Repo: The Genetic Opera Amber Sweet Zydrate Anatomy Rhinestone Bra Tutorial

Repo: The Genetic Opera Amber Sweet Zydrate anatomy Rhinestone Bra Tutorial

This tutorial is going to be one of a series that focus on the making of the costume for the character Amber Sweet from the movie Repo: The Genetic opera.  We are also only focusing on the outfit worn during zydrate anatomy.  There are a lot of pieces for the entire costume and in the next tutorials I will discuss what items are easily bought and where you might find them, as well as how to make several of the pieces at a cheaper price than buying them. 

This is a quick and easy way to make the Rhinestone bra that Amber is wearing. 

What you will need:

One black bra (I used a Gillian and O’malley push up bra from Target.com for $12.99)

Hot fix

Hot Fix Rhinestone Setter hot fix setter Price: 13.60

Hot Fix Rhinestones size ss16 or 4mm Hot Fix Rhinestones Price: $6:00

Paper plate

Tweezers

So the first part is just to get a black bra.  The one I used was a satin type material, which held up well. I have heard stories of people melting their bras with the hot fix rhinestones but I didn’t have that problem at all.  The hot fix setter needs to be plugged into the wall and turned on.  It says on the package that it will be heated up and ready to use in two minutes.  When I got to the two-minute mark I found I was having trouble picking up the rhinestones with the setter.  After about three minutes it was hot enough for the rhinestones to stay when I tried to pick them up.  If you find that you can’t pick the rhinestones up at first, wait for the setter to heat a little longer.  Just a warning the setter gets very hot so do not touch it or attempt to place the stones in with your fingers.  The stones are also hot after being placed on the fabric so after you place one, use the pair of tweezers to push it down harder so you don’t burn your fingers.  With my version of the bra I didn’t use any method for spacing where I wanted the stone before hand I just started at the top edge and began placing them from the outside edge inward.  I followed the natural curve of the bra and did this on each cup for several rows.  The corset that goes with this costume covers some of the bra when everything is together so I didn’t feel I needed to cover the entire bra.  I ordered probably 10 gross of rhinestones and I probably only used maybe a third of them if that.  10 gross are equal to about 1400 stones.  You could probably just get 5 gross and be fine.  The amount needed will depend on bra size and spacing of stones so try to get a little more than you think you might need to be safe.  After you pick up the stones you will see the glue on the back begin to bubble from the heat, this is the time to place the stone where you want it.  After you are sparkly enough for your taste you are done.  The reason I mentioned a paper plate as one of the items you may need is because that is what I used to lay out the stones face down before I picked them up with the setter.  It worked well for me.  Thanks for viewing!

More pieces from this costume to come…