Got some extra fabric and want to make something that will help others and enrich lives? Have you heard about Little Dresses for Africa? It is an organization founded by Rachel O’Neill in 2008 that has provided over 9 million dresses to girls in Africa. Nancy’s Notions became involved in 2011 and helped spread the word about these dresses and provided a very simple pattern for a dress. (Check out the free pdf at the bottom of this page.) Through providing so many dresses for the girls in Malawi, Africa, Little Dresses for Africa has also been able to provide clean water through digging new wells and has improved education opportunities by building two schools. This organization does way more than just provide dresses for girls (Pssst. They also provide britches for boys.)
Check out this simple tutorial on how to make a pillowcase dress to send to Little Dresses for Africa.
If you would like more information on the organization, please click here to learn more about their work. Besides the pdf shown below, you can find other dress patterns here.
If you have made a dress and are now wondering how to get it to Little Dresses for Africa, it’s as simple as mailing it to Little Dresses for Africa, 24614 Curtis Drive, Brownstown, MI 48134.
I have made many pillowcase dresses for charity. I love creating and then sharing with others. Years ago I made 50 dresses for this charity, Little Dresses for Africa, and boxed them up according to their specific instructions and mailed them to the US address given.
I received a thank you letter from them that had a request that next time, along with the dresses, I also send postage to cover the shipping to forward the dresses to their destination. To be honest, I was offended and haven’t given to them since. If I am going to the trouble and expense of buying the material and notions, then spending my time making the dresses, boxing and shipping them to the US address, why would they expect me to pay more?
They should have others donate for the shipping.
THANK U Very Much Mary for Generously Making & Donating 50 Little Dresses for Africa! I agree that others should provide the postage to send them to their destination! 🥰
I’m going to Uganda in August this year and if you want to make dresses I can take them with me and I won’t ask you to cover any of the cost to get them from the US to Uganda. I’m trying to teach my 5th grade Girl Scout troop to make some for our trip. Last year when I went the girls really liked getting a dress and seeing the clothes they were wearing beforehand helped understand the need.
I have a group thst sews dresses once a month. I have about 50 dresses. If you’d like to take ours to Uganda in August I’ll mail them to you. Please let me know.
I’m surprised anyone said that to you. We state on the website, “Donations for shipping are encouraged but not required”. We have sent over 10.5 million dresses, started 3 schools and put in 103 wells. We certainly did not mean to make you feel bad. We are just trying to do the most we can do for the kids. I just hope that you send your dresses with someone for the kids. It doesn’t have to be with Little Dresses for Africa. We don’t care who gets them there. Send them with your mission team maybe? Thank you and again I’m so sorry for the offense.
Very fun tutorial
Is page one and two of the ruffle dress supposed to be different?
Just now finished reading Nancy’s book, Seams Unlikely, and learned about the Little Dresses for Africa charity. Could you share the dimensions for the armhole template sizes? I printed the directions from the website, but I’m not sure if the printer default changed the scaling from the original pattern. Thank you!