What I needed was a pocket

One of my best friends got married on Saturday! I will post more about the wedding and my Matron of Honor duties later I’m sure… But today I’m posting a creative solution to a problem that some ladies with diabetes encounter: Where to put your robot parts while wearing a dress.

But before I get too deep, here’s me with the bride.

For my friend’s wedding, the other attendants and I settled on a cute, one-shoulder, chiffon dress. It looked good on everyone, which is excellent and pretty rare when putting five ladies in the same outfit.

One thing it, and most other formal/semiformal dresses, lacks is pockets. I don’t have a tubed insulin pump, so I was safe in that regard, but as a matron of honor with diabetes… there are a couple of things that I needed have with me on her wedding day. One of them was my Dexcom receiver for my continuous glucose monitor and the other was glucose. I had my testing stuff and pump supplies there that day but not on my person for the ceremony/pictures/etc.

Since I wouldn’t be able to carry a clutch down the aisle, to remedy that situation, I fashioned myself a utility garter. Here’s what I did…

I started with a pair of nude thigh-highs, or should I say half a pair. I only needed one. Also, my legs are even too pale to be “nude” they need to make a “winter-pale in August” color.

Dexcom sensor cameo

I snipped off the leg part keeping the lacy, stretchy, grippy part intact.

Snip!

Wanting to keep the color as invisible as possible, I used the leg part to make my pouch, but I doubled up on the material because I didn’t trust the thin nylon.

Perfect for a receiver and tube of glucose tabs.

I hand-stitched the pouch with my receiver and tube of glucose tabs in it to account for stretching.ย And, I can read my Dexcom screen through the pouch!

The screen is visible through the nylon!

While wearing the elastic lace on my leg, I stitched the pouch to the top. And voila.

D-garter complete!

I’ve seen other ladies with tubed insulin pumps stick them in their bras (in the middle or on the side) or clip them to a garter or pair of Spanx. When you have to tote your robot gear around with you, it’s important to be creative. Something like this could also be handy for ladies who need to carry small things with them whether for medical reasons (for instance an inhaler) or for nonmedical reasons.

What creative solutions have you seen employed to keep important items with you when you don’t have pockets?

Before & After:

15 thoughts on “What I needed was a pocket

  1. I can’t get over how creative you are! The times I’ve needed a spot for my diabetes parts, I usually opted for the boy shorts under skirt/dress tactic. Works like a charm since I don’t have the skills you do ๐Ÿ™‚

  2. Nice! I’m in a wedding in a few weeks and plan on clipping my pump to spanx (dress is too low cut for between the girls) and giving my Dexcom receiver to my husband to put in his pocket.

    It’s hard being a girl! You should market those little holsters!

  3. So glad things worked out! I was so clueless of everything going on that day I barely remember ever seeing you have that!

  4. Thanks for posting this! I just recieved the dexcom cgm (just came on the market in Canada on Monday 11/26/13!! just in time to still be in my 20th d-anniversary month!) and I’m on the hunt now while it charges for sewing projects to help me keep it close when wearing a dress, etc. ๐Ÿ™‚

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