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What Katie Did Raw Silk “Morticia” Corset Review

This entry is a summary of the review video “WKD Raw Silk Morticia Corset Review (UPDATED)” which you can watch on YouTube here:

Fit, length Front is about 13 inches long, shortest part (from underbust to lap) is about 10.5 inches. Wasp-waist silhouette. Good for medium to long-waisted people, may be too long for those with a short torso. Has enough room in the ribcage and hip areas; very comfortable. Will cover lower-tummy pooch. This Morticia seems straighter/ flatter in the profile than the last Morticia.
Material 3 layers; fashion layer is 100% raw silk and the lining and interlining are both 100% cotton twill.
Construction 5 panel pattern (may be considered 6 if you take into account the back panel) with an additional 2 hip gores per side. Top-stitching between panels, external boning channels (double boning), and a floating liner. Also has 6 garter tabs.
Binding Matching raw silk bias tape neatly machine stitched on both inside and outside.
Waist tape 1″ wide invisible waist tape between the interlining and lining.
Modesty panel Attached 7.5″ wide fabric lacing protector on the back, finished in same raw silk and twill lining (cannot be removed); stiffened placket under busk.
Busk Standard flexible busk (1/2″ wide on each side) about 12″ long (6 pins), backed with a stiffener on each side, and a reinforcing bone on either side of the busk.
Boning 22 steel bones not including busk. 8 spirals (1/4″ wide) in external channels on each side, plus another 2 flats (1/4″ wide) sandwiching the grommets and the extra reinforcing bone beside the busk.
Grommets 24 grommets total, size #0 two-part grommets with moderate flange; set equidistantly, no splits, no wear/fraying/pulling out of grommets.
Laces Strong nylon braided shoe-lace style laces; they’re thick, they grip well. They were long enough for my purposes. Has some spring to the lace but very difficult to break.
Price Currently $310 USD on the What Katie Did website.

Final Thoughts:

There have been a few changes to the Morticia corset (if you compare this review with my previous Morticia review in the plain black satin) – whether these changes have occurred over time or if it’s what sets apart the smaller sizes from the larger ones, I can’t be totally sure. But I will still say two years later that the Morticia is still my favorite cut of all the WKD underbust corsets, and still seems to be the popular amongst other reviewers – the first Morticia video review I’ve done is still my highest-watched review to date! For those who have a bit of lower-tummy pooch, WKD also makes a spoon-busk version for extra support.

Of all their underbust corsets, the size 22″ Morticia is closest to my “custom” measurements with an underbust measurement of approximately 30″, iliac crest of about 33″ and bottom edge (close to low-hip) around 35″. Therefore from the smallest part of the waist to the bottom edge, I believe that this corset (in any size) is capable of giving no less than 12″ hipspring which makes it suitable for hourglass and pear-shaped corseters. Some clients find that they even need to order a size down from what they usually order (usually 5-6″ waist reduction instead of 3-4″). However be realistic about this – if you are relatively inexperienced with corseting, you may find this corset to be quite challenging for you to close – be patient and go slowly; you may be able to close this corset and have an enviable 50’s silhouette in good time.

To see the Morticia underbust and other cuts/ styles of WKD corsets, visit What Katie Did’s site.

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Leatherotics Pink/White 1214 Cincher Review

This entry is a summary of the review video “Leatherotics Pink/White 1214 Cincher Review” which you can watch on YouTube here:

Fit, length Front is 10 inches high; the side is 7.5 inches high. This is standard size/ length. Gives a gentle hourglass silhouette. Hip gores make this comfortable around the hips. Quite a short cincher so not recommended for those with a lower tummy pooch issue.
Material 2 main layers; fashion layer is 100% nappa leather (0.8mm thick), white with pink accents. Lining is black cotton twill. Internal boning channels are also made from twill.
Construction 6 panel pattern, and two hip gores. Faux boning channels on outside (real boning channels on the inside). Also has 4 garter tabs but I wouldn’t use them because the corset is so short.
Binding Pink leather binding neatly machine stitched on both outside and inside. Inside is trimmed down, not folded under, to reduce bulk. This is normal.
Waist tape 1″ wide waist tape visible on the inside, made of satin ribbon and secured at the boning channels.
Modesty panel None on front, nor back.
Busk Standard width busk (half inch wide on each side) about 9″ long (4 pins); a little stiffer than the standard flexible busk I’ve tried in other corsets.
Boning 14 steel bones not including busk. 10 spirals (1/4″ wide) in internal channels on the sides, 2 flats (1/4″ wide) sandwiching the grommets.
Grommets 16 grommets total, size #00 two-part grommets with moderate flange; set equidistantly, no splits. Not sure if these are the old style or new style grommets so there may be a risk of damage but so far no fraying/pulling out of grommets.
Laces Strong nylon braided shoe-lace style laces; they’re not too thick, they grip well and they are long enough. Not much spring to it. Very difficult to break.
Price Standard size pink/white of this is £43 UK (about $70 USD), while black leather version is £50 and twill is £30, at the time of writing this.
Leatherotics 1214 on Ebay (aff link)

