A Bit More Ancient History - The Christening Gown - UPDATE w/ more pics

K and D enjoyed a fun and successful wedding in the desert :)   Fast forward a couple of years, and Baby has arrived!  The plans for celebrating this event included a christening in the mountains (any excuse for a road trip, right?).  In this case, it meant a camping trip to a gorgeous, way-off-the-beaten-path spot near a river up in the Sierras.  And what is Baby to wear?  A christening gown, of course!

I really wasn't sewing much those days...mostly the occasional home dec project, or doing some mending, but my horrid little Toss and Swear Singer was still chugging along, and I relished the thought of working with some of the yummy Pena Pineapple Cloth that I used in K's wedding dress.

This project went together quite smoothly, as I recall.  I know I used a pattern....which one, I have no idea.   If K had been responsible for saving the pattern, you can bet she would still have it!  Which means that I must have kept it, and it's long gone.  I don't think there are any photos documenting the event itself, so you'll have to picture a California High Sierra scene, babbling creek running over a rocky stream bed, hardy bushes like toyon and chamaebatia foliolosa (we learned to identify this plant and say the words, and I swear I will remember them until the day I die!), majestic pines and hidden wildflowers peeking through the crumbled brown leaves on the forest floor....that sort of rugged beauty that only a high mountain setting can provide.

UPDATE:  I should have known - there ARE pics of the Christening Site :)

Playing on the Rug :)

"I'm a bit disappointed that Aunt Jilly didn't finish the seams on this dress." 
(thanks Gloria)

Mom and Baby at the Site

Me w/ Baby :)

It was, I believe, late summer, and Baby just BARELY fit into the gown by the time we made the trip (I think we might have initially planned it for Spring....or maybe I was just slow in getting it done...) I'm not sure, but we might not have been able to button the single button at the back of the neck.   But christen her we did, using the fresh, clear river water, and in the presence of all that nature offers.   It was lovely.  :)

K delivered the gown to me along with her wedding dress, and I noticed several stains on it.  Since it's been in storage all these years, and never washed, I figured the stains must have been from the river water.  I hand washed it in Eucalan, and it cleaned up beautifully.   Here she is:

Materials used:  A soft, yummy cotton, 
pina fiber (pineapple cloth) that had been used in her Momma's wedding dress,
cotton lace (I believe this was from my stash of vintage lace), and satin ribbon

Not too bad a job on the pin tucks *whew*
I think I was pretty good at making those ribbon roses by then!

One little pink pearl button.   Love that :)

That lovely Pina!

And......yep, here go again.......wait for it......

Unfinished Seams.
*sigh*
I have nothing more to say about this.

This has been a delightful stroll down memory lane for me :)   And now it's time to move into the future - I'm opening an Etsy shop!  I'll have a grand opening announcement when the shelves actually have something in them (I've actually made my first official sale...but you'll have to wait for the story....)

Meanwhile, I'm just happy to have my comments avatar back, a me-project on the cutting table, and lots of hope for the future.   May we all share a bit of joy and hope with someone else today :)

Edit to add:  I just realized this is my 100th post!  I should celebrate with.....something....happy 100 to me!  :D

Sewing for Baby [EEK!]

The time has come...the babies in my life are starting to have babies! Well...one of them is, anyway. (ETA:  To be clear, this is not my grandbaby on the way - I'm content to "adopt" other peoples' kids....best of all worlds, imho)  ;-)    Baby shower time!  Cute baby gifts!  Adorable baby clothes!  What should I get???

And then it dawned on me...Hello?  I can SEW something!  And then....

Panic mode sets in.

Now, what on earth is so frightening about sewing for a baby?   I'm sure Freud would have something to say about that, and I have thoughts, but perhaps they're better left alone for this blog's purposes...

Fabric choice - WTF is it with all the warning labels?  Cute baby flannel prints all say "Not suitable for children's sleepwear"....huh?  So if I make something out of this and Baby catches fire it's my fault?  Eek!  Research about fabric flammability & laws left me with the following conclusions:
1.  The sleepwear that is worn right next to baby's skin should be tight = no airflow between skin & fabric.
2.  If you buy RTW sleepwear, polyester (that can, presumably, MELT onto baby's skin), is safer (translation = 'legal')  than yummy, soft, natural cotton.   All righty then.
3.  I think that the laws currently in place were determined at a time when more people smoked,  & left their ashtrays in baby's room (seriously???) & other fire hazards were more prevalent than today.
4.  I'm sewing baby clothes out of cotton, not polyester, thank you very much.  Perhaps I'll give them with a warning "This is not flame-proof, so please don't set your baby on fire while she's wearing it."   I should be covered, right?

