Sew what's new? Church makes dresses for Haitian girls
By Erik Alsgaard
UMConection Staff
They say, “A stitch in time saves nine.” But what about 325? Or more?
Making these stitches count is the mission of a small group of dedicated women at Pasadena UMC, who come together every month to make girl’s dresses for Haiti, Africa and around the world.
“These are fun to make,” said Charlotte Seibert, a member of the church, who was sewing dresses and also teaching her granddaughter, Hailey Londzynski, 10, how to sew.
While the meaning of the original proverb may be a reminder that it’s worth doing the little things before they grow big and troublesome, the ministry of sewing for this group is in taking something little and making it big and important.
“We are doing this to give the girls some dignity and love,” said Marilyn Shepherd, the de facto leader of the effort and a member of the church. “God gave me the gift to do some sewing, and these other ladies, too, and they feel that they are accomplishing something by putting to good use the gift God gave them by making dresses for someone else.”
Shepherd said that the dress-making ministry at Pasadena UMC began in the spring of 2012 when one of the church’s preschoolers asked her parents for permission to give her allowance to her caregiver who was going on a mission trip to Haiti.
“When we heard the story, I thought, ‘We can do that,’” said Shepherd. She gathered a few friends and, together, they sewed 79 dresses and sent them with the caregiver to Haiti. Since that beginning, the group has fashioned more than 325 dresses. On this day in mid-August, a group of about 10 women were working on finishing another 50.
“We had so much fun and fellowship with the work we were doing, we are now meeting nearly every month to sew,” Shepherd added. The fellowship aspect of the sewing bee is evident, as the women sit at tables, sharing a laugh or a story.
Most of the women bring their own sewing machines, and each person contributes something to every dress, whether it’s sewing on lace collars, buttons or adding pockets. The dresses come in various sizes, designed to fit toddlers to early teens.
Members of the church—and the church itself—support the ministry, either by contributing money or fabric. Shepherd calculates that it costs around $3 to make each dress, which is patterned after the well-known “pillow case” dress.
Each dress is about 42 to 45 inches wide, cut for different lengths, and tied at the top so that it looks like a sun dress, Shepherd said. They only use 100 percent cotton material, since it is light-weight and breathes better than other fabrics.
Pamela Shears began making these dresses at the first meeting of the group. As she starts sewing on another dress, she said that she participates because this is a hands-on mission project and “it’s great seeing how the raw materials come together and turn out,” she said. “I feel a sense of satisfaction seeing this go from start to finish.”
The finished products are bundled in packages of 25 and sent to Mission Central in Pennsylvania, said Shepherd. From there, they are sent to areas of the world where the dresses are needed.
“When girls have a dress to wear, they are given dignity,” said Shepherd, “and they know that they are loved by others.”
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