Modestify Your Prom: Episode 1

Love a prom dress that isn't perfectly modest? Don't worry, you have options. Here's a dress worthy for prom, with a plethora of additions that would make it worthy for you. My favorites? The metallic ruffle shrug and the red willow top (to be worn under the dress, of course). Bonus- if you like what you see here, most of these combinations would end up costing you less than 100 dollars. Being modest isn't as difficult as you thought, huh?

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You Have Options - by CherryTree84 on Polyvore.com

Modest Tip: "Unshrink" a Shirt

Sometimes you have the cutest t-shirt, but it's just too small - it rides up, it constricts, and all in all it just ain't modest. Well, the Household Hacker has come up with a solution for us. Here's a tutorial on how to "unshrink" a shirt, using vinegar and heat.

Make Your Own Layering T-Shirt

So, they're a big deal these days - shirts made specifically to go under other shirts/dresses/tank-tops/what have you. The problem for cheapskates like me is that, heck, they can get kind of pricey. All for a shirt you're only going to see the bottom of, or maybe the sleeves. So, what can a cheapskate do about it? Well, if that cheapskate has a sewing machine, that cheapskate can now take advantage of (dun dun duuuuuun)

The Great Layering T-Shirt Tutorial

Step One: Find yourself a big ole t-shirt that has your desired color, stretchiness, and softness. Maybe someone in your family can donate one to you, maybe a trip to your local Goodwill/DI/Savers will do the trick. I got mine at Savers. The t-shirt should be many sizes too big for you.


Step Two: Remove the sleeves. Cut them off, leaving about an inch beyond the seems.


Step Three: Turn the shirt inside-out. Find a shirt or tank top that fits you well and line it up with the t-shirt so that the collars are in pretty much the same place (I think the picture makes it easy to understand). Trace the sides and pin.


Step Four: Sew along the lines you drew, then trip the excess.


Step Five: Iron down the seams, so that they are open. Then, sew a top-stitch on either side of the seam. This gives it a nice detail and makes the shirt fit you more comfortably, with no bunchy seams.


Step Six: The sleeves. For this, just fold down the inch of sleeve material, then fold it under. Or you could fold it halfway, then fold it again. Just look at the pictures, hopefully it will make more sense. Then, sew down that hem.


If you want, you're done! You can also cut off the collar to make the neckline more to your liking (as I did) and you could also shorten the t-shirt if you feel it's too long. But there you have it - your very own layering t-shirt.

Button-Down Shirt Save

Ok, this is less about modesty and more about avoiding embarrassing situations, but I think it comes in handy in both categories. I think button-down shirts are cute and often classy, but they have a sort of side effect that can cause awkward moments. What I'm talking about is the unintended peek at your bra they often give people because of the gaps between the buttons. Well, today I found this neat little product that you can use with any button-down shirt to eliminate this issue entirely. The No See 'Ems blouse front closures from Bug Catcherz. They also have handy adhesive strips for other slippery clothing issues. I used strips like these at my wedding and they really helped keep everything in place and made sure I was only showing what I wanted to show. Check it out, and have a good weekend. When we return on Monday, the blog may have a new look.

One More Reason to Love Japan

Ah, Japan. Home of tempura, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Hello Kitty, and all thing cute. Now we have one more reason to love Japan: the haramaki. Apparently, as I discovered while randomly stumbling craft blogs, the haramaki is a new fashion trend over in Japan, and one I think we should import over here to the good ol' U. S. of A. and use for our own purposes. It's also been called a belly warmer or a tummy warmer, which is rather descriptive of what it is. Basically it's a tube of fabric or knitted material that wraps around your stomach, waist, and hips to provide a little extra warmth and coverage. This can be especially useful since sometimes the only pants you can buy are of the low-rise variety (a fashion pet-peeve of mine). Here are some pictures of some cute haramaki I found online:







As you can see, there's a lot of potential for spicing up an outfit, providing color, adding modesty, or just adding texture to whatever you're wearing! I gotta get me one of those. It's been a bit frustrating, because I can't seem to find anywhere to buy them on the internet, but I did find a tutorial for how to make one on Planet June (a fun, crafty blog to visit in your free time). Go here to access that.

