Super Volunteers

Happy spring to our super volunteers!  I'm so delighted with all the components you're making at our monthly gatherings and the impressive numbers several of you find time to sew at home and bring in.  If you're interested in working at home, please let me know!

As of this writing, we have been able to present to 248 girls:

• 178 kits to Kenya
• 24 regular and 20 postpartum liners ( comprising parts of 5 kits) to Uganda
• 65 kits to Zimbabwe

That translates into 178 bags, 356 shields and 1468 liners!  

All too often, when we are putting together kits, I think to bring out my camera only after all the kits are assembled and packed up.  As the kits for Zimbabwe were assembled, I remembered before that point and got a few shots of the colorful kits and components before they were put in the big white bags!

Moisture-proof shields stuffed with flannel liners

Gallon Ziploc freezer bags being filled with kit components

Colorful drawstring bags hold those filled Ziplocs and are attractive bags
which the girls can carry every day of the month.

I'm hoping we will have pictures from the last three distributions in Africa to share with the team at our next gathering, on April 19.

At our March 15 workday, we had half a dozen new faces joining some regulars, for a total of 15 that day.  We had people staying for different amounts of time, doing different tasks, and I think we all had a good time, while building up our inventory for the next distribution.

As you sew for Days for Girls, we need you to be your own Quality Control Supervisor.  Because what we make needs to fit together as a kit, it is extremely important that everything be exactly the right width and length.  We've been getting a number of unusable (too large, too small, misshapen, wrong fabric, poorly sewn, etc) components, or ones with errors that would take almost as long to fix as it would to make new ones.  If you're sewing at home, know what the finished size of your component should be, and check frequently to make sure you are right on the mark. If you don't know that measurement or where to find it, do ask me.

Days for Girls has strict requirements for us to follow in addition to specific dimensions: what fabrics to use, as well as which fabric designs to avoid.  I've written about them earlier on this blog, and urge you to refresh your memory by scrolling down.  There are details about the fabric and underwear restrictions.  We truly appreciate the work of our super volunteers as well as your donations and want to make sure they meet the guidelines we follow.

Would you like to read about other teams, chapters and distributions around the world?  Days for Girls Super Volunteers on Facebook is a gathering place of volunteers for Days for Girls programs.  "We work to ensure that women in impoverished nations have access to quality feminine hygiene... so they can live every day of their lives to the fullest."

You, our super volunteers, are the target for this Facebook group.  The group is open to all Days for Girls volunteers, but it's by invitation only.  If you're interested in joining, please let me know.  You can email me at dfgeugene@gmail.com, tell me the email address you used to sign up for Facebook, and I'll send it in.  And, if you'd like to be on our email list to get one or two emails a month with updates, photos and workday reminders, please let me know that too.

I hope you can join us for the next workday, on Sunday, April 19th.  As usual, we will meet at Our Sewing Room on 5th and Main in Springfield.  We'll be there from 10 am to 5 pm.  Come for as much time as you have available! 

Ides of March

Be aware that the Ides of March (March 15) is a Days for Girls workday for our team!  As usual, we'll gather at Our Sewing Room in Springfield, from 10 am to 5 pm.

All sorts of jobs are available--serging, sewing, cutting, pressing, snapping, etc.  I'll show you a couple of serging techniques for the liners.

Please bring a serger if you have one that's portable, or a sewing machine, sharp scissors and seam ripper, all depending on what facet of kit-making appeals to you this time.

A week ago, I wrote about Days for Girls deciding to phase out the T&T liners, and use only the serged tri-fold style.

This week, there's another change, and one that I believe is long overdue.  We are now going to be putting two pair of underpants in each kit!  That makes so much more sense than just one!  A few more ounces per kit, a bit more money, but much better logistics for the girls!

Of course, this means that we need twice as many pairs of underpants.  We could really use donations!  Our most requested and needed sizes are Girls' sizes 10 and 12.

And what kind?

• Cotton or cotton blend
• briefs or hipsters (no bikini, boy shorts or thong)
• As colorful as possible
• No designs including animals, people or camouflage

Hanes and Fruit of the Loom seem to have the best prices and are carried by Target, Walmart, etc.  They're available in the stores and online.

Would you bring a package or two?  And tell your friends about Days for Girls and ask if they'd consider donating some packages of underwear (give them the specifics)?  This is a very big need for us right now.

More colorful fabrics will do a better job of hiding stains, but all of the packs come with a few solid white and light print undies.  Laura at Textiles a Mano (whose hand-dyed yarns are incredible) is doing some test dying of those for us, in hopes that all of the pairs will be useable and great at hiding stains!  Thank you so much, Laura!

I hope you can join us Sunday!  We're going to start having a sign-in sheet and name tags to help us remember names.  And please help me remember to take pictures!

Change in policy about flannel liners

BIG NEWS:  Days for Girls International has decided to discontinue the T&T or octagon-style of flannel liner. 

We are asked to finish up T&T liners that are already cut out or in process, and distribute them in our kits (along with the serged style, which DFG calls tri-fold) until our inventory  runs out.  We will be including a few in each kit until they're gone, so please bring in the ones you're working on and those you've already finished, but don't start any new ones.  Until further notice, we will only be making the serged liner.

