Eight-ish years ago, I began sewing for my unborn daughter. In the back of my mind, I knew that my ultimate goal was to get “good enough” to make her First Holy Communion dress. My mom let me help her design my First Communion dress and doing that with her is one of my core memories of childhood. I walked into our local JoAnne’s with her and saw a bridal gown that I loved, my mom created a similar version for me to wear. My goal when I set out to make this dress was to form similar memories with my daughter.
Several months ago, Maria and I sat down at my computer and picked the laces we thought would work for her dress, we also drew out a rough sketch of what we were thinking. To get an idea of the overall look she wanted, I asked instagram followers to send me pictures of daughter’s/granddaughter’s FHC dresses and was inundated with so many fantastic ideas. They helped us decide on elements like puff sleeves vs. longer less puffy sleeves (she wanted puff), dress length (she wanted long), collar type (she’s in her Princess Charlotte/ruffle collar era), veil type (lace/organza on a barrette was her preference), etc.
We anxiously awaited the arrival of all the supplies. When they did arrive, it was crazy how small the package was…hard to believe something so important could come in such a tiny package!
Here is a link to a video of the unpacking of all the supplies I ordered to create Maria’s dream dress. All links are listed here:
Liturgical Lace 4 1/2″ edging
After choosing supplies, it was imperative to choose a pattern as a base. I know that the Collar’s Etc. Bodice dress in a size 6 fits her really well (it has great back darts that help make the yoke shape fit well) and it had the basic overall look we were going for, so the choice was pretty easy. I did decide to opt for the sleeve in Ellen McCarn’s Contemporary smocked yoke dress though. I used it for Maria’s Easter dress and thought the shape/size and overall look were pretty perfect.
In order to help the sleeves “puff” a bit, I added strips on organza at the sleeve seamline, It was tricky with the entredeux but absolutely worth it to get the puff Maria envisioned. I just cut two, four inch wide x about 12 in long strips, folded them over on themselves “hot dog style” and put the unfinished edge in line with the unfinished edge of the sleeve cap. I think basted them in place, and then treated the fabric and the organza as one.
I began sewing by creating the fancy band. I used the Swiss Nelson to create the tucked areas and attached the lace to create the rest of the fancy band. I then attached the Swiss Nelson to create the rest of the skirt. When I completed that, I began working on the bodice. I’m not totally sure why that’s the order I chose, it just what I wanted to do. If I’m being perfectly honest, I made this dress take a long time. I prayed while I worked on it and I really enjoyed each step of the process. I’m usually sewing to get pieces done, not sewing to savor. This was definitely the exception.
When I completed her dress, I had several scraps left over….enter…the matching American Girl Doll dress. This was a fun one to create! I used this book as a pattern source.
When the doll’s dress was complete it was time to create a veil and slip. I think I’m going to save those details for another post…this is a lot!
To complete her look, I ordered these shoes. I also went to our local florist and asked them to create a “flower crown” with roses and baby’s breath, they did such a good job!! She also LOVED it so it was worth every penny.
Before First Communion, on a day when I didn’t have much going on, we did a fun photo session. I am SO glad I did this-it relieved a lot of stress on the day of to get “the perfect picture.” It also helped us realized we wanted to place her veil further down on the back of her head…highly recommend a practice round!
If you’re sewing for First Holy Communion and stumble across this post…I am SO excited for you! I hope that you’ve gleaned some inspiration and ideas. This was my favorite sew to date.
