Beautiful Old-World Quality Hemstitching - Once Adorned Baby Clothes
Beautiful Old-World Quality Hemstitching - Once Adorned Baby Clothes
Though grandma always had to hold jobs outside her home, she was a fine dressmaker and decorative hemstitching with crochet or tatted edging was her specialty.
Today hemstitching with its Old World charm and quality is usually only found on antique heirloom clothing. Being the oldest of her five granddaughters, I remember grandma lovingly stitching layettes as each of her grandchildren was born.
As we grew older, grandma continued making us exquisite hemstitched undergarments with crochet lace edging until we reached our teens. It was then, we chose "grownup style" undergarments and grandma stopped making us the soft white cotton slips with white trim.
Until we were too old to play with dolls, grandma always made us lovely new doll layettes for Christmas and later for her great-granddaughters. The beautiful hemstitched baby doll clothes' she made for our dolls were fashioned as nicely as the ones she made for real babies. Included with our other dolly garments, would be tiny hemstitched flannel diapers.
The practical side of hemstitching the edges of our garments was to reduce raveling. There are a variety of wonderful stitches involved in heirloom hemstitch sewing. Grandma used a special machine that was among her prize possessions.
With a "wing" needle that created "holes" in the fabric, it gave piercing to fasten into and create the lace crochet edging, she added. Sometimes grandma would add tatting trim that she made with shuttles.
Grandma and grandpa moved several times in their later years and we have forgotten what happened to her treasured hemstitching machine. Yet when I was expecting her first great grandchild, she found a way to create the hemstitch like holes for attaching crochet edging. Sending me a layette package just like the one she made for my mother years before.
It was packed with flannel baby blankets, sacques, gowns, burp cloths and undergarments with a pastel crochet edge. They were just as pretty and useful for my new arrival as the ones she made I was born.
Baby clothes have changed through the years, giving way to knit gowns with snaps and all in one undershirts rather than open front gowns and jacket like sacques with ribbon ties. Today baby clothes might be better designed. Nevertheless, they will never have the charm and Old World quality like the ones hemstitched for us with love before adding crochet or tatted lace which illustrated her beautiful creativity and the pieces that remain endure to link us to the past.
And if memory of Grandma's beautiful handiwork weren't enough, during a move I recently found some of the doll cloths that she made for my daughter when she was growing up. They are now a priceless gift.
http://www.articlesbase.com/home-and-family-articles/beautiful-old-world-quality-hemstitching-once-adorned-baby-clothes-4444627.html
Need Baby Shower Planning Ideas? Ideas and Tips That Work! Baby Shower Revealed Review - Baby Shower Planning Things to Consider While Buying Soft Baby Shoes Take genuine prenatal vitamins before conceiving baby One of a kind Baby shower celebration Invitations Handmade Baby Blanket Gift Sets For Your Precious Little Ones Bumbo Baby Seat Reviews Personalised Baby Presents - Ideas To Memorise That Special Occasion Personalised Baby Books - Perfect For Keeping Precious Memories Alive Setting Up A Baby Nursery New Born Baby Gifts for Little Prince & Princess Secret Santa Best Baby Gifts Organic Clothing- The Newest Trend in Baby Clothing