Christening Gown

It's amazing how remodeling a bathroom can involve every room in the house! We are going to have to move everything out of our closet which involved clearing out everything in the guest room closet so there will be room for our stuff. 

In the process of emptying out a large camphor chest I came across a little bag of vintage christening gowns which must have been passed down through several generations. I think they were sewn by hand by either my grandmother or her mother. They are in remarkably good shape considering their age and the delicacy of the fabric. Is it what I have seen referred to as 'lawn'? I'm sure the embroidery is hand done, the pleats and gathers are tiny and the workmanship is truly incredible. Somewhere there is an album of vintage photographs that actually show garments like these on very young boys. I think one of them was my father, but I couldn't find the album or a photograph anywhere to confirm it. I also have (somewhere) a picture of my grandmother and her four sisters dressed in similar clothing.  Finding that picture is definitely a chore for another day.

I don't know what to do with these beautiful items, but having been handed down through so many generations, they must be saved. Some of them are stained and all of them are very wrinkled but I dare not undertake restoring them without guidance. Undoubtedly You Tube will have some instructive video on fabric conservation....Is there anything one can't find on You Tube? Or order from Amazon?

I try to patronize local shops, but why drive all the way to Cloverdale for fabric when there are hundreds of patterns to choose from available on Amazon? (See yesterday's entry).