Creating keepsake heirloom Christening Ensembles are my
favorite thing to make in heirloom sewing. It takes hours just to plan the
style of the gown and bonnet, what laces to use, and to “play” with the laces
to find just the right combination for the fancy bands.
My customer last summer wanted a very elaborate gown made
with Nelona Swiss Batiste and French laces. She gave me a budget but let me
make all the decisions about the gown. She was a dream customer! Her only request was a puffing strip in the fancy band. After looking
through magazines and books by Sarah
Howard Stone, I decided on a high yoke gown with a fancy band and ruffle. I
put rows and rows of laces together to get the perfect combination. All the
laces are beautiful but some look better together than others. When I was happy
with the selections, I started measuring the depth of the bands to figure out
the depth needed for the fabric at the top of the skirt and for the ruffle. I laid the pieces out on a grid mat to see the measurements
The picture above shows the lace band, tucked bands, puffing
strip, and bottom ruffle laid out but not sewn together. It is on my grid table
so I can check the height of this portion of the skirt bottom. As a rule, the
embellished portion of the skirt should not exceed two-thirds of the skirt
length measurement.
When working on an heirloom project, I do it in sections.
Usually, I work on the fancy part of the skirt first, then the front and back
bodice, and lastly, the sleeves. I get each section completed before I start assembling
the gown. I like to work on the dress in this order: fancy bands, skirt,
ruffle, front and back bodices, and sleeves.
The strips of lace were joined with tiny narrow zigzag
stitches. I kept adding lace strips until I had the band the way I wanted it to
look.
Here are the details of the dress:
Pattern: Sarah Howard Stone Christening Gown Pattern
Laces: French Valenciennes Lace, color light ecru, and white
entredeux
Ribbon: Ecru Double Face Satin
Fabric: White Nelona Swiss Batiste
The bands in the skirt, ruffle, the front and back yokes,
and sleeves are all joined together with endredeux.
The front yoke features hand embroidery embellishment.
White fabric is the hardest to photograph and I struggle
with lighting and getting great pictures! I took pictures outside and inside.
The picture below was taken inside with light coming in
behind the dress. I hung the dress in front of a large window.
This is a picture
with a close-up of the bodice showing the hand embroidery.
The back of the gown
features a placket and my customer will use two beauty pins to close the gown.
Beauty pins are often passed down with the gown to use for generations.
Beauty bar pins can
be purchased here: https://www.thepolkadotstore.com/baby-jewelry
Gold and sterling silver
pins are available.
The skirt band is an elaborate combination of four lace
bands and two tuck bands on either side of a wide puffing strip.
The fabric ruffle has a center row of lace insertion and
lace edging is attached to the bottom of the ruffle. The fabric in the picture is white but the lighting makes it look ecru.
A matching slip and
bonnet completed the Christening Ensemble. The slip has a beautiful cross
embroidered on the front center bottom. A monogram with Christening date will
be added to the slip after the Christening. Unfortunately, I forgot to back a
picture of the slip.
Christening gowns are my favorite thing to make. Creating
something this beautiful is very fulfilling. I can’t wait to start on my next
Christening gown project!
Note: All supplies can be purchased from Granny's Attic. Contact info: grannysheirlooms@gmail.com
Custom Christening Ensembles are made on request.
