Modest is Hottest

In our faith we have high standards for our lives. The For the Strength of the Youth pamphlet describes our standards which we live by. It is completely your choice of what standards you want to live by. These are standards set by the church which are strongly encouraged to live by. Something that is very important to me is modesty. I have high standards for myself which includes what I wear. Modest clothes are clothes that are not revealing. Some of the basic guidelines the church has outlined on modest attire include shirts with sleeves, no low cut in front or back, no bare midriff should show, and shorts/skirts should be worn to the knee. Bathing suits should also not be very revealing and should cover the stomach. Some say the church is too strict and should "lighten up." I disagree completely. It may be hard to find modest clothing but it's worth it. Dressing modestly has helped me and my self worth. Besides, since when did it hurt to cover up a little? :)

Now on to my craft! Taking a borderline too short dress and making it modest!
I needed a new dress for Easter (and because I love new clothes.) The mommers and I went shopping and found a cute dress and JC Penney. I tried it on and it was just a tad too short. Since it's so hard to find a dress with decent sleeves, we decided we could pull a Tim Gunn and make it work. With a few inches of fabric and some thread, you can turn a borderline dress into something modest!

What you'll need:
A dress that needs some adding to
Thread (1 spool of the background color, and one bobbin)
Pins (to pin the extra fabric onto the dress so it doesn't stretch or move while sewing)
A yard of fabric that is 5+ inches wide (depending on how long you need your addition to be you can have more or less than 5 inches. 5 inches is just a guess made to make sure there was the right length after sewing.)
Sewing machine (or you can do it yourself as well!)


Sew the extra material onto the hem on the back side of the dress. We gathered the fabric slightly to give it flow but that was just an added touch.
Be sure to choose thread that will blend into the background color. Sew on the hem and your stitches can seem more hidden. The bobbin thread can the same color as your extra fabric but doesn't have to be.

**We folded the fabric so there wasn't a raw edge. This may add an inch to the width of the extra fabric.

And just like that, you have a little extra length!

Want to know more about our beliefs and standards? Check out the link on the right hand side towards the top of the page. I added some links to the bottom of this post as well. PS you don't have to be young to have these standards :)

For the Youth
For the Strength of the Youth
Articles of Faith

9 comments :

Diana said...

I know you will look great in the dress on Sunday!

Jordan McCollum said...

Nicely done! The picture doesn't do it justice. Fashion show?

PS: http://pinterest.com/pin/7652782/

Tammy said...

Cute dress! This is a great idea. I would love to do this to some shirts I find.....so cute but way too short. I may get the sewing machine out and try it. Happy Easter!

Just Jaime said...

Fashion show, fashion show, fashion show at lunch!

The ruffle adds a great touch! Love the color!

Unknown said...

Love this idea! The color of the dress is great and the ruffle adds length and fun!

Heather Landry said...

I agree with you about being modest. I managed to find the perfect dress for Easter that didn't show things I didn't want shown. LOL I think the alterations to your dress are great!

thid coull chick said...

looks great!!

Nora said...

What a wonderful idea! I am also a Christian and a stong believer in dressing modestly. I have seen clothes in stores that I thought were so cute, but would be too revealing. I never thought to alter them so as not to be so revealing. Thanks for the idea!

Natalie said...

Love it! I found your blog in TT&J. Thanks for posting all the great links and for reminding me that I can alter skirts and dresses easily.

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