Fifty years ago our second child was born. We named her after both her grandmothers – my mother’s first name and The Husband’s mother’s middle name. She was a happy baby and I found her a lot easier to take care of than her older sister. To be truthful, 99.9% of that was probably due to the fact that by this time I knew what I was doing . When our first daughter was born I had never changed a diaper or even taken care of a baby before. Back in those days, not much thought was given to preparing the new mother for the job ahead. Thank goodness for the Dr. Spock book that somebody gave me, not sure just when, but certainly not soon enough for Daughter 1’s comfort.While I was expecting, I decided to learn to sew. I bought a used White in a cabinet for $40 and made myself some maternity clothes. Then I decided that the new baby would need her own Christening dress and that it should be entirely hand-sewn, with white-on-white embroidery. I don’t remember where this idea came from but through the years I’ve been prone to similar crazy ideas from time to time.
This is the pattern I chose. Then I went to The Emporium in downtown San Francisco and bought batiste and lace, both imported from France. Those were the days when big department stores sold a full line of fabrics and notions.
Ornate Glass Dome from The Emporium Photo from WikipediaI then proceeded to cut out the fabric and stitch it together by hand. I used french seams, which are fully enclosed, for most of the garment. Unfortunately, the set-in sleeves defeated me. No matter how hard I tried, I just couldn’t get the gathers to lay properly. I finally gave up and stitched them in using the machine and then overcast the seam. I did not do a very good job overcasting the parts where the lace edging and insertions meet the fabric, so now there is a certain amount of fraying in those areas. Also, the insertion in one area has deteriorated. The rest of the ensemble includes a long slip and an embroidered bonnet.
detail of pintucks
detail of embroidery
