Just Baby Gifts & Apparel: Something Old, Something New

I have always said that we are in the most joyful business

ever. And we have the most wonderful customers as well. And one of my most creative challenges came from one of our lovely customers, Suzie B.

Suzi brought in her wedding gown, worn 34 years prior, and asked to have two christening gowns created from it - one for her grandson, whom she will be welcoming in October, and one for the girl that will be. Someday.

Oh. What. Fun.

Except for actually cutting into the most beautiful gown I've ever seen. But I'll get to that.

And so, ta da! The little lady's on the right, the young man's below. Wow.

My goal was to incorporate the wedding dress into each gown. The girl gown was mentally easier because, well, lace, pearls, netting, embroidery, okay. The boy gown was a bit more difficult. Suzie envisioned a simple gown with a smocked bodice, pin tucks and an embroidered cross. Challenge given!

I used the fabric from the train for both gowns - just enough. Believe that? Just. I turned over the front of the boy gown to mom, who pleated and smocked the bodice. I think it took her about 6 hours to smock - could be a world record. And it's tiny. Tiny little diamonds. Perfect!

The design came together on it's own. As a boy gown, the collar and sleeve cuff were piped, as was the bodice. I could not fit a proper cross on the bodice so it was embroidered on each sleeve, which really showed off the design. I put the belt in the back to make the gown even more masculine and used the buttons from Grandma's dress. Pin tucks added, all good. But it needed something more from the dress to bring a bit more of the history in. Aha! I cut the bottom pleated edge down from 4 inches deep to 1 1/2 and added it to the bottom of the gown. A little bit more tailored looking than the deep 4 inches, but in it's own way, it matches the girl's gown AND Grandma's dress. Yea!