Tag Archives: christening gown

Finished Christening Gown for Baby Shrek!

“I prayed for this child, and the Lord has granted what I asked of Him.” 1 Samuel 1:27

After earlier disappointments, people around the world prayed for this baby during the difficult pregnancy. God hears all prayers and answered with the safe delivery of this precious baby into the arms of his loving family.

So here are the details of the renewed heirloom gown Baby Shrek wore for his baptism. ~~~~~~

Photo taken between rain and wind gusts from tropical storm Hermine.

photo taken between rain and wind gusts from tropical storm Hermine.

It’s been so long since my last post that faithful readers probably think I have dropped off the face of the earth. A more accurate explanation of my absence is that I’ve been buried deep in my sewing room. Sooooo much has been going on, the highlight being the completion of this gown for Baby Shrek and spending some time with him. Details of a weekend with 4 rabid embroidery enthusiasts, ages 3.5-9, nearly a week of sewing with our two older grandchildren before they moved to New Jersey, and more will be posted later.

Little Shrek on my dining room table

Little Shrek on my dining room table. His adoring grandmother is captured in the mirror wearing a white blouse.

First let me answer a the question many have asked about why he is called Baby Shrek. His parents very graciously gave me permission to use any photos of him, but asked that I not use his name. So the hasty endearment from his maternal grandmother, “beautiful Baby Shrek,” is used in place of his very lengthy, good Christian name.

These pictures are not great, but he had passed up his noon nursing due to the distraction of my two dogs and his watchful, attentive fan club.  Then when he was dressed for the photos, he was good-natured, but very actively squirmed and flapped his little arms as he pleaded for his dinner.

arms-raisedxx

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Knitted Christening Gown

 

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It was mentioned earlier that knitting was my first needleart.  Actually, for many, many years, it was my only  needleart.  So when I was awaiting the birth of our first child, my knitting needles were going non-stop.

This christening gown was one of the first projects I began for our eagerly awaited baby.  A delicate white knitted lace shawl was knitted immediately after the gown.

Unlike today, when this dress was made, expectant mothers rarely knew what gender their babies would be.  For many readers, that dates this dress circa Cave Man Era.  So when I decided—for whatever reason I don’t recall— to add lace with color, I purchased yardage in both pink and blue.

Days after our son was born, the blue lace was stitched in place. Four years later, when our daughter was born, the blue lace was removed and replaced with the pink trim which remains today.

 

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Babylock Christening Gown

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This christening gown was the main project for the Babylock school I taught at Martha Pullen’s school in Huntsville, AL, a few years ago.

The ecru and white combination has always seemed the height of elegance to me. Also, since photos had to be posted on the school web site, the ecru embroidery showed up much better than if the embroidery had been white on white.

 

bodice center

 

It seems to me that anytime Swiss batiste, imported trims and heirloom sewing techniques are combined, the result is likely to be something beautiful. In this case, the classic christening gown is a melange of Swiss batiste, French lace and entredeux.

 

full bodice

Elaborately embellished, it includes classic details such as point de Paris, Madeira appliqué, shaped French Val lace, feather stitching, pin tucks, twin needle shadow work, and delicate embroidery. Also incorporated into the gown’s design is Lace Tape, a recently rediscovered heirloom trim, applied as a shadow appliqué on the wrong side of the batiste.

 

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