Guidelines on How to Make Dresses to Donate

Here are a few guidelines on how to make a dress. Please bear in mind that the dresses you make and given out to these children could only be the dress they will get to own for a long time so it will be great if they are made with care and quality.

Materials should be thick enough to withstand washing in rivers and good enough to last for a long period of time. Cotton materials should be used. Thin and flimsy materials should not be used. If you can see the outline of your hand through the fabric, then you should not make it into a dress at all.

Pockets are great in dresses but please make sure that they are sturdy enough just like the dresses.

Avoid using fabrics that require linings. If the material requires a lining that means it is not strong enough to withstand washing in rugged environments. Also dresses with linings are double the weight of dresses without lining. Instead of sending 2 dresses I can only send 1. Please be more understanding of the weight of the dresses that you donate.

If you are recycling fabrics, please remove the part of the fabric that has stains on it.

Donated dresses using ribbons, ropes, strings, plastic straws, yarns as ties will not be accepted.

All hemlines must be sewn. Any dresses with unfinished hemlines will not be included in any distribution.

When making a longer dress, make a kick pleat or slit at the bottom and reinforce the top of the kick pleat inside of the dress.

Same with pairs of shorts, please use fabric materials that are meant for shorts and do not make them short shorts. Make them longer. Do not use thin and flimsy materials as they also will not look good on the boys. Same as dresses, shorts that do not meet the guidelines will not be included in any of the distributions.

Used  dresses are not acceptable and will not be accepted as donations.

The cost to send these dresses for distribution is very expensive and it is not worth sending them if they can only be worn once. Donors of donated dresses which I deem as not acceptable (not following the guidelines) and requires repairs will be contacted and advised of the status of their donations. All parcels must have a return address so it will be easy to return back donations that do not meet the guidelines.

Let us all make a difference by making these dresses with much love, care and quality. In short, if you cannot wear the dress you are making or any child you know cannot wear the dress you are donating, then that means even a disadvantaged child should not be forced to wear something we reject.

We are all volunteers on this campaign, we all volunteer to make dresses to donate and make children happy.  There is no one whose time is focused on making repairs or improvements on the dresses being donated so PLEASE be considerate. These guidelines are simple enough to follow but if there are still questions, please feel free to send an email.