Pure Imagination

The body of the petticoat is constructed of 1/4” organza ribbon using Tunisian Simple Stitch. It is crocheted as one large piece, containing several gores for shaping and sizing. To keep track of stitch placements for the gores, I charted the entire piece on graph paper. It was then seamed using the mattress stitch for a virtually invisible seam. The waist is adjusted with a simple drawstring.
The bottom border is crocheted in a cotton blend fingering weight yarn using 3 stitching methods: Tunisian simple stitch, slip stitching and double crochet beading rows. It is hand stitched to the petticoat. The bottom border is interwoven with velvet ribbon. The slip stitching was surprisingly problematic. I took this opportunity to delve into the technique of Bosnian slip stitch crochet. I even constructed a flat hook from a butter knife. The flat hook made doing the slip stitch sections much easier.
The pull tab bodice was a construction challenge. I used .8mm nylon cording to ensure strength and abrasion resistance from the 1460 pull tabs. Any sharp edges on the pull tabs had to be filed smooth. Thank goodness for rotary tools. Each section was worked against the AlterYears paper pattern for shape and sizing. The front bodice closures are keepsake box clasps, turned on the vertical. Sides and shoulders are laced with same ribbon used for petticoat. A few rows for single crochet about the perimeter finish off the edges and provide a bit of decoration.