Heirloom Baby Dress

Several years after my youngest grandchild was born I started making heirloom dresses and romper suits for special grandnieces and grandnephews. I don't remember now how many I made or for whom, but I've made several. The romper suits are much easier to make. With our first great granddaughter to be born later this month or early next month I decided to make her one. When I was ready to get the fabric and laces, I noticed that our fabric shop had gone out of business. I was greatly disappointed by this. We have a Walmart also and they have brought back some of their fabrics, but nothing like what you would want to make an heirloom dress from. The only lace they have is what you face hems with. So I had to run down the location of the Bernina store in the next town. That store had been sold and moved to a new location. Incidentally they do not have near the merchandise the old Bernina store had. They did have batiste and I got enough for the dress. I was not impressed with their selection of laces and I was not impressed by the price of them. They had no ruffled lace that I could afford to buy. They had no entradeau. I got some lace but I was not happy with it. So I went to my stash of laces, which is what I should have done to start with. I did not find enough ruffled lace, but I did find enough entradeau for the cuffs of the sleeves. I had hoped that I had some white or pastel narrow ribbon for the sleeves but I didn't. I have not seen any narrow ribbon in Walmart either. So I put a cuff on the sleeve and the entradeau on top of the the cuff.

This dress was difficult for me to make. Maybe because I am older, but I had rip some of it out and try again. I think our granddaughter will be happy with it. I think it is unusual  that our first grandchild is having our first great grandchild, especially because our grandchildren are so close together in age.