Local relief efforts for hurricane victims.
Not to disparage the relief efforts of the Red Cross and Salvation Army, they're great agencies and they do good works, but I like my help to be a little more personal when I know people in the affected area.
I'm part of a historical reenactment society, the Society for Creative Anachronism. Two of our groups are right in the destruction zone. We're coordinating with people from those groups who are outside the destruction zone but still close enough to get help to places the evacuees are sheltering, to send down care packages.
Things we're sending down:
Toiletries:
Toothbrush
Toothpaste
Mouthwash
Hand sanitizer
Baby wipes/handiwipes (The water's out or fouled - I'm thinking alternate means to get clean would be good)
Deodorant
Diapers - disposable, lack of water means cloth may not be a good idea.
Toilet paper
Feminine products
Clothing:
Socks/slippers
Clean underwear (new, preferably)
T-shirts
Cotton one-size-fits-all pants (These can be made, will post directions)
Bedding:
Blankets/sheets
Other:
Gift cards to chain stores such as WalMart in varying denominations so that people can buy specific things they need - or water, since bottled water is a stone bitch to ship.
Phone cards so that when service is restored, people can use pay phones to call loved ones and check in.
Books to read
Crossword/wordfind
Handheld games/puzzles
Stuffed animals
Plastic cups/bowls/paper plates/plastic silverware
Food:
At this time, I'm not planning to ship down canned goods or bottled water - it weighs a lot. However, I may send down baked goods, like cookies or brownies, as something to keep spirits up.
Directions for the "one size fits most" pants:
2 yards of non-stretchy fabric at least 24" wide, cut into single-yard pieces: I usually use a cotton/poly broadcloth, or flannel, but I don't know how appropriate that would be for the area. Don't use straight cotton - it will shrink, and it won't dry fast enough if wet to keep the wearer from getting chills.
Take your squares of cloth and pin them wrong-sides together across top. The short ends will be top/bottom, the long ends will be sides. Measure to the center of the top, and down 8" from that mark and chalk a line. Pin cloth around that area. Using the sewing machine's "buttonhole" function, start at the top and button hole down one side of the line, across the bottom 1/2", and up the other side of the line. Take a scissors and carefully cut the cloth down the center of the buttonhole. This is your crotch seam. Take the square on top and fold it together so the long sides are touching, and pin all the way down the long side, to make a circle of fabric. Sew this seam all the way up the side 1/4" in. Fold the seam over and run another line of stitching to reinforce the seam. Do the same for the other leg. Fold the waist hem down 1/2" and sew all the way around it. Fold this hem down 1" and sew along the bottom of the fold /only/ - this is the drawstring loop. Hem the bottoms of the legs 1/2". Flip the whole thing inside out, and you should have a pair of very wide-waist pants. Decide which will be the front. Make a small hole in the front of the drawstring loop, big enough to get your drawstring through twice. Hand stitch around this hole. Run your drawstring.
End result: Pants which will fit a waist up to 45", with an outer seam of 34" and an inseam somewhere around 24". To adjust the waist width: buy wider cloth - you can make this up to 120". Caveat: The wider you make the waist, the wider the legs of the pants will be. To adjust the leg length: Use more than 1 yard of cloth.
These are cheap to make, extremely comfortable to wear, unisex, fit most anyone, and mine dry pretty fast when wet. I bought a bunch of pants like this when I was in Thailand, and am making a bunch to take to South America, because I can fit about 8 pairs in a school-sized backpack that would only hold 2 pairs of jeans or 4 pairs of shorts.
Enjoy.
-Peregrine
I'm part of a historical reenactment society, the Society for Creative Anachronism. Two of our groups are right in the destruction zone. We're coordinating with people from those groups who are outside the destruction zone but still close enough to get help to places the evacuees are sheltering, to send down care packages.
Things we're sending down:
Toiletries:
Toothbrush
Toothpaste
Mouthwash
Hand sanitizer
Baby wipes/handiwipes (The water's out or fouled - I'm thinking alternate means to get clean would be good)
Deodorant
Diapers - disposable, lack of water means cloth may not be a good idea.
Toilet paper
Feminine products
Clothing:
Socks/slippers
Clean underwear (new, preferably)
T-shirts
Cotton one-size-fits-all pants (These can be made, will post directions)
Bedding:
Blankets/sheets
Other:
Gift cards to chain stores such as WalMart in varying denominations so that people can buy specific things they need - or water, since bottled water is a stone bitch to ship.
Phone cards so that when service is restored, people can use pay phones to call loved ones and check in.
Books to read
Crossword/wordfind
Handheld games/puzzles
Stuffed animals
Plastic cups/bowls/paper plates/plastic silverware
Food:
At this time, I'm not planning to ship down canned goods or bottled water - it weighs a lot. However, I may send down baked goods, like cookies or brownies, as something to keep spirits up.
Directions for the "one size fits most" pants:
2 yards of non-stretchy fabric at least 24" wide, cut into single-yard pieces: I usually use a cotton/poly broadcloth, or flannel, but I don't know how appropriate that would be for the area. Don't use straight cotton - it will shrink, and it won't dry fast enough if wet to keep the wearer from getting chills.
Take your squares of cloth and pin them wrong-sides together across top. The short ends will be top/bottom, the long ends will be sides. Measure to the center of the top, and down 8" from that mark and chalk a line. Pin cloth around that area. Using the sewing machine's "buttonhole" function, start at the top and button hole down one side of the line, across the bottom 1/2", and up the other side of the line. Take a scissors and carefully cut the cloth down the center of the buttonhole. This is your crotch seam. Take the square on top and fold it together so the long sides are touching, and pin all the way down the long side, to make a circle of fabric. Sew this seam all the way up the side 1/4" in. Fold the seam over and run another line of stitching to reinforce the seam. Do the same for the other leg. Fold the waist hem down 1/2" and sew all the way around it. Fold this hem down 1" and sew along the bottom of the fold /only/ - this is the drawstring loop. Hem the bottoms of the legs 1/2". Flip the whole thing inside out, and you should have a pair of very wide-waist pants. Decide which will be the front. Make a small hole in the front of the drawstring loop, big enough to get your drawstring through twice. Hand stitch around this hole. Run your drawstring.
End result: Pants which will fit a waist up to 45", with an outer seam of 34" and an inseam somewhere around 24". To adjust the waist width: buy wider cloth - you can make this up to 120". Caveat: The wider you make the waist, the wider the legs of the pants will be. To adjust the leg length: Use more than 1 yard of cloth.
These are cheap to make, extremely comfortable to wear, unisex, fit most anyone, and mine dry pretty fast when wet. I bought a bunch of pants like this when I was in Thailand, and am making a bunch to take to South America, because I can fit about 8 pairs in a school-sized backpack that would only hold 2 pairs of jeans or 4 pairs of shorts.
Enjoy.
-Peregrine
posted by Peregrine at 10:03 PM
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