Night dress of the night, outfit 460. How To Add A Belt & Belt Loops Made From Ribbon.
I wanted to add a belt. I looked at pale silky ribbons and bright, matt, fuschia tape. Although the pale ribbon looked neat, the bright colours made my heart sing. I found myself muttering, 'the pale satin look ribbons is more elegant,' as I started cutting the brighter ribbon, just to see what it would look like, as I had a long roll of it, and could afford to cut off a piece which might not be right.
How do you attach the ribbon to the garment to stop it slipping off? You could sew a line of stitches, vertically or horizontally, in the middle of the centre of the back.
Alternatively, sew two half pieces from the left and right from the seam under the arms.
I looked at my dressing gowns. They had loops made from the dress material. Or the same ribbon width. My ribbon was already the right size and I would have to cut the hem to make the night dress fabric ribbon. Why bother? I folded the ribbon end from the spool over the piece cut off, to make sure I had enough to go around the ribbon, with a bit to spare, and some either end to fold under and dew onto to the night dress.
Now I needed pink cotton. I could have pulled a thread from the ribbon. I decided to use white. When I am wearing the night dress, that is under my arms and at the side. My husband won't notice the dress, never mind the stitching. i can always go back and re-do the stitching later.
Meanwhile, I have a night dress drawn tight so that I feel more elegant. It doesn't drag on the floor or trip me up. It looks more like a caftan if I have to answer the door to the lady who delivers my post and parcels.
I am very happy. Having achieved this with a night dress which nobody sees (except you), I can now have the courage and inspiration to add belts onto some caftans and dresses which I wear in public in daytime. When i get my sewing machine working, I could sew it neatly. The hand sewing only took less than five minutes for each loop.
I was rather tired. I did not have the energy to photograph each step of the process, or video myself.
Here are the steps:
Cutting Ribbon For The Belt
1 Find ribbon long enough to make a belt. If you have two pieces which are too short, link them with a safety pin to see if they will make a belt. Or take two safety pins, Pin the end of each one at waist level under each arm and see if you have enough to tie behind your back. If you don't, link them with a piece of elastic.
2 Tie a bow in front and cut off ribbon with a couple of centimetres extra to turn in the ends neatly. Cut with either pinking shears, or diagonally, or both. (If you are not into sewing, you could seal the fabric ends with clear nail varnish.)
3 Pin the ribbon at the right height on one side of the garment with a safety pin.
Cutting 2 loops
You could have one loop centre back of the dress or night dress, or no loops and sew the belt on in one place.
4 fold a piece of ribbon for the holding loop around the waist tie and cut it.
5 Pin the loop where you want it. (I chose just behind the seam at the side. I wanted the support of the side seam, but did not want the loop to be too obvious. Decide if both ends of the loop come from the same place, so the loppo can go up or down, or fix the top and end of the loop vertically on the garment.
Sewing 2 Loops
6 Cut matching cotton.
7 Thread a needle - I use either a self-threading needle (see previous posts) or use a small needle threader which you poke through the eye.
8 Knot the end of the sewing cotton.
9 Sew both ends of the loop. Check that the belt is hanging at the right height.
10 Sew down the second loop at waist level, the same height, down from the sleeve, or shoulder, or up from the hem. Alternatively, or look in the mirror if your body is lopsided like mine is due to a broken collar bone in a car accident.
Securing And Storing The Belt
11 Decide whether to sew the belt to the night dress or dress to guard against loss.
Alternatively, knot the belt into one loop or another.
12 Alternatively, thread the belt through the hanging loop on the garment neck. Or hang the belt from the hanger. If the garment has a picket, you can place the belt neatly folded flat inside the pocket and safety pin one end so that it does not fall out but pokes out very slightly so that it is visible.
Useful Websites
Pale pink night dress, vintage, Marks & Spencer
Red tape
Herringbone ribbon tape on spoon about three pounds with free delivery from smoggycat on ebay
Pink tape
Similarly
Self threading needles
12 or 24 in storage case brown (some pictures show black but text says brown)
just under three pounds, 2.88 pounds sterling and free postage from China in July 2022 on ebay from E7463 and several others
Pinking shears
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Hui-Tong-Non-Slip-Suitable-Left-Handed/dp/B08MCJQWYD/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?adgrpid=102840739177
UzRjJNU0lGQURNNlkxJndpZGdldE5hbWU9c3BfYXRmJmFjdGlvbj1jbGlja1JlZGlyZWN0JmRvTm90TG9nQ2xpY2s9dHJ1ZQ==
At 7 pounds fifty five pence, the cheapest I have seen, on Amazon. They used to be about 20 dollars in Spotlight in Singapore.
Cotton
For a lot of work in one colour such as white or black, the more expensive, better quality cotton, usually on a larger spool, does not break, tie into knots, look untidy, and is slightly waxed to hold the threads together. However, I tend to buy sets of cheap cotton in order to have lots of colours.
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