Quick Fixes for Formal Dresses

I found a neat little rundown of some things you can do to fix up a tube top, sleeveless, low cut, or backless dress over at modestprom.com in their section on modest makeovers. They even have downloadable, printable patterns that you can use to modestify your dress or top. I'm way psyched. Enjoy!

Easy Fix

Ok, so I bought a really cute dress, um, last year, but haven't been able to wear it in a while as my husband pointed out that it is too short in the back and shows my garments. Whoops. So, taking some inspiration from vintage hem, I made my own lengthening underslip. Here's what I did.
First, I gathered my materials:
One, an old, knee-length slip I probably stole from my mom somewhere between 5 and 7 years ago. :) Love you Mom!
And two, about two yards of thick lace I bought for 67 cents a yard.

Next, I busted out the handy sewing machine and just sewed the lace to the slip, basically just using a straight stitch to tack the lace right onto the slip. And ta-da! Now I have a modestifying slip for whatever occasion :)


So now I'm happy cuz I get to wear my cute dress again, and maybe take a second look at some dresses that were not-quite-long enough. :)

Another Adorable Shrug

Time for more shrugs - and more "I made this!" joy. Using a video tutorial from Threadbanger (below), I successfully made the adorable little shrug shown below. It worked perfectly. The sweater I used was a Christmas gift from a few years ago; I didn't want to get rid of it because it was cute and I am sentimental, but the darn thing squeezed my arms mercilessly and had some sort of vendetta against me that involved constantly showing off my stomach. And so, I revamped it and have been terribly pleased with the results.


Improvements: 1.) Now it's supposed to be short. 2.) Cutting the sleeves and doing a zigzag stitch really opened those sleeves up and now they don't make me feel like I'm about to bust out like the Hulk. 3.) The button. I heart buttons.

Make yours:

For Instant Modesty: Part II

For instant modesty,

Add one of these:



To any of these:





















































Check out the ModesTee, wearable under any current fashion, here.

For Instant Modesty

Add one of these:





















To this:





















Or add this:
















To this:

Visit vintagehem.com to check out these awesome modestifiers, and make your own modest fashions!

I Made This!

A while back I posted a tutorial on how to modestify a shirt that is too short (here). Well, this weekend I decided to try my own medicine and see how it worked. I had a really cute/funny shirt (I bought it from a used clothing store a while back), but it turned out it was a bit too tiny - it always rode up and exposed my back, which I just didn't enjoy. So, I did my best to follow the tutorial, but I went a little crazy and added my own ideas to it. I think it turned out all right. Here's what I did:

1. The shirt was a little too tight, so I added panels to each side. I had to rip open the side seams then sew in a strip of black t-shirt fabric from a shirt my husband was willing to part with.




2. I then used the bottom of Husby's shirt to add about six inches to the bottom of my shirt. Unfortunately when I cut the fabric, I didn't take into account the extra room I would need for the panels I added and the hips I was born with. So, I was left with big empty spots on both sides.




3. I solved this issue by sewing three button holes on each side of my big empty spaces and using the bottom hem of the original shirt to lace through the holes. Ta da:




Feedback?

Modest Makeover: Adorable Skirt

Here's a super cute tutorial from craftydaisies on how to take an old pair of jeans (or perhaps a pair of too-short shorts) and some fun fabric (maybe some old t-shirts or tank tops?) and turn it into a very awesome and very modest skirt. Enjoy!

Easy-Peasy Wrap

Here's a fun tutorial on how to make this cute wrap from an old button-down shirt. I love wraps because they are a cute and easy way to add color and fun to an outfit. You can wear one over practically anything you want to modestify - sleeveless, tube top, whatever it may be, it becomes instantly modestified, and you become instantly adorable. Hope you enjoy this little tutorial.

Modestify Your Tanktop

Do you have a tank top that you absolutely love to wear, but you've recently made a commitment to modesty? Don't say goodbye to it just yet: you can have your tank and wear it too--if you modestify it. This is a neat little how-to from Ohmystars Craft on how to add ruffled sleeves to a tank top.

Shirt Too Short? Modestify It!

Here's an awesome little tutorial from Ohmystars Craft on how to take a too-tiny t-shirt and make it into a really cute layered look.

Strapless to Fabulous

This web page teaches how to turn a strapless gown into a fabulous, modest one with just a few alterations.