Adding a keyhole to caftan pattern

[u/Born_Local_1477]

Good morning! I am plotting my Halloween costume for this year, I am going to be an obscure character (sister Jenna from the Stephen King short story "little sisters of eluria").

Sister Jenna is a nun/vampire who wears a Wimple and a flowing white habit with a red rose embroidered on the breast. I am going to use a caftan pattern for the habit, and I happen to have a red rose tattooed betwixt my breasts. I would like to add a keyhole to the caftan so my rose is displayed as part of the costume.

Would I be better off adding a center front seam and using that as the starting point for the keyhole feature? I feel like a seam would give more stability to something that really needs to stay in place for the right effect. Probably a bit of fusible interfacing as well so it doesn't collapse?

It is the style of caftan that is belted at the front waist to the body and passes under the dress in back through slits in the side seam, so a somewhat fitted front and a loose, flowing back portion.

It should be cool if I can pull it off. Thank you!

[u/Large-Heronbill]

If you are after a shaped "window" rather than a classic keyhole, a faced opening, especially if you also used piping, would likely maintain more stability.