Victoria Mello knew she was in for a challenge when she offered to make dresses for orphans. She’d never made one in her life.

Still, her final project at Somersfield Academy required her to do something she loved, and she loved stitching.

“I had an idea it wasn’t going to be the easiest project in the world, but I thought it would be cool,” said the 15-year-old. “I’d made a skirt before.”

The hardest part was stitching the armholes.

“They were very tedious,” she said. “You have to roll the sections, one at a time and put a pin in them. I kept stabbing myself.

“I think the biggest lesson I learnt was patience. I messed up a lot, but I had to learn how to not get frustrated and to start over.”

Her grandmother, Suzie Carvalho, gave her pointers as did fabric store owner Gina Flood.

It took Victoria three days to make three dresses. One still needs adjustment.

“It was too short so I have to add on a piece of fabric,” she said. “I am also going to make two outfits for little boys — denim shorts and shirts.”

The teenager decided to help children in Ghana because it’s where her science teacher, Shirley Kelly, is from.

“I had to research what dress I wanted to make,” she said. “At first I wasn’t sure but Gina Flood recommended a pillowcase dress.

“I had to research Ghana, and whether people there would accept clothing not made in a traditional style, or clothing made by people not from Ghana.

“They have their own fabric in Ghana called Kinte cloth, but I used cotton fabric made in Ghana. I checked with my teacher, and she said they would be happy to accept it.”

She added: “We haven’t figured out what orphanage we are going to send the clothes to yet. We’re working on that.”

The best part is seeing the work completed. “You put all the hard work into doing them and when they are finished you think, that doesn’t look like it is so hard to do. I have had thoughts that I could do this to earn money. It would be a good summer job. ”

Despite the interest, she has no plans to become a fashion designer. “I really do like doing it, but I don’t think I would make it a professional career,” she said.

“I feel like I would run out of ideas. I want to be a teacher like my mother, Brooke Mello. I am also debating doing child psychology.”

She had a first-hand look at life in an orphanage two years ago, on a school trip to Costa Rica.

“We visited [one] there,” she said. “I had a lot of fun playing with the children. I got really attached to them and when I left I was in tears.”

She noticed that the children tended to wear clothes that didn’t fit them — one of the reasons she wanted to do this project.

Her aim is to finish it by the end of her Christmas break. Her work will be shown in Somersfield’s personal project fair in February.

“I am sad that I won’t be able to go to Ghana to present the clothes to the children,” she said. “Maybe someone will send photographs.”