Friday, August 17, 2012

The Blessing Gown


I finished the dress last night!

Just in time, too. Family starts arriving tonight and Sunday we will bless the baby. In our church, newborns receive a name and a blessing by a priesthood holder (usually the baby's father). This is somewhat similar to other churches' christenings except our children are baptized when they turn 8. 

Traditionally, the blessing is done in a white gown or suit and kept as a memento, although neither are neccessary. I really wanted to make this blessing gown since it might be our last.

I saw this dress on Pinterest and immediately new that it was the one I wanted to make. I knew that if I did a version of a onesie dress it wouldn't be too complicated. I bought ruffle fabric (yes, ruffle fabric = super time saver), ribbon, fancy buttons, and poly-satin fabric for about $17 at my local Hobby Lobby. Then I bought a 4-pack of white onesies at Walmart for about $8. Everything else, like thread, I already had on hand.  I won't go into great detail but I simply cut off the bottom half of the onesie. Then, I cut a rectangle of the satin (for an underskirt) and the ruffle fabric the length and width that I needed for the skirt. I only wanted one seam (which I positioned in the back) so I doubled over my fabric before cutting and then sewed up the one cut side.
I gathered the top edge of the skirt portion and sewed it onto the bottom of the onesie, stretching as I went, and then hemmed the satin skirt. The ruffle fabric is a knit, so it doesn't need hemming. I then sewed on a ribbon to the front half for a ties in the back and embellished the front with flowers I had made from the extra satin, buttons (the center of the flowers), and pearls.

I made a matching headband out of fancy elastic (found in the ribbon section) and a flower I made out of some of the satin. So in all, it cost around $20 (since I only used one onesie) and took a few hours to make (mainly because I was going slow and didn't want to mess it up)...pretty good for a blessing gown.

It all turned out much better than I expected and I love it! I can't wait to take pictures of Bekah in it on her special day!

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