Painting Padme's Picnic Corset
I have recently had to make a "mini" version of Padme's Picnic Dress for a 10 year old young lady who wants to be Padme for Halloween. Due to budget constraints I could not make a "screen accurate" embroiderd corset. I opted to not spare the great details of the design--so I decided to paint them. I also used those famous Offray ribbon roses for the triple rose clusters that adorn the bodice to keep the cost down on this version of this costume. All in all I was quite pleased with the outcome, and thought I would share with you how I did it for anyone who might desire a quick way to create this corset.
First off, construct the
corset top layer (metallic gold crunch and lining basted together then
sewn together) Make sure all seams are trimmed, clipped, and pressed.
For painting I used a
flat brush and a fine tip brush. I used aryllic paints in sage green for
the vines, cream for the "cut outs" and two shades of yellow gold for the
flames. Paint must be mixed with Textile medium which will turn the aryllics
to fabric paints and prevent them from cracking and washing off.
I used Obi-Dawn's wonderful sketch for placement of the flames and vines. I free hand painted the designs using smooth, even strokes. Be careful not to use too much paint, and take your time.
Allow the paint to dry for 24 hours--then you can heat set it with an iron (use Medium Heat and a pressing cloth). You can now embellish the design with the roses, and daisies. I also did some of the gold stitching with metallic gold thread.
You can then create the lining like the corset, and add boning, and finish constructing the corset.
Of course not 100% accurate, but a nice, recognizable version of this costume with a fraction of the handwork.
