The girls at Sewing Club have been making Little Dresses For Africa, for our friend Dave Ford to take out on his next trip.
It is a very simple pattern – with drawstrings through casings front and back which make adjustable shoulder ties. They have had fun making them, and adding a few embellishments – mostly strips of contrast fabric and rows of decorative machine stitching.
Next we have to make large drawstring bags which Dave will fill with goodies for the mums – the children’s clothes, plus basic toiletries etc. Watch this space for more pictures of the girls’ projects!
** ‘Bless Your Cotton Socks’ - Allegedly George Edward Lynch Cotton, English clergyman and educator, assistant master at Rugby 1837-1852, the young master in Thomas Hughes's "Tom Brown's School Days" became Bishop of Calcutta, in 1858 He did missionary work and established schools for Eurasian children. In requests to England he asked for donations of clothing, often emphasizing "warm socks" for the children. He seems to have held the simplistic view that if the children had warm socks many of their problems, malnutrition, disease, racial prejudice etc. could be easily solved. Little old maiden ladies all over England spent their time knitting socks for Bishop Cotton and sending them off to India. He blessed all items used in his schools, and many shipments would arrive labelled " Socks for Cotton's blessing"
<<Bishop Cotton
If the above information is true [and I do so hope it is] then it is very appropriate that we are making cotton frocks for the children in Africa [our group are bright young teenagers though, not little old maiden ladies!]
And I am confident that they will be a part of God’s blessing to those who receive them
What a worthwhile project.The results are very pretty.
ReplyDeleteI love the dresses, what a good idea. Interesting to hear the story of Bishop Cotton. Bishop Cotton schools are still around in India, I have heard of one in Bangalore.
ReplyDeleteI had always assumed the saying came from the fact that the socks were made of cotton. New socks may not have solved all of the kids problems but it does get pretty cold in North India in the winter so I'm sure they were appreciated.
Elizabth - thanks for the info about the Bishop Cotton Schools! What is your weathe rin India like at the moment? it is a dull misty autumn day here in England right now!!
ReplyDeleteCute little frocks. And what a nice idea to put it all in a bag for the mum. They will be blessed and so will those who made them. :-)
ReplyDeleteSimply wonderful!!! :)
ReplyDeleteMy bro-in-law is a Euroasian or Anglo Indian . I don't think the warm socks exactly overrode the racial prejudice when he arrived in Essex in 1956!!
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