It all started when I saw a blog post by Ashley about how
she made a blessing dress for her baby girl. It never occurred to me that
someone could actually make their own blessing or christening dress or that
they would even want to! I devoured that post, I read every single detail in
her tutorial like I was starving and it was my first meal in years.
Well a few years and another boy later I let that dream slip by, I figured I never would make one at this point so why dream about it? Then we had an ultrasound and found out that we were expecting a girl, a real girl and suddenly my dreams of making girly things came to life! It took only a couple months to realize 2 things, I was having my 5th baby and had less time than ever to sew, secondly in my dreams I could sew like a mad woman but in reality I am a slow sewer and have limited projects I can finish.
With little time I had I decided to use a dress my sister had given me with my 1st baby (I wanted a girl from the start) but never was able to use. A week before the blessing date I looked at the blog post that I devoured years earlier and decided I needed to make a dress for my little girl. It would be something I would regret the rest of my life if I did not.
I realized that my most favorite dress pattern ever was the perfect fit for what I wanted; I had made it so many times it would be quick and I loved the design. I thought about it for days and then found all my fabric surprisingly around the house. A new but too small men’s dress shirt and a barely used sheer curtain became Violets dress. Everything was perfect. I made the smallest size in the bodice. For the skirt portion, I sized up one size and added extra fullness, and then I added the sheer layers on top before sewing together. I embroidered a little floral pattern along the neckline and the dress I had seen so many times in my mind became real.
This dress was the embodiment of years of yearning and dreams that I never thought would be realized. It is funny how something so materialistic can hold so much emotion, isn’t it?
Pattern: Geranium dress
Made diaper cover
Fabric: A Men’s dress shirt and a sheer curtain
