Dresses for Haiti's Children
Thank you for sewing dresses for the beautiful girls in Haiti's poorest and most remote regions!
When you are ready to send to Haiti's Children, please follow the guidelines on our shipping page.
Option B: the Tunic Dress
Photo by Anita by Design.
These t-shirt dresses are made by sewing a fabric skirt onto an existing t-shirt. Fabric yardage for each size of t-shirt is listed below, and on the original directions.
PLEASE 100% COTTON ONLY.
NO BUTTONS OR ZIPPERS.
Folks in these villages do not have electric irons, and synthetic fabrics will scorch on the old, fire-heated irons. They also do not have access to needles and thread.
BE SURE FABRIC IS NOT SEE-THROUGH. THE GIRLS ARE OFTEN SOAKED IN RAIN!
Click on the Adobe Acrobat icon (below) to access our original directions, which include ties on the dresses for smaller girls.
Click here for an excellent video tutorial on YouTube, by Anita by Design. This dress has no ties but you could add them.
(On the video, Anita references dresses for Haiti; her sewing was for another organization, but we all work to support children in Haiti. She gathers the skirt; you may make pleats instead, and omit the basting stitches if you wish.)
Photo by ItsAlwaysAutumn
This dress does not involve buying t-shirts, and is very easy for even those new to sewing. Two very important notes: (1) You MUST use 100% cotton knit (thick enough it is not see-through when wet) because the pattern requires a stretch material, and (2) the villages do not have electric irons and the old, fire-heated irons scorch synthetic fabrics.
For a commercial (Burda) pattern for toddlers, click here. You do not need to use elastic on the sleeves.
For an easy free online pattern from It's Always Autumn, click here. You may add ties on either side instead of elastic if you wish (sew them into the seams).
NO TIME TO SEW? DONATE ANY AMOUNT NOW!
Option A: the T-shirt Dress
