Blessing Gowns

A friend of mine on facebook asked a question about blessing gowns the other day. I started to think about the idea of blessing gowns and the ones I have for my daughters. Should they be something formal that they can pass down to their children or more casual that they can actually wear more than once? Does it matter who makes it? A family member? A factory worker in Thailand? My sister-in-law's family has one dress that all of the little girls wear. My thought is how far out does that extend? When your great-grandniece gets blessed, do you send her the dress, or what? What do you think?

So, it was 1994 and I was a big fan of Battenburg lace. I was also a little unsure of myself as a seamstress. Lauren's blessing gown is a pretty simple little shift with lace sleeves and inserts and pin tucks on the bodice. It  was very sweet on her and pretty much swallowed her, even though she weighed almost 10 pounds at birth. I hope she likes it.

Emma was born in 1998 and my tastes had evolved. I wanted a more traditional, long, draping down to the ground type of dress. Forget the fact that she was born in December and it was still pretty cold when she was blessed. So, yes, she was all wrapped up in a blanket. Also, my sewing confidence had grown and so , of course, I messed it up. I kind of extended the pattern, but I didn't think to gradually widen the skirt as it got longer. So, basically, it's like a long (but still pretty) tube. It has lace and puffed inserts and pretty lace at all the edges. I hope she likes it.

Around 1996, I think that I was having second thoughts about Lauren's blessing gown. (Although what good would that do?) Anyway, I made another dress, this one is cream, not white, but still that type of style. It has smocking on the bodice and sleeves, insertion lace and ribbon, and lace trim on scalloped edges. The only problem now is Lauren has 2 dresses and Emma has one.