What a month it has been!

I am so grateful for all that has happened in this past month!  It has been a mega month for Dress a Girl Connecticut!

Thanks to Farrah Duffany of MyRecordJournal.com's article and video news report on Dress a Girl Connecticut, this ministry has gone viral!  The Associated Press picked up the article and it has run in a viral manner throughout New England in major and local newspapers!  It still continues to run a few weeks later!  I have been completely overwhelmed and swamped with calls, emails and requests to help from all over New England! 

You can view the article and pictures here:  MyRecordJournal.com-Dress a Girl Connecticut.

In addition, I have been contacted by the owners of an upscale store in West Hartford Center about partnering with them to celebrate girls and women!  Two big events are in the works!  What a blessing this is!!!  I don't want to go into details yet as we are still solidifying plans but trust me, it is REALLY big & exciting!

I have been contacted by so many people!  Everyone wants to help!  So wonderful!  We really need more help and here are ways you can become involved-even if you can't sew!

DONATE !!!

We need PILLOWCASES of all sizes and colors.  We just ask that they not be see-through!

We can use lightweight cotton and cotton blend FABRICS in larger pieces.  If you are/were a quilter and have fabric left over, we'd love it-just no tiny pieces please!

Pretty, patterned, colorful TOP SHEETS make a good starting place for dresses.  Please NO white sheets.  We'd have to dye them first...

DOUBLE BIAS TAPE 1/2" wide in all colors.  This gets quite expensive to buy-however- it is easy to make if you are interested!

3/8" BRAIDED ELASTIC white or black works.

 GROSGRAIN RIBBON in any color 1/2" to 1" in diameter.

GALLON zip-lock bags (any brand) for packing the dresses in for shipping.

June Tailor DARK T-SHIRT TRANSFER PAPER for label making.

CASH !
Always needed for purchasing supplies and shipping dresses!

DONATE TIME & SEW!

Stay tuned for more information about Dress a Girl Connecticut and what we are up to!

Join us to sew, pin, cut, iron and package dresses:

Saturday, March 31st 

9am - 1pm
Cornerstone Church
1146 Waterbury Road
Cheshire, CT 

Support Dress a Girl Connecticut

Sew, I became involved in Dress a Girl Around the World last fall when a dear woman at our church, Pauline-(love her!)-found out about DAG & wanted to help by hosting a sewing event.  From there, I have been on a wild ride that I know God has put me on and is directing my way.  When I decided to become the CT state rep for DAG, I prayed that if I took this on, that God would allow this all to unfold at a pace I can handle without becoming overwhelmed and that He would provide and open doors to help me be successful in blessing little girls internationally with a beautiful handmade dress.

God is so good!  To date, everything is going great!  I have lots of women who just "find" me through this blog, my Dress a Girl Connecticut Facebook page or through word of mouth.  Daily they call and write and seek me out to ask if they can help-whether that is through sewing, donating, organizing or distributing dresses!  It really is incredible.  Now churches and organizations are calling asking if I will come speak at their gatherings to tell them about Dress a Girl.  You may remember that I posted in February that I was invited to speak at the New England Prayer Center's Conference on Inspiration.  At that conference, I was asked by a pastor in Florida to provide him with 10,000 dresses by July.  He is traveling with teams to Africa and South America this summer and wants to help us bless little girls in those countries!  I just have to get the dresses to him and he will bring and ship them to his contacts in Africa and South America.

So many people have been helping to donate pillowcases and fabric and even more are sewing!  We are chipping away at the number!  Our DAGATW founder, Rachel, was gracious enough to commit to 5,000 of the dresses we need from her warehouse in Arizona!  Thanks Rachel!

I am at a point where I am ready to send boxes of dresses to the pastor in Florida and need help in funding for shipping.  There are two ways you can help donate to this.  First, you can write a tax deductible donation check to Cornerstone Church-Dress a Girl and mail it to Cornerstone Church, 1146 Waterbury Road, Cheshire, CT  06410.  Also, I now have a way to donate online through Paypal.  You can use a credit card this way.  On the top right of my blog home page, click on the "Donate" button.  Any amount is appreciated and all money will be used for Dress a Girl!

For more information just contact me!  I love to share what Dress a Girl Around the World is doing!

Thanks & God Bless!

Desperately seeking....Pillowcases!!

It appears I have used all of our donated pillowcases and desperately need more for upcoming "orders" for pillowcase dresses for Dress a Girl!  I just got a request for 200 dresses from Gordon College!  They are going to Honduras on May 22nd and I will need all the help I can to get those dresses made!  Don't forget I am still madly sewing for David Wagner's request to dress 10,000 girls in Africa and South America in July!  So thankful that Rachel has agreed to send 5,000 of them from Dress a Girl Around the World's headquarters in Arizona!  That still leaves alot for us to make and ship to Florida!

