Love Dresses for Haiti

The “Love Dress” ministry began with a simple ad in the parish bulletin asking for people who would like to help make “Love Dresses” for the girls in an orphanage in Port au Prince, Haiti to gather on three Saturdays in January to sew.

 

Within a few weeks fabric was assembled.    People brought “treasures” from home, along with their sewing machines, sergers, irons and lots of creativity!

In only three short weeks these pieces of fabric were transformed into beautiful “Love Dresses”  for the girls .

No two dresses were exactly alike!  

Each displayed the creativity and talent of its maker.

Preparing the fabric

Those who didn’t sew were handed an iron!

Yards and yards of bias tape were pressed for trimming the dresses!

Creativity at work

Sharing helpful hints and “tricks  of the trade”

Everyone hard at work

“Quality control team”

The first dresses are finished!

Week Two and Three

Dresses that were made at home were brought in.

What a beautiful sight!

Selecting just the right trimming

Dresses were measured and sized to facilitate distribution once dresses reached the orphanage

Our youngest seamstress

Proud sewers!

What could we tuck in the pocket of each dress?

The idea of a small doll for each pocket came from friends in Oak Lawn and Mokena, Illinois when they heard of the “Love Dress” ministry.

 

Before dresses were packed into suitcases for their trip to Haiti,  they were hung in church and blessed.

Shortly after that 100 little dolls arrived in the mail!

A small surprise for every little girl’s pocket!

Day by day the number of finished dolls increased until it was time to pack them and ship them off to Kentucky.

Beaded bracelets were made for the older girls and tucked in the pockets with a prayer.

Rolling and packing 350 “Love Dresses” for Haiti!

 

Our prayer is that the girls who wear these “Love Dresses” may be safe and healthy and that their lives may be rich in God’s blessings!