How to add a quick slot-through belt to tighten a caftan. Short yellow caftan. Dress of the day 548,

 

Angela wearing a short yellow caftan with yellow ribbon belt. Dress 548. Photo by Angela Lansbury.


Angela wearing a short yellow caftan with a slot-through belt. Photo by Angela Lansbury.

Here's how it looked loose.
Loose, short, yellow caftan. Dress 548. Photo by Angela Lansbury.


I was ready to go out to a meeting and looked in the mirror. My short yellow caftan was a loose design. It looked sloppy, loose like I had just got out of bed in a night dress. Also flat chested. I looked shapeless.

I tied a ribbon around the waist  to see the effect. It looked good.  Like a proper fitted dress. Neater. Younger.

So I cut slots in the waist seams on my left and right. You fold the fabric horizontally and make a small slit near the side seam, careful not to cut the seam. You can then use the hole or small cut to inset the scissors further and cut upwards or downwards. I check the right hand side of the garment against the left side to be sure that the two slits are at the same height between the shoulders and the hem.

It took less than five minutes to choose a yellow ribbon of the right colour from my collection of ribbons. Then to make two small cuts. Thread through the ribbon and tie at the front. Check the effect of the resulting dress front and back.

Buying Notes
Thinner ribbons are cheaper to buy. You have less of an end to the ribbon to have to sew down or seal with nail varnish or fabric glue.

You can buy sets of ten different coloured ribbons online. 

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