Please consider donating your old (or new) pillowcases and sheets to Dress a Girl.  The pictures on the girls faces when they receive a dress are priceless! Email me at dressagirlct@gmail.com for more information on where to send your pillowcase, sheets and fabric donations!  Thank you!

Save more! Make your own bias-tape!

Sew, if you have been reading my blog or Facebook page, you may know that I have recently purchased a Singer Bias Tape Maker on O.co ($61.99-free shipping).  I have been loving it for making bias tape out of those donated bottom sheets that kind of get hacked into odd shapes. 

However, just went to Joann's this week and got a decent deal on quilter's cotton prints for under $3/yd.  Bought a yard of 10 different printed fabrics in all colors.

Yesterday, I spent a few hours cutting two fabrics into 2" strips to make bias tape.  This doesn't take as long as it seems as I have a large self healing mat and clear straight edge ruler for quilting.  I sewed all the strips into one long one and fed it into my bias tape maker to get a ridiculously long single bias tape.  Then I cut into 2 yard strips (enough to do a single dress) and ran it through the bias tape maker folded in half to press into a double bias tape!

The result is the cutest bias tape!!!  Can't wait to do more!  I may even cut up some sheets that are printed to use for bias tape.  I wasn't going to-I plan on using all prints for dress material-but the bias tape is so cute!  Will really dress up those rather unsightly plain pillowcases or darker solids!

Pretty purple paisley

Sew pretty!

Light blue with black & white flowers

Sew far-cut 4 yards off this "roll" of single bias tape, pressed into double bias tape.

I made 24+ yards of 1/2" double bias tape from a single yard of cotton quilter's fabric.  To buy plain or solid color bias tape, I pay $2 - $2.49 per 3 yards!  I bought this yard of fabric for $2.79.  That's like buying one package of bias tape and getting 7 more for free!  I saved $14 on just this yard purchase in making my own tape.  I will have paid off my bias tape maker in ($62/$14=4.42) just over 4 yards of make-your-own tape!  Forget how much I am saving by using donated sheets at no cost to me!  Love it!  Imagine if I used even less expensive fabric!  I will post more pics as I cut up the pretty fabrics I picked up!

One pink bottom sheet yielded me way more that a yard of fabric-closer to three yards!  I didn't count how much yardage I got from that sheet but there is tons!  I'd estimate I saved about $50 from one sheet!  I may never run out of muted pink bias tape! LOL!  I guess if I consider this, I have already paid off my tape maker!  Yay!

Laundry just got a little better!

We are in the midst of finishing our basement-well, about 2/3 of it.  Finally!  I have been praying that we'd get around to this for a long time.  First and foremost to separate our two boys who have been sharing a bedroom forever!  They are 5 years apart and one is a teenager so-need I say more?  It's been ugly and it's high time they got their own spaces.  So the oldest, Andrew, is moving down to the first floor bedroom which has been a playroom with laundry closet for the last 8 years.

We have started a room in the basement for laundry, our 2nd fridge, washtub sink and toilet. It will have counter space to fold laundry, storage etc.  Today we had a new washer & dryer delivered.  It is those high efficient models that use less water etc...  I am really excited-more than I thought I'd be.  Mostly because they are much bigger than our last W/D setup.  I am hoping I can do less loads??  Also that I can wash the tons of sheets and pillowcases I get in all in one giant load rather than running laundry all day long!  Yay!  (It's the little things, right?)


Guess I have to go out and buy some HE detergent now?  Can't wait to actually wash something!  (Is that sad? LOL!)

Another donation arrives!

Much to my delight, a box was waiting on my front step this afternoon!  A new friend in California sent me two new sets of really cute sheets and pillowcases!  This will make lots of dresses!  Thanks sew much Jessica!  Have a great vacation!

Sheets, sheets, & loads of donated fabric!

Today I spent most of the day cutting sheets, sheets, and more sheets into various dress sized "pillowcases", then serged many of them together to into the pillowcase form.  It is unending!  I have so many sheets!  I am feeling a bit buried in sheets!  It's a wonderful "problem"!  And of course we need so many more!  I am using them for dresses and some for making into bias tape.  If you have some that you don't really use, consider donating them.  I really would appreciate it!

Today I also tackled a box of fabric that my 2nd cousin Cheryl sent to me a couple of months ago.  I know, I am a little slow. LOL!  The pillowcases are easier (there is less to do in order to make them into a dress), so I tend to work with those first.  However, since my husband and I are currently framing half of our basement into a finished space, I am losing precious storage space and have to work through all my boxes!  And when I pull those boxes out of all the "hidden" places in our basement-Holy Cow do I have alot of boxes!  My husband nearly had a stroke when he saw how the piles grew as I consolidated it all into one area! ;)

Anyway, in the box that Cheryl sent me was yards of fabric that she intended to sew into cute clothes for her little girls. (They are now graduated high school and college!)  I am guilty of it too.  I have dressers (yes, plural) full of flannels and fleece from years of making tons of pajama pants for the kids and plenty of fabrics from other well intended, never gotten to projects!

