Thank you so much everyone for responding! I know it's not exactly a "normal" question to be asking.
Sorry for not responding sooner!!!
Thanks
snoopymom for the suggestion. After thinking about it for a day or two I've finally figured out what you meant, can't believe I was so slow to not realize what you meant sooner. That's totally an idea and if all else fails that's probably going to be my go to solution. Not to lessen your suggestion but I just didn't know if there were a way to tie a bow that'd look nice. As crazy as it sounds I once bought a dress that tied in the back and when I voiced my concerns about "ugly bows" when I tied it the saleswoman showed me how to tie a beautiful perfect bow. I've sadly forgotten as that was years ago and I wondered if someone else knew what the technique was. Either that or the more suggestions the better chance I have at getting this to work!
I wanted to post pictures as,
maxmom suggested but then the camera went missing.
I found it and I just completed Zoë's first photo shoot. Hehehe, she now loves the camera because that means she'll get a lot of treats.
From looking at other dresses around the web I've realized that my latest attempt is as far as it's going, I won't be able to add on the ribbon as I want to. That said I'm going to adjust my pattern a bit to see if a few minor changes will make it possible.
Hopefully this makes things a tiny bit clearer.
-Vicky
(1) Zoë modeling her dress off
(2) Here's the dress laid out flat
(3) This is sort of a mock up of how I want the ribbon (somehow tacked down to the bottom of the bodice and then a bow, like the thread suggests, in the middle of the horizontal ribbon)