A while back I posted about an idea that I had that combined lots of things I'm really passionate about. So....I'm quite the procrastinator, and it has taken me almost a year to finally plan the event. Last year I read about an organization called Dress A Girl Around The World. This organization collects pillowcase dresses to send to little girls around the world. Their dream is that every little girl in the world would own at least one dress. A dress that was handmade with love especially for them. A dress that shows them they are special and have great worth in God's eyes. A dress that brings them dignity and respect. The dresses are hand delivered to the girls by individuals that also work in communities to provide things like clean drinking water, medicines, and nutritious foods.
This past week I hosted a Dress A Girl party at my house. A group of friends got together to make pillowcase dresses to donate to this organization. It was such a great girl's night with a purpose. We got to spend time catching up with each other while making dresses for these precious little girls who may not own a single dress. Some of them may only own a few articles of clothing and now they can have a beautiful little dress that was made just for them. I love how God can use something so simple as making a dress out of a pillowcase to show His love to others. We will never meet the little girls who receive our dresses, but we can pray that the girls who receive them will know His love. We can pray for their salvation and for the salvation of their whole families. We can pray that they would be godly girls that would grow up into godly wives and godly mothers that God uses to advance His Kingdom in mighty ways! I also wanted to use the night to bring attention to the many prayer needs around the world, especially those that affect women and children in particular (child labor, slave labor, sex trafficking, etc). I provided prayer guides for everyone to take home that listed specific prayer requests by country for several of the countries where the dresses are commonly distributed. I wanted to help raise awareness of the need to pray for and seek justice for the oppressed in these particular situations and the need to share Love and Light with those that are suffereing in dark places.
I would encourage anyone interested to make some dresses and send in or to host your own party to make lots of dresses. It is very simple to organize. It just takes a little coordination, time, and patience. Set aside a time when a few of your friends can get together. A weeknight seemed to work best for my group of friends, but a Saturday morning or afternoon would probably work great as well. The main thing is that there is a chunk of time set apart. Next, you'll need several people to cut fabric, several to pin, and several to sew and then put the finishing touches on the dresses. There are several patterns out there. We used a really basic and simple technique (see below). You can definitely go more creative and complex routes if you have the skills. There is also a great tutorial here that uses elastic at the neckline and bias tape for the straps. Dresses can also be made by attaching pillowcases (for the skirt portion) to a t-shirt for areas of the world where longer dresses and dresses with sleeves are culturally appropriate. Check out the Dress A Girl website for more about their work or for info on how to donate dresses or money to support them.
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| Start by cutting off the closed edge of the pillowcase. This will be the neckline. Fold in half and cut a 3in wide by 6in long part as above. This will be the armholes so make sure to cut the open edge and not the fold. |
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| Open it up and it should look like this. Next, hem the armholes. Then you will fold the top(neck) of the front over leaving a seam allowance large enough to thread your ribbon through. Do the same for the back of the dress. |
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| Thread one piece of ribbon through the front and one through the back. Then tie at each shoulder gathering the neck as you go. |
"I delight greatly in the LORD; my soul rejoices in my God. For he has clothed me with garments of salvation and arrayed me in a robe of righteousness..." Isaiah 61:10
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