Alteration for a friend

A very close friend of mine requested that I modify her little girl's beautiful dress (fromAnastasia y Gus on etsy). Her toddler had worn the original dress with sage green ribbon as a flower girl in a wedding a few years ago. This year, another wedding has come up but the color scheme for the bridal party is midnight blue. My friend simply needed me to switch out the ribbon. I say, no problem! And it shouldn't have been difficult; except, has anyone tried looking for midnight blue in the middle of July, post July 4th??? It was verging on impossible! I found the ribbon only after looking in three different craft/sewing stores. The actual alteration process was very easy. Used a seam ripper to carefully undo the stitches. Used the original pieces of ribbon to measure out the new ones. (Tips on cutting ribbon at an angle: Put a piece of tape where you plan to make the cut. Cut the ribbon THROUGH the tape and this prevent the shifting which usually occurs. To prevent fraying, I singed the edges holding a flam just 1/4" away.) I inserted the new pieces of ribbon into their spots on the dress and pinned in place. Finally, I slip-stitched the ribbon in place. I am fascinated by the virtual invisibility of the slip-stich! Very cool.

Before

After