Sunday, June 8, 2014

Angel Gowns Wish List

The following is a list of items needed for Angel Gowns: 



Dresses - Any wedding, formal dress/gown in white, off-white, very light pastel in blue or pink

Thread - white and off-white, black, navy blue, pastel pink, pastel blue/standard and serger spools

Ribbon - thin (1/4" or smaller) white or off-white, pastel colors for back ties

Decorative small bows and small appliqués - white and off-white, pastel pink

Lace - white or off-white for dress trim

Ribbon - Pastel (girl) colored decorative ribbon for trim

Fabric - Blue or black fabric that can be used to make vest fronts for boy gowns


Thank you in advance for anything you can donate

Saturday, June 7, 2014

Wedding gowns to Angel Gowns

Here are the dresses that I have so far...

Prom dress from Heather


My friend Gia had a mother donate her dress and her daughter's wedding dresses for our angel gown project.
Front of dress donated (daughter's dress)

Back of dress donated (daughter's dress)

Dress donated to Gia (Mother's dress)
My sister posted an ad on craigslist to see if anyone wanted to donate any dresses.  She got 3 from one person, along with a black suit and a white jacket...photos to follow on that one.
Very old dress with a Goldwater's bag

Another old dress, age unknown

the dress the donor wore for her wedding
Believe it or not, I have put each of these into the washing machine on gentle cycle and they have all come out looking amazing.

I will post the dress before's and after's as I go along.

newer dress - white
close up of front top

older dress - off-white color
close up of top front





Firsts

So, I saw that a friend needed someone for a sewing project.  She needed someone who could make gowns for little angels who passed too soon.  I did some research and found that there are several "large" organizations that do gowns using wedding dresses that are transformed into tiny little dresses/gowns for these angels.  Patterns for gowns were fairly easy to find as they are simple little dresses with ties in the back.

Oddly enough, I have been hanging on to the leftover material from my own wedding dress for about 19 years now.  Guess what, those scraps made some of the cutest little gowns to start my project off.

Today I have 5 wedding dresses to start working on.  A friend gave me her prom dress, which I have been able to get 5 little gowns from and will be able to get another 5, for a total of 10 gowns out of one single dress,  my father also found a dress that I can incorporate in making angel gowns.

Here is a little back story as to why I feel this is a worthy and very dear to my own heart kind of project.  Years ago, from a previous marriage I suffered the loss of several babies within the first trimester of pregnancy.  Each loss was devastating, but I knew that there was a reason that they had not been able to come into this world.

An acquaintance through our children's gym had suffered similar losses.  This acquaintance and I had talked at different times and I now feel as if she is a very dear friend.  She was able to get one of the local hospitals to dedicate a comfort room for families who have lost their little angel, this is where I come into the picture.

Now, I am not a fancy seamstress, but I know how to put love into every angel gown I sew.  Her request for help tugged at my heart strings and this is where I am today.  I thought it would be nice to be able to share with you the journey I am on to provide gowns for little angels.   Let the journey begin...