Grace's First Communion Dress

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I recently had the privilege of making Grace Carmen a special gift:  her First Communion dress.  Grace was in my kindergarten class two years ago and is the oldest of three children.  Her parents are very involved with our school and volunteer in their children's classes as well as on our PTA.  Her dad heads our All Pro Dads events each month.  Her little sister Kate is in my kindergarten class this year.  I made Kate the Birds and Butterflies dress I made for my first Project Run and Play sew-along entry earlier this year.  (See it here.)   

Grace is a bright and beautiful little girl with very definite opinions on what she should wear.  When it was time to decide what this very special dress should look like, I didn't sit down with Grace's mother to design it.  I sat down with Grace.  

It was such a pleasant experience!  I determined the dress fabric (white satin batiste) and then I asked her questions.  Would you like a full twirly skirt? An a-line?  What type of neckline?  What type of sleeves?  Smocking?  Lace?  Pearls? Embroidery? And lots more!  The resulting sketch below is what we came up with.  She didn't want smocking but she did like embroidery and wanted an embroidered floral heart on the bodice of the dress and embroidered crosses of flowers on the sleeves.  She liked lace but only wanted a small amount on the dress.  She wanted the dress to be ankle length and the bodice to come to her waist.  She liked the idea of a large sash bow.  We talked about head-pieces and veils with her mommy and I asked if she had saved her own wedding head-piece.  She had!  Grace would wear her mommy's veil and pearl encrusted head-piece.

Our sketch.  I measured both Grace and Kate so both are on this paper.  So as not to confuse myself, I highlighted Grace's measurements.

As you can see, I faithfully followed the design we came up with together.  Grace is a small, very slender child.  The bodice was made twice!  The sleeves, too.  Even with the measurements and carefully tracing the pattern (basic square yoke) on the lines to accommodate her size, the first bodice I made was too wide and two short.  I ended up drafting my own bodice and adapting the sleeve pattern I had to fit.  Making those pieces took me longer to draft than I care to admit!  I so admire those who regularly draft their children's clothing!  

I love to embroider and as I stitch I often think of the child for whom the garment is being made and I pray for her/him and the child's family.  The flowers for this design were chosen with care.  In Victorian times different flowers had specific meanings and were used to communicate wordlessly.  I wanted to incorporate flowers with special meanings into Grace's dress.   The daisies signify innocence and purity.  The pink roses signify grace, elegance, and sweetness.  The blue forget-me-nots are for faithful and true love, love that never dies, like our Lord's love for us.  Blue is also the color most associated with the Blessed Mother of Jesus and I wanted to include that color, as well.

The back of the dress has a five button closure, Swiss trim sash keepers, and a lace placket.  I know that  no one can see the lace placket but I know it is there!

  

The five buttons are vintage mother of pearl buttons given to me by a friend a long time ago.  They represent the five members of Grace's family.  Mother of pearl is also symbolic of the Blessed Mother.

I trimmed the ends of the sash in the same French lace edging and insertion that is on the sleeves and hem.

I first drew the cross on a piece of paper and then filled it in with flowers matching those in the heart wreath.

The next picture shows the skirt front pulled up so that the skirt lining is showing.  Grace wore a crinoline style slip purchased at a bridal store beneath the dress.

Another view of the dress showing just how long it is.

Grace and her family were very pleased with the dress and that made me very happy!  I attended the First Communion service and loved seeing Grace in her special dress.  Unfortunately, I forgot to bring my camera!  Grace's mommy has emailed me a few of the photos they took.  I'll post pictures of Grace in the dress soon, after they have been resized, etc.  

Have a wonderful day!