Many grandmothers will tell you that hand-sewn and stitched clothes are made with love, and anyone could see the love on Betty Wilson’s face as she turned the dresses she made over in her lap.
Wilson made 50 dresses in the course of a month and a half, to send to Haiti for little girls.
The dresses are made in a pillowcase style, and are versatile and colorful. Some are lined with actual pillowcases while others are lined with other fabric, to make them not see-through.
Wilson said she remembers what it was like to grow up on a farm, and how her clothes as a child bore the activities of the day.
“I chose darker colors so the dirt won’t show up,” said Wilson. “I had scraps for sewing. I just love doing stuff for children.”
Wilson learned to sew from the women in her family and she took Home Economics in school. Wilson was also active in 4-H and made a dress for a project that took her to state level competition.
The Richmond County woman admitted that over the course of sewing the dresses for Haiti, she thought about the girls who might wear them.
“I got to thinking about those little girls over there,” Wilson said. “They will be so tickled to get those dresses.”
Wilson’s eyes welled with tears as she spoke.
“One girl might get a dress that puts a spark in her heart that stays there and she might become the leader of that country,” said Wilson.
This project involved other women from United Methodist Women, a group that includes women from several different churches who come together to join in common goals. Berniece Hunsucker is part of the group, and she said some women couldn’t sew, so instead they collected fabrics, including high quality fabrics donated from people in Pinehurst.
According to Hunsucker, the group made more than 150 dresses together. All the dresses turned out differently.
“When my fabric was short, I put a ruffle on the dress,” said Hunsucker. “They are all different sizes.”
In the coming weeks, the dresses will be taken to Clemmons, South Carolina, where Polly Caudle will collect them. She will take them to Haiti with her and will give them to girls as part of mission work in the coming months.
— Staff Writer Dawn M. Kurry can be reached at 910-997-3111, ext. 15, or by email at dkurry@heartlandpublications.com.
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