The embroidery on the dress doesn’t look great. There, I said it. I’m not pleased with it but there is absolutely nothing I can do but go forward with it, as time consuming and amateur-looking as it is. Ah well, cest la vie I suppose. Good thing it’s only a costume. I’ll update with pictures when I get back to working on it.
For now I have a new obsession, and that is sewing for Days for Girls! Days for Girls is an awesome charity that makes reusable feminine hygiene kits that wash with very little water and don’t necessarily look like what they are for girls in places like Africa where they are forced to use whatever they can find to deal with their periods, be it rags or even dung. Yes, dung. Don’t ask me how, but no girl should have to do that. Ever.
Because of this problem, these girls miss up to 5 days of school a month, which is a lot! Staying in school is absolutely critical to breaking the cycle of poverty. Not only do the kits from Days for Girls provide them a way to stay in school those lost 5 days, but the organization provides education on the monthly cycle and how to properly care for the body. In some cases, this is literally life saving.
The kits include a lot of things, but what I’ve been sewing are called shields. They are the part that snaps around the undies and holds the absorbent pad parts (up to 3 of them for those heavy days) in place. Since the components of the kits are sewn by various people working with their own cloth, none of them will match and thus the policy is that the shields don’t necessarily come in all one colour. There are lots of restrictions on the print the cloth must have, but the gist is that it can’t have faces, must be bright “stain-busting” colours, and must be made of quality woven cotton, such as what you would find for quilting. There is also 1 layer of PUL (polyurethane laminate) – a knit cotton with a very thin layer of plastic on one side – in the middle to act as a moisture barrier.
So far I’ve made I think 29 0r 30 of these guys, 2 of which I’ve donated and 2 of which I rejected (one because it was missing a critical stitch and the other because it came out too small). The sizing is very very strict, so each one is 9.5 inches tall and 7.75 inches wide. The snaps are plastic, from a company called KAMsnaps. They are put on with a special hand or desk press (I have the hand press). Each kit is designed to last the girl up to 4 years, with 3 being what is promised.
Until next time! xoxo
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