Group sews sweet dreams for hospital patients

When Dionne Chang brought her youngest daughter, Brielle, to a Tampa hospital, she appreciated the coloring sheets and other activities available to help make patients’ stays at Shriner’s Hospital for Children more enjoyable.

But, the rooms lacked that same creativity. The uniform hospital rooms could be depressing for children, Chang, a mother of three, remembers.

To make hospital trips more bearable, Chang created Sewing for Sweet Dreams six months ago. The group invites local middle school girls to learn to sew pillowcases for patients at All Children’s Hospital in St. Petersburg. 

“This idea sparked from those activities I saw at the hospital, but this gives children a way to brighten up their rooms and their spirits,” Chang said. “Having a fun pillowcase might help make it easier for a child to spend the day in a hospital bed.”

The seven students who are currently part of the group attend Carlos E. Haile, R. Dan Nolan and Manatee School for the Arts middle schools. They meet Monday nights at Chang’s home in the Greenbrook community, where they learn to sew, one week at a time.

Participants will learn to measure and cut fabric to fit a hospital pillow. They learn to pin back the fabric and use sewing machines to eventually craft one or two pillows.

Chang provides snacks, social time and sewing machines for the girls who meet for the hour-long meeting.

A member of Bayside Community Church, Chang also offers prayer time to the girls who attend meetings.

Girls bring their own fabric and can bring a parent’s sewing machines if they’re able. One yard of fabric will cover one pillow.

The current group will finish its pillowcases by May.

At the end of the three-month period, students will donate their pillows to All Children’s Hospital, where a staff member will meet them and collect the pillows to distribute to children later.

Sewing for Sweet Dreams offers classes to one group for three months. Every three months of the school year, a new group starts, but they must be middle school aged.

The owner of a 1,300-square-foot home and with three children of her own, meetings can be a bit chaotic, Chang said, laughing.

But, she doesn’t mind.

“Meetings are fun for the girls and I enjoy them, too,” Chang said. “Sewing isn’t something young girls do much anymore; mothers don’t sit down and teach them this skill.”

Chang chose to focus on the grade group, because it’s often overlooked and girls are beginning to learn about self-identity, she said.

“Middle schools is hard,” Chang said. “Having a social group like this that focuses on a cause and allows girls to make new friends is helpful to them.”

The group’s student leader and Haile Middle student Cara Lanzarotta chose to join the group last year to help children in situations similar to her best friend, Grace Gustafson, who frequently visits local hospitals.

Gustafson has juvenile rheumatoid arthritis and looks forward to balloons and other surprises from Lanzarotta, who plans to learn to craft a quilt. She hopes Gustafson will eventually carry the quilt and the pillowcase with her to the hospital.

“Sewing for Sweet Dreams helps people,” Lanzarotta said. “We’re making hospital trips not seem so bad.”

Contact Amanda Sebastiano at [email protected].