Ladies! Help with a skirt "emergency" for my lady!

[Eric the Ugly]

Alright, Fairest Ones.

I need your expertise and suggestions.

My gal got a skirt from an Etsy seller and, while it fits (being a rather large 'one-size-fits-all' deal), the tie at the waist is really thin ribbon.
It keeps slipping back inside the skirt. Besides...thin ribbon? Seriously?

She's a plus-sized lady.
I promised I'd take care of it (that's what I'm s'posed to do, right?).

Now, I'm pretty sure I know what I need. Some sort of thick, yet soft, cotton cord to replace the ribbon with so it ties, ties well and stays tied.
But what?
I guess I'll take a trek to a local fabric and/or craft store.
It's hard to tell how thick it is, but I'm imagining something similar to this:
http://www.joann.com/joann/catalog/productdetail.jsp?pageName=search&flag=true&PRODID=prd21318
Or this?
http://www.joann.com/joann/catalog/productdetail.jsp?pageName=search&flag=true&PRODID=xprd1144516

So...
I guess what I'm really asking is:
Am I on the right track?
and
You've just received a new skirt with the same issue. What do you do? What would you use/buy?
Anything else I've not thought of that occurs to you, I'd appreciate. I can't have too much info and help.

Thanks, ladies. So very much.
I gotta make the girl happy. Can't be any other way. Can't be.

EDIT: Note. GARF is this weekend. I've gotta have this squared away by then.
Also I'll note that she's a newb insofar as ren garb, so she's particularly flustered and frustrated. Yet another reason I've gotta deal with this so she feels better in general...

[Lady Alice of Mecklenburg]

Go up to joannes - take the skirt with you and talk to one of the nice ladys in the material cutting area. They'll probably direct you to their trim area where you can pick out flat cording by the yard.  Also grab a casing threaded tool (it looks like a long piece of coathanger wire but in blue plastic with a large eye in one end - it saves a bunch of time and sanity, tie the cording on the eye and then snake it through the casing) also take a pair of her jeans with you so the lady knows how much cording to cut.   I wear heavy skirts and I use the flat cotton cording.

Another easier option may be to takeit to an alterations person - I'm sure the could fix it up real quick.

Ribbons are pretty but not very functional

[LadyShadow]

Well Lady Alice summed it up just perfectly for you.  With the right stuff and tools it is easier to get it switched and taken care of.  Good luck on the calming front.  And best of luck with getting this taken care of.

[ArielCallista]

A simple solution would be a shoelace...flat would be best...then you get an array of color options...just make sure its the right length (any good shoe store will have both the inches and eyelet count on the shoelace packaging)...plus then its got aglets on it already so you dont have to worry about fraying...square knot should be enough

[stonebiscuit]

I always always always use elastic in my waistbands. I know it's not period, but no one is going to see my waistband anyway. It's so much easier, both to put on and take off. A few quick machine stitches on the ends of the elastic and I never have to worry about anything falling off.

[DonaCatalina]

Go up to joannes - take the skirt with you and talk to one of the nice ladys in the material cutting area. They'll probably direct you to their trim area where you can pick out flat cording by the yard.  Also grab a casing threaded tool (it looks like a long piece of coathanger wire but in blue plastic with a large eye in one end - it saves a bunch of time and sanity, tie the cording on the eye and then snake it through the casing) also take a pair of her jeans with you so the lady knows how much cording to cut.   I wear heavy skirts and I use the flat cotton cording.

Another easier option may be to takeit to an alterations person - I'm sure the could fix it up real quick.

Ribbons are pretty but not very functional

Flat cording would be best but laces for ice skates/roller skates work too. You could pick that up at a local rink. Regular shoe laces might not be long enough.

[Elennare]

If you can't find the threading tool, a large safety pin works well as a backup.  Just make sure the end of the cord is whipped (did I spell that right?) or otherwise stabilized so it won't fray off the pin.

[gem]

The best thing for drawstrings is cotton twill tape--but you won't find that at JoAnn's. The synthetic twill tape they sell there is awful stuff (won't stay tied, etc). Ebay (which is what the link is to) is the easiest place I've found for cotton twill tape, but you won't have it by this weekend. (If you have a pair of mundane pants, like pj bottoms, with a drawstring, chances are good that the drawstring is cotton twill tape. I think all of mine are. Come to think of it, you might be able to "borrow" the drawstring from something else you own, which would be an easy solution for this weekend!)

I'm also going to agree with Stonebiscuit: I always use elastic in my skirts. You want the elastic to be slightly smaller than the waist size (maybe an inch?), so it stretches just a little and fits snugly. This is what I would do in the meantime, before you can get some twill tape. Pull the elastic through (making sure it doesn't twist), overlap the ends, and sew them together.

My favorite tool for threading elastic/drawstring is a bodkin. There are other tools, but IMO this one is the easiest and most intuitive to use. But as Elennare said, two large safety pins work, too. (I have a terrible habit of forgetting about my bodkin until I'm about halfway through putting in a drawstring. )

Whatever you end up doing, make sure the drawstring is long enough that the ends don't get sucked back into the waistband casing--and then put knots in them so they can't fit through the hole.

Good luck!

[Marietta Graziella]

Fast and easy re-thread for your skirt-

If the existing, yet insufficient, cord is still in place, tie one end of the NEW cord to it and pull it to draw the new cord thru without the hassle of large safety pin, or other tool!

[gem]

MG, that is BRILLIANT!!

[Eric the Ugly]

Fast and easy re-thread for your skirt-

If the existing, yet insufficient, cord is still in place, tie one end of the NEW cord to it and pull it to draw the new cord thru without the hassle of large safety pin, or other tool!

And that's just what I did. Thanks so much!

Thanks to all of you. It's much appreciated! You ladies are awesome.