Monday, September 1, 2008

Question Received on the Subject of Modesty

I recently received the following question:

I had a question for you about your sewing. Last summer I bought several dresses before I understood about dressing modestly. I still love the style and fabric of the dresses but would like to add length and make them not so low cut. Do you have any ideas to do that to dresses (or other articles of clothing so I'm not getting rid of much loved clothing and not spending tons of money for a new wardrobe but can make them modest. )
~Anonymous

Anonymous,

First of all, what a great question! I'm so glad you asked it! Secondly, praise God for His working in your life, to bring you to the joys and blessings of modesty! That's so wonderful. I also must say that I really admire your desire to be frugal-that's a great and very helpful
characteristic for a woman to have!

I'm not the most skilled sewer by any means, but I'd be happy to share with you some tips I have. First off all, I often wear a tank top or cami of some sort with tops and dresses that are cut low. Layering like this is really cute and fun, and adds some unique detailing to your outfit. You can also go to a fabric store to search for some fabric that will match your dress and then possibly sew that to the top of the dress front. You could also buy some lace and sew that to the front if the article of clothing is just an inch or two too low. Also, with some patterns, you can, when cutting the fabric out, lengthen the bottom of the article of clothing, or make it higher in the front. You can't do this with all patterns though, so be careful! If you have a pattern that this can be done with, then do not cut along the line of the pattern piece where you want to add length-instead, cut a few inches above it.

As to adding length to the bottom of skirts or dresses, I would suggest adding some lace or detailing to the end of the skirt or dress. You could also purchase some fabric to match and make your skirt a multi-fabric skirt, which are really cute!

Also, if you're in need of modest clothing but don't want to spend much, I encourage you to check out thrift stores and resell shops. You can find some really cute, like-new dresses and skirts for low prices.
My dear friend Allison gave some great ideas in the comment section of this post:

"**Anonymous: My sister and I have added pieces to make sleep-shirts not so low-cut, so it's kind of the same idea. I'm not an expert seamstress at all, and it might depend on the kind of dress it is, but if you simply find a material that matches, you can sew it on the inside of the dress to make it higher-cut. My sister also added length to her sleep-shirt, but she ended up not liking it because she couldn't take very far steps or sit down well. Keep that in mind--unless you add a material that's stretchy or have a dress that flares quite a bit, you might have some trouble doing stuff in it! However, my sister's was a sleep-shirt, so it's not quite the same thing. :) Also, with some shirts or dresses I layer them with a tanktop to make them more modest. Hope this helps a little! In Christ, Allison"
Thanks so much for your help and great advice, Allison!

I hope her tips and mine prove helpful to you, anonymous!

**Input requested: do you have any tips for this lady? If so, please write about them in the comment section.


*this is scheduled post #1-I'm currently on vacation.

3 comments:

  1. Hi Rebekah,

    I just came across your blog through the Kindred spirits network, and I'm absolutely delighted with it! :) I'm also on there...my blog is called Julia's Journal.

    As to the post...the only thing I would add is to be careful about adding lace at the neckline, I've seen it sewn on the inside, peeking out, and it looked like the lingerie was showing! :O!
    So...anyway,
    Blessings!
    Julia from Julia's Journal

    ReplyDelete
  2. I know you already have the award I gave to you at my blog but I wanted to give it to you as well! Blessings to you!
    In Him,
    Bethany

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  3. Hi, this is the anonymous who asked the question on modesty. Just wanted to thank you for all the advice and all the advice from your readers! I was unable to find any matching material to add on and have zero sewing skills so instead i made them all into skirts! The dresses i wanted to keep were all empire line and had elastic to make them empire line. So i basically cut off the top, a friend sewed it up at the elastic and now i have many new skirts! Easy and cheap, what could be better!
    ~cait

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Hi!! Thank you so much for visiting my blog! Please come back often. Thank you for your comment as well; your input is always most welcome! Even if you disagree with something, I encourage you to leave a comment; I just ask that you do so in a loving and Christ-like manner.

God bless you!

~Rebekah S.