So, maybe you are in the same situation as Cheryl and I?  Maybe you have fabric laying around from those projects you meant to do; quilts never started or finished; clothes for the kids that they'd never wear now that they are older and it's not cool to wear something mom made unless it's Halloween (my kids).  Let me know and I will be happy to take that fabric off your hands and you can know it is going to a good cause.  Cheryl's fabric was cut into 49 dresses today!  Just awesome!  Oh and all those sheets too.  I am going to be busy!

Spreading the love

It's Sunday evening and tonight we had dinner with my father in law and his significant other.  They asked about Dress a Girl and what's new.  I love to share what is starting to happen here in Connecticut and the Northeast!  They had no idea how busy we've been and how big things are getting.  I told him that I'd driven 180 dresses out to Boston so his granddaughter, Mary, could bring them to Nicaragua for me!  He was very proud!  They themselves just came back from Costa Rica last week.  Had I known they were going in advance, I would have sent a few dresses with them!

I showed them pictures of the dresses and of the little girls of Uganda in them.  They were touched by the pictures and asked if we just buy the dresses or do the stores donate them. (I thought I had told them all of this, but you know they are busy and have a lot of their own stuff going on so I can't expect them to remember my stuff too!)  I explained that most of our dresses are made from donated and gently used pillowcases from folks that want to help and have extra sheets and pillowcases they aren't using.  They thought they might have extra sheets and pillowcases-who doesn't?!  I asked him if I could email him a letter that he could share with his friends asking for donations.  "Of course!" he said!  He wants pictures included of those cute little girls receiving and wearing our dresses.  So tomorrow morning, I will be drafting a letter complete with pictures and sending it along!  He felt that his friends would be more than happy to help our cause!

It's so fun to talk about DAG!  It's easy when you love what you're doing!  Spreading the love!

Missions, Construction & Tie-dying!

My niece, Mary, is a Junior at Gordon College in the North Shore area of Boston.  Back at Christmas time, she suggested that I get in touch with her schools Director of Missions.  She told me of a trip they were taking to Nicaragua to an orphanage to help build homes on the property.  So I contacted the school and explained what Dress a Girl was all about and asked if they could bring pillowcase dresses to the girls there.  Long story short, they said yes they would like 125 dresses for Nicaragua and more for a team of kids going to the Dominican Republic!  I was so pleased!  I drove up to Boston's North Shore a week ago and delivered 180 dressses to them.  Mary is currently in Nicaragua and due back in a few days.  I asked her to take lots of pictures and can't wait to see them when she returns!  I will post pics as soon as I get them!

So, how do these dresses get made?  I am not the only one making these pillowcase dresses!  After starting our sew fests at our church, our local paper ran an article on what I was doing.  My goal in talking with the Cheshire Herald was to increase awareness, get people excited about DAG and motivate them to donate pillowcases & fabrics.  The article focused too much on me I think, but did raise awareness and generate donations.  Once we started sewing, many of the ladies at our church brought home piles of dresses in a particular state of construction.  For example, Maureen, likes to feed pieces of elastic through the casings in the top of the dresses.  She pins it in place and then brings the pile back to church to hand them off to Marie, who then tacks the elastic in place.  I then get the piles back, pin double bias tape on both arms to create the ties and I give the pile to Georgia who sews the bias tape on.  I get the piles back, sew on a tag and it is done!  We have a great team of about 6-8 people that move these dresses through the process.  This keeps the dresses constantly being made in a team effort even if we don't have a sew fest planned each month!

In addition, the article that ran in the newspaper and all of my Facebook posts have generated lots of interest and donations.  I received two older sewing machines from an elderly woman in town who just didn't need to have extra machines in the house.  Several women called and asked if they could come over and see what the dresses looked like and get a mini-lesson on constructing a pillowcase dress.  These women are now making dresses on their own in their spare time!  Just awesome!


I also received a call from a friend whose 9th grade daughter wanted to learn how to use her sewing machine.  She offered to hold a DAG party and invited friends to bring pillowcases and learn to construct a pillowcase dress.  Eleven girls came with two pillowcases each and we had alot of fun
as I showed them how to make the dresses and use a sewing machine.  By the end of the night, each girl made at least one and felt good about what they were doing.

I have received alot of sheet donations and many are white.  Sometimes these are not quite as white as they should be.  The fabric is still good, they are just dingy looking.  Once they are washed, I am cutting them into dress sizes and serging them into a "pillowcase" shape.  I put out a call for help on Facebook for a group to volunteer to tie-dye the dresses.  Two friends called asking if they could help.  One is planning a Cheshire Newcomers & Neighbor Club children's event to tie-dye the dresses.  The other offered her kids help tie-dying dresses once the weather is a little warmer!  I am thinking this may be the answer to re-using slightly dingy or discolored fabrics!