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Custom Mini-me Christening Dress

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fitting for twin girls

I made these custom mini-me christening dress for Adrienne’s twin girls.

These two christening dresses were made from Mummy’s wedding dress fabrics and trims. I used the taffeta as the main fabric and then the veil tulle for the overskirt. I carefully removed the beaded lace motifs from the original dress and hand sewed them on as bodice detail.

Custom mini-me christening dress
beaded motif hand applique

Design sketch for custom mini-me christening dress

original design by felicity westmacott
Custom mini-me christening dress on a hanger

Christening gown made from mummy's wedding dress by Felicity Westmacott: wedding dress before work began

The wedding dress before I cut into it to make the Custom mini-me christening dress

custom baptism gown with veil

A finished Custom mini-me christening dress. You can see the crystals and edging trim from the original veil that was carefully placed to work as the hem on the new dresses.

back of christening dress

I used new concealed zips to fasten the back of the mini-me christening dresses.

fitting for baby in custom christening dress

I have made a lot of christening dresses out of mum or grandmother’s wedding dress for small people. It’s a lovely way to honour the memory of you wedding day. And it’s environmentally friendly too, saving the materials from landfill.

If you don’t have a suitable wedding dress of your own you can also consider using another pre-loved dress. There are many specialist selling sites, or you can ask friends and family if anyone has one to donate. It’s not a really a cost saving as actually the materials needed for a tiny dress won’t cost very much. A metre or two of new materials will probably be cheaper ( and easier for me to use) than a preloved dress. But the emotional significance of the up-cycled wedding dress is worth it’s weight in gold!

You can see more examples of dresses I have made out of mum’s wedding dress in my portfolio. I made two outfits from this Ian Stuart wedding dress, a dress and a romper for different age siblings.

If you would like to commission your own mini-me bespoke christening gown just get in touch and we can talk through your ideas.

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Felicity Westmacott

I write about all aspects of weddings, dressmaking, fashion history, and the human relation to clothing. I welcome comments and debate.

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As a seamstress there are certain things that give me the ick. Usually they`re pretty specific and unless you`re also a dressmaker it might be something you`re completely unaware of.

I`ve always had a ‘thing’ about language generally. I find it really interesting. I`ve noticed how strong a reaction I can have to people using language differently to what I’m used to. And when I notice that I often go on a bit of a deep dive to understand where that difference stems from. I think coming from a historical costuming background also means I love to know the history of things (and despite my instinctive language-conservative leanings, I do actively work on being accepting and open minded, trying celebrate the differences).

That said, please don’t say your dress has a trail!

Snails have trails - dresses have trains! 🐌

1 0
Open post by felicitywestmacott with ID 18080555521985787
As a seamstress there are certain things that give me the ick. Usually they're pretty specific and unless you're also a dressmaker it might be something you're completely unaware of. I've always had a ‘thing’ about language generally. I find it really interesting. I've noticed how strong a reaction I can have to people using language differently to what I’m used to. And when I notice that I often go on a bit of a deep dive to understand where that difference stems from. I think coming from a historical costuming background also means I love to know the history of things (and despite my instinctive language-conservative leanings, I do actively work on being accepting and open minded, trying celebrate the differences). That said, please don’t say your dress has a trail! Snails have trails - dresses have trains! 🐌

I found this sheet music in my house, and I was so surprised by what it was 🎹🎵

There’s a music stand in my childhood home, and when I was having a look, I found this: “Three Songs composed by Ethel M. Lightfoot”. And my curiosity was peaked. So I sat down at the piano.

When it comes to reading music, I can play piano and sing a little. Nothing outstanding but enough that I could put the music in front of me and have a go at playing it. And I was surprised to discover that I found it was really easy to sightread and sing. Ethel liked the same key signatures, melodies and intervals as me. The things I wrote in my teens (usually quite a bit more angsty) were really similar in terms of structure. Her themes were different, of course, like “Cradle Song”, where a mother sings to her child about their father being away at war.

Ethel, as it turns out, is my great grandmother. Ethel was a musician, and it was so wonderful to find some of her published work, play it and somehow feel connected to her through our similarities. Somewhere in my blood is Ethel’s love for music, and it was so special to find her sheet music flowing so easily from my fingertips.

I love learning about history generally, but there’s something extra special about learning about your own personal history 💜

Is there something from your family history that you’re particularly proud of?

7 0
Open post by felicitywestmacott with ID 18076696958118026
I found this sheet music in my house, and I was so surprised by what it was 🎹🎵 There’s a music stand in my childhood home, and when I was having a look, I found this: “Three Songs composed by Ethel M. Lightfoot”. And my curiosity was peaked. So I sat down at the piano. When it comes to reading music, I can play piano and sing a little. Nothing outstanding but enough that I could put the music in front of me and have a go at playing it. And I was surprised to discover that I found it was really easy to sightread and sing. Ethel liked the same key signatures, melodies and intervals as me. The things I wrote in my teens (usually quite a bit more angsty) were really similar in terms of structure. Her themes were different, of course, like “Cradle Song”, where a mother sings to her child about their father being away at war. Ethel, as it turns out, is my great grandmother. Ethel was a musician, and it was so wonderful to find some of her published work, play it and somehow feel connected to her through our similarities. Somewhere in my blood is Ethel’s love for music, and it was so special to find her sheet music flowing so easily from my fingertips. I love learning about history generally, but there’s something extra special about learning about your own personal history 💜 Is there something from your family history that you’re particularly proud of?

With leaves starting to change to colour, my thoughts have turned to autumn. So I`m sharing my process for this autumn inspired dip dye wedding outfit;
🍁 deciding I wanted to layer a dip dye overskirt on top of the bridal playsuit
🍁choosing lots of warm, rich colours that make me think of autumn leaves carpeting a forest floor
🍁 cutting the tulle of the skirt to the right length
🍁 gradually blending each layer of colour, using an ombre of yellow, orange, brown and just a little bit of gold at the end
…and then the finished product!

Doesn`t this bridal outfit look right at some in the woods?

If you love the idea of an overskirt for your wedding dress, drop me a DM and let’s talk colour palettes!

~
Photographer: @charlymaephotography

18 0
Open post by felicitywestmacott with ID 17922309360118326
With leaves starting to change to colour, my thoughts have turned to autumn. So I'm sharing my process for this autumn inspired dip dye wedding outfit; 🍁 deciding I wanted to layer a dip dye overskirt on top of the bridal playsuit 🍁choosing lots of warm, rich colours that make me think of autumn leaves carpeting a forest floor 🍁 cutting the tulle of the skirt to the right length 🍁 gradually blending each layer of colour, using an ombre of yellow, orange, brown and just a little bit of gold at the end …and then the finished product! Doesn't this bridal outfit look right at some in the woods? If you love the idea of an overskirt for your wedding dress, drop me a DM and let’s talk colour palettes! ~ Photographer: @charlymaephotography
emailme@felicitywestmacott.co.ukTEL 07762 543230TOUCHGet in
from design to completionbespoke wedding dressesFelicity Westmacott
Dorking, RH4 1RT241 High Street• Visit the Studio •
Dorking, RH4 1RT241 High Street• Visit the Studio •
emailme@felicitywestmacott.co.ukTEL 07762 543230TOUCHGet in