Merry Sweet Castle Op!

a skirt to dress modification~
This was a fairly quick project involving adding a bodice to a skirt to make it into a one piece. The skirt is a print replica of BABY's Merry Sweet Castle which I bought of a friend cheaply.
To convert it into dress, I made a simple bodice- the type that can be counted as either OP or JSK, depending on who you're talking to- out of some nice soft corded velour. I thought that it'd make a nice contrast against the skirt fabric as it is a rougher material, and some of the colour is faded so I needed something to balance that out. The velour was a bit stretchy and thus I had a jod working with it getting it to not stretch and become larger than the lining fabric (normal anti-static lining to match the lining the skirt already had). I didn't add a fastening to the dress, instead made a shirring panel in the back which lets it slide comfortably over my head and accommodate an increasingly large bust measurement! The sleeves are elasticated cap sleeves.
The neckline is decorated with some black tulle lace embroidered with a pink floral design that matches the flowers in the print nicely! I then made an array of roses out of scrap lining fabric and stitched those on top for texture, there is also a hint of soft chemical lace at the top. Over this I stitched a few lavender and black ribbon bows for a little prettiness.
To the hemline of the skirt I added another tier of black gathered tulle lace under the already existing tier, which i stitched down with an embroidery stitch to make the skirt transition more smoothly into the lace. At regular points along the hem I also added black ribbon bows with guipure daisies.
All in all, I spent around £10 on this dress, especially seeing as I used a lot of scaps!