Sugar and Spice and Everything Nice....

When you sew for a child, especially a young girl, you have to expect that the pretty little outfit that you painstakingly put together is probably going to get dirty. That's what Tide is for, right? I remember when I made cute little pinafores and ruffled dressed for my daughter, especially at Easter time, half the fun was picking out the pastel fabric, trims, buttons and lace. As I sewed the seams, I wasn't thinking about climbing trees, turning somersaults on the lawn, or crawling under a bush to retrieve the last chocolate egg.

When I sewed a pretty dress, I never thought of torn pockets, ripped seams or grass stains.  I designed it and put it together as if she were a princess who perched regally on her tiny pink throne with her pet cat and sipped imaginary tea from a tiny china cup. Reality? Not so much.

Despite knowing the reality of childish exuberance, it doesn't seem to hamper the creativeness of the women who come to sew every month for the little girls of impoverished countries via Dress a Girl Around the World.  Saturday was our regular sew fest at Bayside Church, and even though our crowd was light due to the Easter Break, we had a great time creating our signature "pillowcase" dresses - girlish "fru-fru" was alive and well!!

The hum of machines...

Thanks to donations, we were able to get and abundance of colorful bias tapes!

And pretty new panties - one pair for each new dress - folded and put into the pockets of the dress.

A lot of attention is spent on the pockets of each dress.

My watermelon dress...

We love to see "newbies" at our sew fests. 

Completing your first dress is quite an accomplishment!

Choosing fabrics and trims are the ways we seamstresses express ourselves.  

Who doesn't like polka-dots?

  Even if you don't sew, there's plenty to do at a sew fest - ironing casings, cutting bias tape and elastic, matching pockets, etc.

As an aside, my granddaughter finished her second sewing project last week. This adorable little knit top required bias tape facings...tricky, but she powered right through them! I think she is definitely ready for spending a morning with Grandma at the next Dress a Girl sew fest!!!

Visit Dress a Girl Around the World at

Dress a Girl Around the World

Laurel.  Make a difference in the life of one little girl!