I’ve been a huge fan of jumbo plastic cable ties as corset boning for a long time. The only real downside to them is that they can get sharp corners when you cut them, and those corners will eat through fabric over time. I used to file them down with a nail-file, but that takes time. There’s a faster, easier way….
Three things worth noting:
- if you’re doing a fully boned corset, this will shave an hour or so off your build time compared with filing all the darned corners.
- A rather intriguing odor is produced during the melting process, and probably equates to either the death of brain cells, or cancer in californian lab rats.
- The melted edge will remain very very hot for some time, so you don’t want to touch it. Trust me. I have learned this so that you don’t have to. ;)
Hey Missa – I’ve missed you. Thanks for yet another timely tip!
Miss you too! Spring/summer got so crazy, and I have so missed blogging – crazy, right? :)
A simple but brilliant idea. Strangely coincidental that this was posted at the exact time I was snipping and filing ends of zip ties for my first ever attempt at a corset. :) But I’m already floating around ideas for another and this will be a real time saver. Thanks for posting it! Love your site!
I’m just about to start my first “proper” pair of bodies. Thanks for posting this before I started filing! :D
Great tip! Do you have a suggestion for how to actually cut these darned things? I’ve used scissors and it killed my hands.. is there a cheat? I was thinking wire cutters..
I use tin snips or cutting pliers… :) Hope that helps!