Beautiful Angel Gowns

Michelle's wedding gown on  her wedding day.

“Where Dream Gowns…. Become Angel Gowns”…

This whole project started back sometime in January.  It was shortly after we had moved to our new home in the small town of Cicero, Indiana.  There had recently been a news story about a baby’s body that had been found in a forest preserve nearby, and an organization called Little Angel Gowns had donated a burial gown for the baby and worked with another organization to provide a proper burial for her. I can’t remember the exact date or details of the story.  I just know that it touched my heart to think that there were organizations willing to provide these items and services in such a horrific situation.

After hearing about this organization, my daughter, Michelle, mentioned it to me and told me that she would really like to donate her wedding gown to this organization so that it could be made into burial gowns for infant loss.  Michelle had always wanted to do something special with her gown, but it sat for 7 years in the closet of our home in Illinois, not cleaned, just crunched into the closet of her old bedroom at our house.  The dress was, in fact, still there as we still owned our home and were letting our son and his family live in it while our son attended graduate school in Chicago.

Little Angel Gowns held an open house in February, and I drove to Indianapolis to see what this was all about.  When I got there, I met several truly dedicated women who were all sewing like mad to make gowns and “pockets” out of donated wedding dresses. Some of the projects were very simple…some were quite elaborate. Each one was very precious and special.  As I left the open house that day with a packet of patterns and instructions under my arm, I began to get excited about the idea of turning my daughter’s wedding gown into something special for someone who had experienced a devastating loss.

On a trip back to the Chicago area, I loaded Michelle’s gown as well as my own wedding gown into the back of the car. “Stuffed” would be a better word as I had forgotten just how much fabric and crinoline under skirting was involved in a wedding gown! I’m not quite sure my husband understood what I was attempting to do! We were still unpacking boxes at this point, but I was on a mission! I brought the gowns upstairs and Michelle's daughter beamed at seeing this beautiful "princess dress" that was mommy's.  It was a little bit overwhelming for her to try on, but she glowed when I laid it across her and snapped her picture!

Gail's wedding gown from 1974.

Michelle’s gown was fairly plain, but had a bodice full of “ruching”. Ruching is a French term which means to gather, ruffle, or pleat; the term is a sewing technique in which fabric or ribbon is gathered in a repeating pattern to form ruffles, scallops, or petals. The skirt was full of multiple tucks used to create a kind of upside down ice cream cone effect. (That’s the only way I can begin to explain it.) My gown, on the other hand, was extremely simple, and the lace on the gown itself had yellowed quite a bit. Luckily I had saved some of the pretty lace and happened to have about ¼ yard of it remaining from when I made the dress in 1974!  In my head I wanted to incorporate little bits of both of our dresses into the Little Angel Gowns that I created.  I didn’t know just how much this project would get into my head and heart as I went along!

I really began getting involved in the project during April and May.  My father in law was very ill and in and out of the hospital during that time and my husband was gone for days at a time visiting him. During those days, I would retreat up to my sewing room and work on little dresses for hours at a time.  The first cut into the wedding dress was so difficult.  I wasn’t sure just how I was going to use the fabric on the bodice.  It was so beautiful, but the pieces were too small to make them into part of the little gowns.  I had read in the instruction packet that we were to make little hearts out of some of the fabric from each gown to be given to the mother who experienced the loss.  I wanted the hearts to be as pretty as the gowns, so I carefully cut little hearts out of the bodice.  I felt such a connection to the families who would receive these hearts…I said a little prayer for each one, each little baby who would wear the gown and each mother and father who would keep the hearts as a remembrance.

As I began cutting and sewing these little garments, it seemed I almost became obsessed with finishing them.  I wanted each seam to be perfect and each embellishment to be exactly right.  I hand sewed pearls and lace and crystals carefully into place. I wanted each gown to be a masterpiece for the family that would use it someday.  It was almost as if I were creating beauty from something difficult. That’s what this organization is all about.  The dream gowns become the angel gowns.  It is a beautiful concept.  I feel honored and blessed to be able to participate.

The week after my father in law passed away, we stopped at the funeral home in the Chicago area to pick up his ashes and sign important paper work.  As my husband and I walked in the door, we saw a notification for a visitation scheduled for an infant posted at the door.  I asked the funeral director if they had ever heard of Little Angle Gowns, and he said “No”.  He told us that they had had such a hard time finding appropriate garments for the baby because it was so tiny.  Luckily, I had a Little Angel Gowns card in my purse and I handed it to him.  He was very appreciative.  I felt like I was doing the right thing, passing on this information. Even during our own loss, these beautiful gowns were being created to help others.

After I had finished several gowns, I made a few outfits for infant boys.  This was almost difficult for me as I have a grandson that is not even 1 year old yet.  He is the blessing we received after a pregnancy loss the year prior to his birth, and one of the reasons that Michelle wanted to donate her gown.  The little boy outfits turned out so cute, though, and I was able to incorporate parts of both of our gowns on them as well.  As Michelle and her husband come up on 8 years of marriage and celebrate the love they have for each other and their precious family, I completed 13 Little Angel Gowns from her dress and mine.  I made an extra special little “heart” to give to my daughter in honor of their Little Angel Baby.

So as I write this little memory of my time working on these beautiful gowns, I am thinking about how blessed I am that I can do this, that I can offer my talents up to make something so special. These are what I call my "Sunflower Moments"...when I feel a connection to something greater than myself.  I look forward with glad anticipation to the rainy days when I can get up to my sewing room and finish a few more gowns and outfits from my own wedding gown. Then in the fall… when things settle in to more of a routine, I will take on the challenge of another donated gown!

www.littleangelgowns.org