In its 6-year existence, Days for Girls has always solicited feedback from the recipients of our kits, and based on that information, the shields and liners have evolved over the years. This is phasing out of a style is a big change for us, but it is the result of feedback from the users.  Days for Girls founder Celeste Mergens explains: 

Phasing Out T&T Liners Announcement: About 6 months ago a trickle of data started coming in... T&T's were an issue. When girls and women needed 3 liners for heavier flow the liners would arc up and toward their bodies instead of down forming a "bowl" as most standard tri-folds do. This created a problem for the girls as menses could sometimes leak out of the side before absorbing because of the arch, while the natural "cupping" of standard liners allowed time to absorb a bit. We tested it for ourselves... yes. We saw what they meant. The subtle difference was causing an issue for the girls. We were hesitant to make any changes. We considered how difficult it would be for everyone to advise that when using 3 liners, users could place two liners "up" and one correctly placed. We recognized that passing on that data to all who receive kits would be nearly impossible. We decided that since not all use 3 layers and it was not consistent, we would await more data. Next came news from Cambodia that happened in a fluke way. They somehow received 3 types of liners. One full bag of kits had Betty Pads (A mystery, right? How did that happen? Betty Pads were phased out so long ago, but it turned out to be a helpful mistake. The other bag of kits had T&T's. The last had 25 kits with only standard tri-folds. The girls opened their kits and the first group said, "We can't hang these outside. They look like pads." We knew that from previous feedback, yes? That's why we discontinued them so long ago. The second set, that received T&T's hesitated, having the same concern, that they would be asked what they were and eventually everyone would know they were for menstruation and they would no longer be able to hang them outside to dry. The third set, who received standard tri-folds were pleased. Soon the entire group was asking if they could have the tri-folds. And suddenly, with that feedback, we knew what had to be done. So... we get to start phasing out our T&T liners. Complete what is already cut out and try to call for donations in your communities for sergers. Days for Girls makes changes to the kit based on what is best for the girls, that is, those who use the kits. Changes are made with a focus on what is most efficient, most effective, and best for the health of the girls.

We realize the need for sergers may be a temporary difficulty for some groups which do not currently have sergers. However, in most communities there are sergers packed away in closets. Some groups have been successful in locating new volunteers with sergers. Another option is to seek out the sergers gathering dust in closets and ask the owner if they would consider sewing for DfG or would donate their serger to DfG.

Important: the serged liner must be made using a serger (also called overlocker). It may not be made with zigzag or overcast stitch on regular sewing machines; doing so results in poorly made liners that lack durability. Liners that do not last are a poor use of our resources (flannel and the dollars that have purchased the flannel). More importantly, liners lacking durability do not serve the girls well. Thank you for being flexible for the girls. YOU are the heart of all we do and the reason so many are reached. Thank you to everyone who has been part of the process.

So, how will this affect us here in Oregon?  We need more sergers!  Both the machines and people to serge on them.  If you know somebody who has a serger which they no longer use, please ask them if they'd consider donating it to our team.  We are a 501c3 charity and can supply them with a receipt for tax purposes.  If you have a serger at home that you'd be willing to use on the liners, please let us know, and we'll supply you with the flannel.  Or if you have one you'd like to bring and use at our workdays, that's fantastic!  

Here are our directions for serged liners.  All dimensions assume that you will be cutting off 1/4" as you serge.  Use medium to dark polyester thread--exact matching isn't necessary!

• Cut or tear flannel into lengths of about 2.5 yards.
• Prewash and machine dry the flannel.  Press.
• Cut off selvages and cut (don't tear) lengthwise into 6" and 9" strips.  
• Serge the long sides of only the 6" strip, cutting off 1/4" on each side as you serge.  
• Straight stitch the strips together, wrong sides together, centering the narrower strip on the wider one.  You should be stitching on top of the serger-stitching.
• This long stitched strip  is then cut into 9" squares, and serged all around (cutting off 1/4" all around).  It should measure 8.5" square when finished (absolutely no bigger, or it won't fit in the shield!).
• In this video supplied by a Utah chapter, notice where she begins, how she turns corners, and how she ends.  Neat!

DfG Serged Liners

In other news, last month we finished 40 kits that will be in Zimbabwe this weekend!  They're the first batch of several to be going (as airline weight/space is available) to 350  high school girls who have lost one or both parents.  

If you ever know of  somebody traveling to an impoverished area who has room in their luggage weight allowance, please let me know.  Each kit weights about 12 ounces.  I can check and see if there are requests for that area.

Our next workday at Our Sewing Room is March 15th, 10 to 5.  I'll go over making the serged liners with you (and show the video to those who haven't seen it).  I hope we have a great turnout.  And lots of sergers!

Tasks for that day will include:

Finishing up lots of T&T liners that are cut out or started (straight-stitching)

Serging liner hotspot strips and straight-stitching the layers together

Serging the edges of liners

Pressing flannel and cotton

Attaching snaps to shields

Using the Accuquilt to cut out shields and PUL.

Rotary cutting

Scissor cutting (please bring a sharp pair if this job appeals to you)

Cutting and top-stitching pockets for the shields (If you have 5" strips of cotton that meet our color/pattern guidelines and would make great pockets, donations are welcome!)

And our wishlist (see earlier posts for more details and restrictions):

• sergers!
• flannel (see restrictions posted earlier)
• girls cotton underpants, as colorful as possible, sizes 10-14, but especially 10 and 12.
• polyester thread, medium to dark colors
• colorful twill tape, 1/2" or 5/8" (we use 2 yards per bag)
• Ziploc gallon-size freezer bags (this brand and size only)
• Washcloths--medium to dark colors
• PUL--polyurethane laminate (JoAnn's carries this, and it's also available at a good price from DFG.  Ask me if you'd like to buy through them.)

I'm going to start having volunteers sign in at our work days when they arrive, to help with our record-keeping.  I'll also have name tags to help us learn each others' names!

As always, bringing your sewing machine may be more comfortable for you.  We'll be doing much more serging than we have previously, so if you have a serger and can bring it (to use yourself), that would be very helpful!  And bringing your own scissors, seam ripper and pins is appreciated.  

Please feel free to email me with any questions--dfgeugene@gmail.com