Altering a Shirt to be Modest

Hello! Today on Simply Saturday we’ll be taking a look at altering a shirt to be modest. Let’s get started!

The shirt in question: one that has an especially big v-neck. Now, could I just wear a tank top with it? Yes. But, why would I do that when I can just sew in a panel and make it so much easier to wear?

The white fabric in the photo above wasn’t actually sewn in yet. I was just trying to decide what color of fabric I wanted.

Obviously I decided on the white fabric. I took the shirt off of the dress form, flipped it inside out, then put it back on the form. Next I pinned the white fabric onto the shirt, trimming it to make it roughly the same size as the neck seam.

Oh, and I have done this without a dress form. It makes it a little more difficult, but it is possible.

I then whipstitched around the edge of the white fabric, making sure to catch the extra fabric at the neck seam and not sewing through to the other side of the shirt; I didn’t want the stitches to be showing, after all. Also, I didn’t start at the very top of the white fabric. I left about a quarter- to a half- inch free; You’ll see why in a minute.

Here’s where that quarter- to a half-inch of fabric comes in. I didn’t want to leave the visible upper edge of the white fabric raw, so I folded it over towards the inside of the shirt and pinned it.

I stitched it down with a simple knit stitch, which I’ve been using a lot lately to hem knit shirts and skirts, etc. It’s a little difficult to see in this photo, but you can see it a little better if you head over to my Instagram. I also sewed down the very top edge (on both sides) where the folded over white fabric meets the neckband of the shirt, so it wouldn’t gape.

Altering a Shirt to be Modest: The finished product

And here you can see the finished product! I actually really like how it turned out, and it’s so much easier than having to worry about a tank top. I usually avoid wearing them under shirts as much as possible.

Well, I hope you enjoyed this post! Do you alter shirts, or wear tank tops? ~ Emily