East Valley
Tribune
Gilbert woman uses wedding gowns to make clothes for deceased infants
By Caitlin Bohrer, Special to Tribune | Posted December 17, 2014
Karen Gillian is not a maid of honor that has bridesmaid dresses from 27 different weddings like in the 2008 film “27 Dresses.” Rather, the wedding dresses she has in her Gilbert home have a story to tell and have a special purpose: They are made into unique gowns for “angels” in heaven.
Angel gowns are handmade garments made from donated wedding dresses that families can dress their baby in at a hospital after they have passed away. Gillian described the purpose of “Angel Gowns by Karen” as giving a beautiful and comfortable gown to a family who loses a child to swaddle their baby in when they are to be buried or to keep the gown as a special keepsake.
Gillian said that most of the time when a premature baby dies in the hospital they are wrapped in a towel or washcloth.
“Unless they are older, there really isn’t that much made for premature babies,” Gillian said. “Even preemie size (clothing) is way too big for some that are born at 26 weeks or younger. And because their skin is so delicate, you can’t put harsh materials on them otherwise it tears their skin.
“So I serge the edges of my seams with the goal of making the gowns as soft as possible and as easy to put on; so I make them like a hospital gown with an opening in the back.”
What goes into an angel gown
Gillian said each wedding dress makes anywhere from 12 to 24 angel gowns, depending on the size and material of the wedding dress and the size of the angel gown she is making. It takes her about 30 minutes to sew an angel gown but it is the extra details of beading, lace or bows on the gowns that take the most time and make each dress unique from the others. The gowns made for boys Gillian said aren’t as frilly and have a blue ribbon, a vest or a black bow tie instead of more feminine accents like a beaded flower appliqué.
Gillian has sewing patterns that create five different-sized angel gowns for micro premature babies all the way up to full-term newborns. She also creates 10-inch square wraps for babies that are 26 weeks and younger and are too small for a gown.
The finished angel gowns are donated to Sable’s Wings Comfort room at Banner Desert Medical Center in Mesa.
Gillian’s endeavor in making these special garments started back in June when her friend Gia Chapman asked if someone could make angel gowns for the opening of the comfort room on Oct. 15. Gillian took a combination of 24 gowns and wraps made from about three wedding dresses to the grand opening of the comfort room. The gowns were presented to Chapman in the comfort room and are now available for family members to use to clothe their baby.
The comfort room
The comfort room is dedicated and named after Chapman’s daughter Sable, who passed away just two days after birth in 2005 at Banner Desert Medical Center. Chapman and her family created Sable’s Wings ministry, a non-profit organization, in 2007 in memory of their daughter to provide support to other families who have also lost a baby.
The opening of the comfort room was a project that Chapman and Suzanne Helzer, Perinatal Bereavement Coordinator at Banner Desert, had been working on for the last three years.
Helzer said that for many years she had the idea for a comfort room, a special place where parents could go after the death of their baby or other family members could wait for the baby to be born instead of in a waiting room or labor room.
“I knew (the comfort room) was special and I knew it was needed,” Chapman said. “Families can spend all the time they need without rushing, without interrupting. They can be in this inviting warm room and be a family, and have private time.”
In the past before the comfort room was created, Helzer said that conference rooms, classrooms, or even her office were used for grieving parents to spend time with their baby.
She said the comfort room is not sterile hospital room. It has items that one would normally find at home such as a dining room table, a couch, a cradle, a refrigerator, a TV, a kids activity basket for siblings and now gifts like the beautiful angel gowns made by Gillian.
Helzer said Banner Desert averages about 12 to 15 infant losses a month in varying stages of pregnancy and from various causes or illnesses. But the majority of losses are of tiny little preemie babies whose parents haven’t been able to shop for a special blanket, quilt or little outfit yet.
“To have these (gowns available) and to know that they were created by typically another parent that has lost a baby makes it all the more meaningful for that family,” she said.
Gillian called the opening of the comfort room and the experience amazing.
“There was a lot of emotion of tears of joy and sadness because people were getting closure,” Gillian said. “Some people had recently lost an infant and there were some who had lost a child years ago like myself, who have gone through similar situations.”
• Caitlin Bohrer is a sophomore at ASU’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication.
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