This beautiful, fully-lined dress with embroidery detail was $10 at the local Deseret Industries thrift store. But there was one issue: the back was a little too low. Removing the sash at the waistline and sewing it in at the shoulders and  back neckline created a fill-in for the low back.

         Front                         Back Before                 Back After
    

Instructions

1. The bow snapped at the back. Upon unsnapping the bow, I noted that the sash was stitched to the bow. I carefully snipped the stitching connecting the bow and sash to the dress, detaching it completely.

   

2. I snipped apart the two sashes. I folded one in half, tucked it into the dress at the shoulder, and stitched it in place. Then I draped it down toward the back neckline.

3. I pleated the sash just a little bit below the back neckline. Then I stitched through the pleats to secure them, and stitched the sash to the neckline close to the zipper. Then I repeated the process on the other side.

4. To attach the bow, I positioned it on the sash, then folded the sash back while keeping the bow in place. Then I stitched the bow to the sash. The next step was to add a snap to the sash on the other side. The bow can then be snapped shut across the back, and the inner edges drawn together, to complete the modest makeover.