Why Have I Become So Lazy That I Can't Write a Post That I Took Pictures for 3 Weeks Ago? A Modest Answer.

A couple of weeks ago, waaaaaaay before the wedding, my sister and I went shopping together for a dress for her to wear to my DD's wedding. She found "the perfect dress" almost. My sister doesn't want to wear a plunging neckline, and this dress had one, but we decided to fix that with a modesty panel. Also known as a chemisette, dickey, or mock camisole, it is easy to make and utilitarian. A modesty panel fills in the space that a plunging neckline does not hide.

You can buy modesty panels. I have a couple that I purchased. They look like the top edge of a camisole worn underneath a dress or top with a low neckline. But like many other things, I have never made one. But why not try one since I just made my first couture wedding dress with some success. So here is my DIY Modesty Panel.

We went to our local big box fabric store and picked up a black lace and a tan/beige/taupe colored fabric for the base. These were both colors in her dress. We looked for a lace fabric that had a nice finished edge. Not all lace has finished edges, so if you want to do something like this, look at the salvages to see if you like the edge.

The first thing that I did was fold over the edge of the taupe fabric to get a smooth straight edge. The wrinkled seam was taken care of by a warm iron. Next, I lined up the black lace so that it was even with the fold in the taupe fabric.

My sister was not interested in modeling for the next step (there is that modesty thing again), so we measured her bra from strap to strap while she had it on. But, so that you know what it is that I mean, here is a photo of that step while the bra is on a hanger. But remember to wear the bra when you are measuring it. The width will be different than a measurement on just a hanger!

Using the measurement of strap to strap, cut a piece of fabric that resembles the shape in the picture to the right. The top of the fabric should be the width of the strap to strap measurement and the length should be at least a couple of inches longer than the plunge in the "V" of the neckline.

I pinned both pieces of fabric together and used a grid ruler and rotary cutter to cut out the pieces.

Using thread that matched the lace, I tacked down the top edge of the lace to
the backing fabric. This made sure that they now acted as one piece of fabric. As you can see on the right, all I did was catch a few places -- most of the thread is on the backside.

I then pulled out my serger and went around all of the other edges to keep the two fabrics from separating.


While I had my serger out, I made two small strips about 3 inches long. One end was attached to the top of the modesty panel with a couple of stitches.  And the final step was to attach snaps so that it will be able to hang onto each bra strap.

I think it turned out well and my sister loved it. It was the perfect touch for the dress and worked well to achieve her desire for modesty.

Happy Sewing!

Making My Own Tools

As I said in an earlier post, I know that others have gone before me and that I am not reinventing the wheel. To that note, I took a page out of another Bond Ultimate Sweater Machine user's book. Clogden21's YouTube video shows several homemade tools that she has made. The one I wanted to try first was her weights made of fishing sinkers. Here is my version.

I went to the sporting goods department at Walmart and purchased some fishing sinkers. I wanted 2 oz weights but only found 1 oz weights left on the shelf.
They are cheap and I can work with those for the time being. If my experiment works, than I will get some 2 oz weights, too.

While clogden21 coated her weights in plastic, I decided to paint them. I chose a spray paint that was made for all types of products including metal and which came in a wide choice of colors. I think that was the hardest thing to do: choose the color. I wanted to go with a hot pink, but they were sold out of that color so I went with lavender.


The directions recommended that the spray painting be done where there was plenty of air and that the area be protected for over spray so I chose to do the painting in our garage. Even though it was the garage, I did protect the floor with paper bags so that the DH wouldn't wonder why the garage floor was lavender.

I sprayed the weights with 2 coats of paint letting them dry between coats according to the directions on the can of paint.

I also went to Jo-Ann Fabric & Craft Store and purchased some "pleater" curtain hooks. I like the length of the hooks and the fact that there are four "tines" that can distribute the weight over more than one stitch. Although with only one oz weights, there is not too much weight to distribute!

Using a pair of pliers, I flattened the bottom of the hook enough so that the weight would hang straight down. After sliding the weight onto the hook, I pinched the hook closed in order to prevent the weight from slipping off.

Okay, tools aren't supposed to be cute or pretty, but I think they are! And I can't wait to use them.

Happy Knitting!