Dress Of The Day with Angela

  I wore my Union Jack hat as a prop in my speech about the English language for a humorous speech contest at Harrovians club in London. The hat had no retaining ribbon. The hat fell off when I leaned forward and was likely to be blown off in the wind, and it was a gusty day. I needed a ribbon. I had known this for some time. I periodically thought about this when I looked at the hat, while the hat sat around unusued, waiting for an outing. But I hesitated to make a hole in the hat in case it split.  However, on a windy day, I knew I needed to secure my hat. Especially as I was walking with a walking aid, and a heavy, bulky bag, and did not have a hand free to hold my hat. The Ribbon I have lots of reels of ribbon. I would have preferred red or blue. Less likely to show dirt or get stained. but the white was to hand already cut so I took that. I chose a wider ribbon, rather than a thinner piece. I  wanted it to be comfortable. The Hole Next, the hole. What could I use to ...

Belt holes. Photo by Angela Lansbury. Copyright.   I had a black belt which was too large. I had gone on a diet. The belt slipped sideways. I looked lopsided.  Holes Needed A fabric belt, which has no reinforcing, can be tied. But a stiff belt needs holes. Especially if you have a pretty buckle to show off. I remembered from long ago that I had made holes in belt when I was alone. I had used small scissors. Awls. Anything to hand. This time I had family to help, my practical husband. MARKING THE HOLE DISTANCE The solution was simple. My husband made two holes. The same distance apart as the original ones. You could use a ruler to measure the distance, or even a piece of string marked with biro or tailors' chalk.  Chalk Marks Then mark the belt with the tailors' chalk. Why tailors' chalk? Because it rubs off easily without staining. Without lots of chalk dust.  Ties To Tighten However, I intended to turn the belt buckle to the back because I had lost the tab which hol...