you are gluing the top, do not glue the top part of the leaves that will be above the corset! If you do see any glue sticking out, use your exacto knife to peel the glue off and trim.

Step 4.

Now that most of the top border has been done, I recommend doing the bottom edges as well. I did more of a "V" shape with mine. You can always layer leaves on top of other layers  to make them longer. Same rule applies as with the top edges, watch where you are gluing, as the parts hang off wont need glue, only the parts that are being glued on the corset or layers.


Step 5.

Start gluing the middle, the pattern you want to show most with your leaves. Now my corset was this cheapy little thing I found at goodwill that hooks in the front and laces in the back. I sewed mine shut so there wouldn't be an issue with it opening and ripping any leaves off. You can also glue over it of you don't want to sew.

Make sure when you are gluing that you place each leave over or under one another so none of the corset shows. Also I made sure that none of the ends of my leaves where the stems grow shows as well, by layering each one strategically.

Step 6.

Start filling in the rest! I did my top leaves pointing up, the middle blended between up and down and sideways leaves, and the bottom I did leaves pointing to the ground.




Step 7.

Glue down any ones that may be flaring up, but don't go crazy with the glue! You still want a little texture, as if the leaves are growing on the bodice. (Me hard at work!)



Step 8.

Add glitter or any embellishments you may want to accentuate the cute little corset you just made!

I'm going to add mine a little bit later, but here is the final result without embellishments:


    






Hope everyone likes it! And I would love to see what you made! You can email me finished pictures of your project at projectpinupaccessories@gmail.com

Check out our shop at www.projectpinup.etsy.com and become a fan on facebook! www.facebook.com/projectpinup

7 comments:

  1. Thanks for posting. Im gunna try it, nd Il send u pix wen i finish mine :)

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  2. Love it but what are you doing for the bottom part?!?!

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  3. Hi! I have my year ten dance coming up and I was wondering if you are willing to sell. The theme is heroes and villains, I'm having trouble finding anything good for poison ivy at all. Thanks!

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  4. Wow! That's amazing! How many leaves do you think you used?

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  5. Oh goodness! Probably close to 100-200 leaves... Not sure! I know it was probably several bunches total. I just had so many laying around from my other projects!

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  6. Where did you get the base corset?

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