Have you got a skirt with a slit that’s a bit too revealing?
I find it frustrating to have to dance worrying about how much of my legs the audience may see. I’d rather feel free to move around on the stage 🙂
And here’s the solution to the problem!
In this video, you will see how to make a modesty panel that goes into the slit of your skirt and provides coverage, so you can spin or do floor work in your dance costume without worrying about your slit. So let’s get started!
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If you are curious how to make this mermaid skirt, click here to see how!
If you are curious how to make those cut outs on the skirt, click here!
To make a modesty panel, you need:
Lightweight fabric– such as chiffon, silk or mesh. I will explain how much fabric you need below.
Your sewing tools including a measuring tape, marker, rotary cutter or scissors, matching colour thread and your trusty sewing machine. See more on the sewing tools I use on the Resources page. 🙂
How to Make a Modesty Panel/Insert for your Belly Dance Skirt
So first, measure the length of your slit.
Next, take your fabric. From what I’ve read and seen, these modesty panels are usually made out of a quarter to half circle. For this one, I didn’t want the panel to be too bulky, so I went for a quarter circle.
From a corner, measure the length of your slit plus 1cm or half an inch along the selvage edge, which is the finished edge of your fabric. If you like to do a rolled hem with your modesty panel, add the seam allowance for it in the measurement as well. (I just do a simple zigzag stitch 🙂 ) Measure it all the way around to the other edge, and cut. If you are doing a half circle, just fold your fabric in half, and measure from the folded corner.
So if you make a quarter circle panel, you just need as much fabric as your slit length plus 1cm or half an inch, and if you go for a half circle panel, you need double (2 x slit length + 2cm or 1in).
Then, just finish up the raw edge using the zigzag stitch or serger.
Now, you can attach the panel to your skirt in 3 different ways.
1. At the top point of the slit
2. At one side – to the front panel or to the side panel
3. At both sides
For this one, I’m sewing it onto one side, to the front panel of the skirt. So fold the top corner of the modesty panel by 1cm or half an inch, and just pin the fabric to the wrong side of the skirt with a 5mm or ¼ in seam allowance. And just do the straight stitch. If the skirt comes with lots of beading along the edge, I would just sew by hand.
Because the chiffon tends to stretch with gravity, hang your skirt on a hanger for a few days and let it stretch.
Then, measure the slit length again on the modesty panel and hem the bottom edge with the zigzag stitch, rolled hem, serger… whatever way you like.
And that’s it! Modesty panels not only hide your legs, but they add movements to your skirts, and they are so pretty! Hope they give you more comfort and confidence with your costumes. 🙂
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Thanks for reading, and keep sparkling!
P.S. Happy pinning 🙂
