Simplicity 2689 Girls Tunic Adaptation

Here is a pattern from Simplicity that I adapted for my girls. It is a pullover tunic with either a square or circle neckline on the front yoke.  The adaptation that I made was a higher jewel neckline reinforced with a standup ribbed knit collar, plus an extension to the sleeve length.

The Simplicty 2689 pattern comes in two sizes, one for regular girls and the other for plus-size girls. It also comes with a pattern for a front tie belt, which I ignored.  There are two lengths to the tunic, the shorter one goes to the hips and the longer one below the hips, like in the picture.

Simplicity sewing pattern 2689: Girls/Girls Plus Tops size AA (8-10-12-14-16) "Girls or Girls Plus Dress,Tunic and Belt"

Simplicity sewing pattern 2689: Girls/Girls Plus Tops size BB (8 1/2 - 16 1/2) "Girls or Girls Plus Dress,Tunic and Belt"

I also decided to adorn the yoke with lace -- colorful lace on the front, and cotton lace extension on the sleeves. I use three different lace patterns in all.  After all, this is a girl's tunic or blouse which is deserving of pretty trims, don't you think?

Are Layering Shells Kosher or even Modest?

According to the Gemara (Kesubos 72b), Chazal states that a woman violates Das Yehudis (Das Yehudis refers to laws of modesty based on convention (and enforced with rabbinic rulings)) if she spins in public and reveals her arms to people.  The upper arm of a woman has a powerful potential to arouse unwanted attention of the opposite gender.  The Midrash states that "Rav Shmuel Bar says that Shechem son of Chamor saw her (Deenah) and was attracted to her by procuring a glimpse of her arms and this aroused his distressing interest in her."

The elbow has the same halachos as the upper arm and must be completely covered since the upper arm occupies a substantial part of the elbow.  The upper arms may not be visible through the sleeves and this includes see-through sleeves or tight-fitting sleeves.  Rabbi Falk discusses this in "The Tznius Handbook" on pages 32 and 167.

How about layering shells?  Layering shells that are so popular among the masses today are made with soft, thin, stretchy material that when worn, are very tight on the body, including the arms.  These shells would not be appropriate for a Bas Yisrael.  These shells can be worn underneath an opaque blouse that covers over the shell however, this then defeats the purpose of the shell. If the shell is worn underneath a very loose and open cardigan, that would expose the parts of the shell which exposes the shape of the wearer, then it would also not be kosher.

Popular mass-marketed layering shell, comes in different colors and sizes
As you can see, the shell hugs the wearer showing off the curves

When worn under another blouse of the this type also made of stretchy tight material,
reveals the shape of the wearer in a very  immodest way

It doesn't matter whether you are skinny or more endowed, the shell makes you immodest!
It's like you're wearing a leotard in public.

Don't throw away your layering shells yet.  You can recycle them into modest headcoverings. Snoods, for example, are usually made with stretchy knits.  ModestAnytime.com offers lots of snoods made with these stretchy knits that cover your head well.