It all began with a smokin' deal on a V-neck dress -- a really sassy, bright, ankle-length sweater dress. The problem? It had a V in both the front AND the back. I have narrow shoulders. These two factors cannot peacefully coexist. The shoulders kept falling down, exposing my bra straps and making me generally self-conscious. It was a love-hate relationship.
This called for a quick fix.
This fix is SO quick that I did it in the last 20 minutes before we left for church one Sunday.
First, I found some ribbon that matched the color of my dress.
Next, I cut two lengths of ribbon approximately 18 inches long.
Then I found the optimal placement on the neck band in the back of the dress and pin your ribbons in place. If you're not sure how your dress will drape after you attach the ribbons, use safety pins and try your dress on, effectively "auditioning" the placement of the ribbons.
Make sure your placement is symmetrical. I checked the underside, too, to make sure I got them pinned nice and straight and that the ends of the ribbon overlapped the inside border of the neck band.
Next, I stitched the ribbon down in two places...right along either edge of the neck band. Can you see the stitch lines? By securing it in both places, I made sure that tying the ends didn't cause the dress to stretch or gape in any weird ways.
Finally, I trimmed the ends of to make them pretty and less likely to ravel.
I had it tied a little too tight in this picture, but you get the idea. It worked out perfectly, and most people commented on how pretty the ribbon in back looked!
I know, I know. The loud colors in the dress clashed with the loud colors on the back wall. But at least this way you get a sneak peak of a very cool upcoming project! :)