Salem 4-H sews dresses to send to Ethiopia

SALEM - Salem 4-H Stars and Clover Kids completed a couple dozen T-shirt dresses that will be sent to children in Ethiopia as a global citizenship project this month.

The 13 kids in Salem's 4-H program who participated in making the T-shirt dresses were focused and hard at work on Monday, Oct. 22, on the last day to make the dresses. Sewing machines whirled, the iron was hot and ready to press the dresses and questions flew through the air and students scrambled to finish their projects.

'It was hard,” said Mairelle McClellan, 7, with a smile of accomplishment on her face as she described how she cut the material, put in gathering stitches, sewed the shirt to the skirt, ironed the hem and sewed that too.

The students began the project three weeks ago, each choosing different color T-shirts that had been purchased at Walmart for $1 and fabric to sew to the T-shirts to make the skirt.

The project was a request from Toi Mears, a teacher at Clark Elementary School in New London, who came to the Salem 4-H at the start of the project and spoke with the students about Ethiopia.

Gigi Olson, 10, was proud to help the kids in Ethiopia with her project. Her sewing experience started by sewing a potholder earlier this year, which taught students the different kinds of stitches involved in sewing.

Patty Kruse, who leads the 4-H students in learning to sew, has been assisting with projects like this since she herself was in high school. Kruse does two sewing classes a year, typically in the spring and fall, through the Iowa State Extension Office. While sewing is a breeze for her, it's been a challenge to meet the kids on their level.

'It's building blocks,” Kruse said. 'Getting them to learn the techniques by talking on their level. You try to build on their skills.”

When kids get frustrated, she tells them it's not a big deal, to slow down and they take out the stitch and start over.

Nicole Syfert, co-leader of Clover Kids, believes it's important for the students to participate in global citizenship projects like the T-shirt dresses because it forms a habit.

'I think it will open their world to possibilities,” Syfert said, whose twin girls Emerson and Peyton Syfert, 10, are in 4-H and have found they absolutely love sewing.

Peyton found the most difficult part of the project gathering stitches for the skirt of the dress. For Emerson, sewing the T-shirt with the fabric was the most difficult. They both made four dresses each.

'I wanted to help kids in Ethiopia,” Peyton said, adding that she found a love for sewing and hopes to make clothing on her own after the project is completed.

Emerson and Peyton's cousin Tucker Syfert also found a love for sewing through this project.

'I like (sewing). It's a cool thing to do after school. My dad sews and I wanted to learn how to sew too,” Tucker said.