Project Run and Play week 4: Valentine's Day Dress

I LOVE how this dress turned out, I think it's partly because I actually slowed down and took my time.  I purchased the fabric a while back, it's a poly blend knit with a lot of body.  I honestly never noticed the heart motif until I was looking through my stash for something that would make a great V-day dress!  It was a black and white graphic pattern, but I knew I wanted to soften it a bit.  So I dyed it with a rose pink RIT dye.  It's a nice soft pink and black now. 

 I used Simplicity 2460 (Project Runway Collection) to base this dress off of.  I didn't change anything about the sleeve, other than to add the pink bias edge.  I added a bit more of a scoop to the neckline and cut my own skirt, opting to gather it instead of adding pleats.  My daughter wanted a bubble hem, so that is what she got...and it was such a great addition to the dress!  It added some fullness to the skirt, which it needed. 

This dress definitely made me think.  I knew I didn't want to use the waist band from the pattern, but I didn't want to simply join the bodice and skirt together.  So I edged the bodice in bias tape and stitched bias tape to the skirt as well....only I didn't finish it, I ironed it flat.  I then placed the bodice over the skirt and overlapped the tape.  I stitched over my original finishing seam on the bodice and joined the two together.  It was totally trial and error...I got lucky and it turned out super cute.