My New Humanitarian Project

On these hot summer days it gets up to around 107 degrees in the afternoons.  I don't much like to go outdoors during the heat of the day, so I just stay in the house with the air conditioner.  Instead of just watching TV most of the time, I decided to find something that wasn't too difficult to make and that might be of benefit to someone else and might make a difference in their lives.  When I went to a monthly meeting of our LDS Women's group, lo and behold, they were starting an ongoing project for our local humanitarian center which we could work on in our homes.  It was to make little girl's dresses for local distribution by our local Bishops around Christmas time.  We were taught how to make them that night, and they proved to be relatively simple to do with a sewing machine and a little bit of fabric and knit T shirt tops.  This proved to be just the thing for the project I was seeking.

Using a measurement chart corresponding to the proper size of T shirt, I just cut off the shirt to the proper length and attach a width of matching or contrasting fabric cut to the length on the chart.  I then sewed one seam in the skirt back, gathered the top, attached it to the shirt at the waist, zig-zagged the seam, hemmed it up, and it was finished!  I used the left over fabric from the cut off T shirt for pockets, bows, etc.  I was happy to find cute little girl's knit shirts on sale at Walmart for only $2 each in sizes 4 to 12.   I got the fabric there too for about $1.50 per skirt (about 1/2 yard of 45" wide fabric).   I thought it was pretty neat and fun to do!   The long, hot afternoons, passed by quickly, and I felt pretty good about how I spent my time.