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Saturday, September 2, 2017

Little Dresses For Texas

Many of you have heard of Little Dresses For Africa, a wonderful, philanthropic organization that provides simple, yet sweet dresses that honor the little girls and teach them that they are valuable, and not forgotten. The pattern is simple, made from a simple pillowcase.



The pillowcase dress pattern was originally used during the early pioneer days here in the U.S. when feed sacks were turned into simple little dresses. 

A sewing friend, Andrea called and said that she has been so very upset about the incredible devastation in Texas. She loves beautiful clothes and understands the importance of having something pretty to wear. So she went into her studio, looked through her fabrics and came up with the idea of doing little dresses for the girls of Texas who no longer have anything. A phone call was made to a friend in Texas who has the connections to be able to distribute the dresses, and the dream began to become a reality. 

Her dream is to have sewing friends make just 1 little dress, send it to her and then her husband will take care of getting the dresses to Houston where they can then be distributed. I loved the idea and told her that I would be happy to make 1, post it here and invite you to make 1 as well.

Last night, I went into my studio to put my little dress together and emerged with 4.





I had so much fun going through my fabrics and trims. I used the pattern instructions from the Little Dresses For Africa website. Worked beautifully.



The above picture is from Andrea's Facebook page. She decided to use a pattern. McCall's 5797 and New Look were her choices. 

Her dream is to collect 1000 little dresses and or short and top outfits. The weather there is horribly hot, so a nice little cotton outfit will be perfect. 

If you would like to participate, you can find Andrea HERE on Facebook. She also invites you to send the dresses directly to her. 

Her address is;

Andrea Birkin
905 Highland Grove Dr. 
Buffalo Grove, IL 60089

For those of you who may be members of  the Haute Couture Club of Chicago, Andrea will be attending our meeting on September 9, 2017 and invites you to bring the dresses to the meeting.  

I have 2 more that I will be making. While money is needed to provide food, water, and shelter, feeding the soul is also so very important. Having something sweet and new to put on when everything you had was destroyed I know will be an incredible gift. I hope that you will find it in your heart to help make Andrea's dream a reality. 

Thank you,
Rhonda



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32 comments:

  1. You ladies are so inspiring! Love this!

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  2. I want to participate. I'm trying not to cry . This really touches the heart. I'll be looking thru my stash in the next few days to see what fabrics I have that would be cool. ❤️ I'm going to post this on my social media as well. Thank you for sharing this, Rhonda. You sre such a wonderful person.

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  3. Gorgeous dresses. I made 20 for Africa but sadly not financially in a position to help at the moment so I've passed the details to a friend in NY and she will circulate the info.

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  4. What a wonderful project, and thanks for sharing all of the details. I'm in!

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  5. I have many fabric ends that can be put to use for this worthwhile project. I will pick up the pattern this afternoon and crank out a few tomorrow and send to Andrea on Tuesday. Thanks for posting.

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  6. Hi,
    I'm interested in helping.
    What sizes would be needed the most?

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    1. I think all sizes are needed. The recovery is going to take a very long period of time, so money will be going to rehabbing homes since so many do not have flood insurance. I'm sure that for some time to come, little girls will appreciate receiving a brand new, sweet and pretty little dress.

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  7. I'm in! Thank you so very much for spreading the word.

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    1. Fabulous!
      Have fun. Just a warning, the little dresses are some what addictive 😉

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  8. I met Andrea recently at Susan Khalje's class in Houston. I'm currently away from my sewing room until Sept 12, but plan to sew dresses after that ! Great idea !!!!

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    1. Andrea is such a sweetheart. So glad you two had the chance to meet 😊

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  9. I'd like to help, and I am actually in Texas (4 hours north of Houston). Do you know if there is a more direct way that I could get dresses directly to Houston, without having to go through Illinois? Does this lady have a way of contacting her other than Facebook (I'm not on Facebook)? Thanks!

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    1. Hi Rebecca, I will have Andrea contact you here. Thanks so much!

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  10. Great idea! My sewing buddies from Apple Annie Fabrics and I are in and will get to work on the dresses this week

    Liz

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  11. My daughter lives in Texas and would like to help. Is there someone there whom she can send the dresses to directly?

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    1. Hi Rebecca

      It is much easier if you send the dresses to me. Once I have decent amount of dresses my husband is going to ship them to my friend in Houston. It's too difficult for my friend to deal with receiving small packages from all over the country. Please send the dresses to me. I really appreciate you sewing and helping our cause!

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  12. Such a great idea, I will be going through my stash today, thanks for the info...

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  13. I would love to make some. Will also share it on my Facebook page and blog.

    Great idea!!

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  14. Thanks for sharing this Rhonda. I'm going out to buy some supplies and try to find the pattern. If it isn't available I'm sure I can get something close on Pinterest. My sewing day tomorrow is planned!

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  15. This is such a wonderful idea. I grew up in Houston and this storm has hit me hard. I've been looking for a way to do something tangible...it's so easy sometimes to send money as good as that is. Thank you so much for sharing this.

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    1. Thank you Elizabeth :)
      I'm originally from Port Arthur, so I know how you feel.

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  16. Is Andrea still accepting dresses for Huston? I just finished 8! Please let me know. Thanks.

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    1. Yes she is and would love to have them to send on along to Houston. Thanks so much!

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