After the research phase, the fabric choice was easy, based on their registry choices.  Natural color, organic cotton.  With thanks to all the sewing moms in cyberworld, I decided to make a baby sleep sack.  Or sleeping bag.  Or bunting.  Or whatever it is they're calling it these days..... McCalls 4236 was the pattern of choice (on sale at JA's, made that choice easy).   I gathered all of the ingredients, but it still took me until 5 days pre-shower before I managed to cut into the material.   (More Freudian fear....but we're not going there.....)   I still had decisions to make:  What size? First I cut a Large, which was GINORMOUS!   I cut it down to a Medium.   This pattern runs large!   How to finish the seams?  How to install the zipper?  Sleeves or sleeveless?  What if I make the wrong choice?   Sheesh, really?  (this is why I much prefer the Selfish Seamstress route!)   I mean, really, ALL there is to the pattern is 2 pattern pieces and a zipper.   But of course, I wasn't about to leave well enough alone, and managed to tweak just about every single step of the process.

1 pattern
1 zipper
thread
3 pieces of fabric
Utter simplicity, right?

I found this variegated wooly nylon thread that put a smile on my face, and decided I had to use that in the serger.  The pattern calls for turning the neck & arm edges under & stitching.   That would be too easy.   I decided to make a binding, with the edges serged using the colorful serger thread.   One reason for this was practical - this is a REALLY thick cotton knit, and I figured that a serged edge would reduce a little bit of bulk.   Not that Baby cares about bulk....at least based on my observations....   Anyway, the fabric is YUMmy feeling, and really warm!   Definitely something I would be comfy sleeping in :-)  My plan (fingers crossed) is that the new family will have lots of newborn-sized goodies for the Spring & Summer, and this will fit Baby on cold nights next winter.    That's the plan.....

Binding, cut on the cross grain, one edge serged.

I attached the binding (RS of binding to WS of the fabric), giving the binding a good stretch as I sewed it onto the body (those little curves are pretty tiny!).   Then trimmed the seam allowance, leaving just enough binding to fold over to the RS & give a narrow binding, showing on the outside.

The next change I made was to use a separating zipper & install it upside down.   This, again, was on the advice of the cyber-sewing Moms (thank you!)   There is no consideration in the pattern for a zipper guard to protect baby's skin, and I want to add something.    I was wishing at this point that I had made some time to go snoop shopping in baby stores, but I decided I could figure something out.

And I did :)

I cut a strip of the fabric wide enough to cover the zip (which was a wide, sports zip - plastic teeth) after it was folded in half lengthwise, and serged along the edges:

Then I attached it to one edge of the zip, leaving a lip about 1/2" long peeking over the neckline:

Folded over and tacked down, this protects Baby's neck from the zipper:

Inside.  The serged edge is sewn onto one edge of the zipper:

Bottom of zipper.  I extended the zipper guard to cover the tail of the zipper, and gave it some reinforcing stitches.

Last step was to finish the armhole edges (same as the neck), serge around the edges of the bag, give it a wash (I had already pre-shrunk the fabric, as I always do, but I wanted to package it up sparkling clean)

It's very simple, with just the pop of color.   I hope they like it.

Just so they can have something to use right away, I'm adding a receiving blanket, with serged edges to match the sleeping bag.   Or Baby Sack.  Or bunting.   Or whatever it is.

Silly, really...all that fear over sewing a simple baby item.   Now when baby is big enough to wear real clothes....that should be fun!!!!   I actually did sew a fancy christening gown once....in my former sewing life, 30-some odd years ago....   And a wedding gown for that baby's Mom.   Part of me really wants to see those garments again, part of me thinks I might be better off never really knowing what the construction of them looks like.....  Conveniently, I keep "forgetting" to ask about them....

Next up.....   Gosh, I don't know!!!!   Maybe a raincoat.   I have a plan.....  Or maybe I should catch up on the undone housework.  Or bill paying.....

Does your sewing take priority over other household tasks?  Do you have dishes piled in the sink while you're happily stitching away?  Do you, too, sew first, pay bills later?   Or do you actually manage to [gasp] do it ALL?   (if so...what are your secrets?)