Saturday, December 05, 2009

Reader's Embroidery: Beautiful Christening Gown Set!

Carol DuVall recently finished a gorgeous heirloom Christening set for a best friend's daughter's new baby! The dress, slip, bonnet, storage bag, and hanger testify not only to Carol's attention to detail, but more importantly, to the love that went into making making this fabulous treasure!

We'll begin with a full-length view of the gown. Made from Bear Threads Swill batiste, the dress is adorned with French and French Maline laces. The embroidery is mostly worked in Splendor silk, and is accented with pearls and Swarovski crystals.

Hand Embroidered Christening Gown


Carol used a lace-to-lace technique to create the bodice, and she inserted lace into the body of the gown, marking off areas of pin tucking.

Hand Embroidered Christening Gown


The bodice is beautifully smocked! The bullion roses are stunning, and the pearls and crystals add an elegant touch.

Hand Embroidered Christening Gown


The slip bodice is made out of a sheer cotton organza. Notice the feather stitching and the bullion roses! Beautiful details!

Hand Embroidered Christening Gown


Speaking of details, on the slip, Carol embroidered the name and birthdate of the baby, along with the names of the parents, in a heart-shaped wreath of flowers. The photo is somewhat difficult to see - it's never easy to photograph whitework - but you can see enough to understand the detail and care that went into this (and it's the slip!)

Hand Embroidered Christening Gown


The bonnet is ... wow! Unbelievable! I love the smocked netting and the pearls and crystals, but it's that wreath of bullion roses at the back of the bonnet that I find most enchanting.

Hand Embroidered Christening Gown


First of all, the bullions are fantastic - I love how the roses nestle up to each other. And the little pearls sprinkled here and there among the roses are a perfect touch.

Hand Embroidered Christening Gown


To finish off the set, Carol made a matching padded hanger for it, with a pretty ribbon-wrapped hook, and a storage bag. On the outside of the storage bag, she fitted a pocket made of silk organza on which she printed a photo of little Kate and all the little details of her birth. Ingenious!

Do you agree with me that this is absolutely stunning? What a work of art, and what a work of love!

Thanks, Carol, for letting me share your masterpiece with readers here on Needle 'n Thread! It's exquisite! I hope everyone else finds it as inspiring as I do!

If you're interested in sharing your needlework with readers on Needle 'n Thread, feel free to drop me a line, and I'll send you an e-mail address. It's always nice to see what other stitching folk out there are up to - and a great way to get the creative juices flowing for the rest of us!

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Saturday, May 10, 2008

Hand Embroidered First Communion Dress

Here are some up-close photos of my niece's hand-embroidered First Communion dress. Embroidery on children's clothing, especially for special occasions, is no new thing, really, so although you will see a beautiful dress here, it isn't a "novel" idea! There are still plenty of people out there who make their own children's clothes and embellish them, too... but I have to wonder if it's kind of a dying art?

The Victorians were avid embellishers of children's clothing - fine embroidered baby items were worked with loving hands (or by hired hands) to dress up the baby for grand occasions, and even for every day. With the advent of cotton mills and of mercerized cotton, fine items could be made for a lot less money, making fancy work more accessible to those other than the very rich.

Momentous occasions were celebrated with fine clothing - whether christening gowns, First Communion dresses, graduations, or marriages. Dresses and gowns were passed down from child to child, carefully packed away after the event, to resurface again for cleaning and pressing when the time came for the next in line to wear the piece.

Have we lost these traditions a bit, with the "ready-made" Instant Society we live in? Overall, I think we have. But not everywhere, with everyone. Certainly, companies like Wendy Schoen, Martha Pullen, and Country Bumpkin (with their smocking and christening gown angle) attest to a remaining thread of interest in hand-made, special occasion clothing.

If you'll allow me to brag a bit about my sister, I'll say I'm glad to see that these traditions continue in her family, just as they did in our family. We all (seven of us!) wore the same christening gown and the same First Communion dress, and my older sister has managed the same with her own girls.

She made this at the beginnings of her ventures into heirloom sewing, and it has withstood the test of time - worn this year for the sixth time, over 16 years of use, and looking just as perfect as when it was new!

So that's the history, and here are the photos:

Hand Embroidered First Communion Dress


The dress is made of Swiss batiste, with inset lace on the bodice, the skirt, and the sleeves.

Hand Embroidered First Communion Dress


The embroidery design is made up of white roses in bullion stitch and a pale green vine and leaves, highlighted with tiny pearls.

Hand Embroidered First Communion Dress


The embroidery motif can be found on the back of the shoulders, too...

Hand Embroidered First Communion Dress


...and is even repeated on the covered buttons down the back of the dress.

Hand Embroidered First Communion Dress


This is the lower part of the front of the skirt, situated between scallops formed by inlaid lace.

Hand Embroidered First Communion Dress


Somehow, it loses a bit, looking at it like this on a hanger! The sash is not original - this is a substituted organdy and satin ribbon. Originally, it was a plain white satin ribbon, I think.

Hand Embroidered First Communion Dress


This is the front of the bodice. The batiste, you can see, is pretty sheer.

Hand Embroidered First Communion Dress


A close-up on the above - the vines are worked in stem stitch and the leaves in satin stitch. All the stitching is done with floche.

Hand Embroidered First Communion Dress


And that's the center of the front of the bodice.

Ain't it perty?

My sister's my hero! Golly.

Do you have any clothing traditions in your family? Do you think hand-making special occasion clothing is a dying tradition? I'd love to hear your thoughts!

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