What kind of material is the corset made of?

At What Katie Did our plain satin corsets can actually be gently hand washed. I take the laces out and woosh them about in the bath with a mild detergent. Then I lay the corset over the bath rack and let it drip dry. My heart still beats faster when I do this, but I haven't ruined anything yet.

If you're not ready to take drastic action then you could try sponge cleaning just the effected area, starting with a tiny bit (to see if the fabric dye's going to run).

However, what is suitable for our corsets is probably not suitable for most!

Things to be aware of:
Some oriental silks are notorious for running as soon as they touch water (the dye, not the corset) and there's no way of knowing before hand.
Obviously anything with a vintage or heavy trim could be similar.
Leather - leather cleaners can be purchased in any supermarket which can be used to clean and shine (but definitely no water!)
Velvet - should be steamed over a kettle and brushed lightly with a baby's brush.
Finally, a lot of corsets are bonded - where 2 or 3 layers of fabric are 'stuck' together to make the corset stronger and although our bonding is washproof I don't know if that's par for the course.

If know which manufacturer made the corset you could email them as they'd know about fabric content etc and should be able to advise.

Katie