Final Thoughts:
Of the underbust corsets I’ve tried from this company, this cincher has been the most comfortable. The hips flare out in a flattering manner and there is virtually no pinching on my iliac crest like with the other slim silhouette corsets.

I am still a touch concerned about the softness of the leather and how it may affect how well the grommets hold, but will update this review if anything goes awry. So far they seem to be holding up.

Edited later to add: the grommets looked to be loosening a bit because the soft leather was allowing the grommet holes to expand, so I ended up replacing the grommets with larger ones, with a wider flange.

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Azrael’s Accomplice (AZAC) “Curvy Girl” Corset Review

This entry is a summary of the review video “AZAC Curvy Girl Corset Review & Modification” which you can watch on YouTube here:

Fit, length Curvy, extreme hourglass silhouette. Slightly longline over the hips. Waist stretched over time (about 1.25 inches).The longest part of the corset at the center front is 12.5”. Good for people with an average-length torso. Has enough room in the ribcage and hip areas; very comfortable. May accentuate lower tummy pooch due to inward bend at the front waist.
Material Mostly 3 layers. The fashion fabric is a lightweight hot pink satin (it’s available in other colours), and is flatlined to a light woven cotton underneath. The strength layer of the corset is the twill lining.
Construction 5 panel pattern with 1 large hip gore per side. Top-stitching between panels. It looks like external boning channels but these are simply decorative and only sewed to the top pink satin; the boning is inserted into channels created between the twill lining and strips of canvas laid down inside.
Binding Baby pink satin bias binding around the hip gores and around the top and bottom match the decorative channels, and are machine finished on the inside and outside.
Waist tape 0.5″ wide invisible waist tape between the interlining and lining.
Modesty panel Single layer, unboned modesty panel in the back made from the same hot pink satin. There’s also an unstiffened modesty placket in the front under the busk.
Busk Standard flexible busk (1/2″ wide on each side), 11″ long with 5 pins. Busk is reinforced by a ¼” flat bone on each side.
Boning 14 steel bones not including busk, all ¼” wide flat steel. They’re finished nicely, but they are extremely flexible. This is alright where it curves over the extreme hip spring, but the bones don’t feel sturdy in the back by the grommets (tends to bow outward at the waist).
Grommets 20 grommets total; 2-part (includes washer) and in size #0. I think it could have used about 4 more grommets near the bottom, which I put in later. Grommets are sturdy with a large flange, there is no fraying around the material, they’re not pulling out, although the ribbon catches a tiny bit on a couple of the split grommets in the back while I’m tying it up.
Laces Half-inch wide double-faced satin ribbon that matches the decorative binding and channels. Very strong, hasn’t frayed much even with the slight catching on the grommets.
Price Currently $165 USD
Azrael’s Accomplice “Curvy Girl” underbust corset as shown in their product listing.

Final Thoughts:

Don’t get me wrong, I adored the shape of this corset. It was indeed a corset for curvy girls! I was just torn on how light it was. Anyone who has handled a few real corsets can know how deceptively heavy a corset can be, but this one was as light as, say, a t-shirt. I loved it because it didn’t feel like a burden to wear, but was slightly concerned that it might not have been steel boned.

I decided to do a little dissecting (nothing that I couldn’t repair again) and was relieved to find that it did indeed have flexible flat steel bones. For good measure and ease of lacing, I replaced just the bones in the grommet panel, and also added a few more grommets. I also boned and suspended the modesty panel, although that has no real bearing on the corset itself. The rest of the corset – quality of the grommets, twill strength layer, internal waist tape etc – are of typical off-the-rack quality, which I was satisfied with.

To see the Curvy Girl corset and other styles made by Azrael’s Accomplice, you can find their site here.