First Communion Dress

PATTERN: Simplicity 2515 (1958)
Completed January 2017

This was my first ambitious “high stakes” make, as it was for my daughter’s First Communion. I bought a beautiful Swiss cotton sateen which gave it a nice, soft sheen. It was underlined with cotton batiste. The lace was a delicate French lace that cost almost as much as the fabric. The whole thing is beastly to iron, so I’m glad she only wore it a few times. I made a matching dress for her doll for fun. I used my vintage Singer 201-2 and tried some of the old attachments for the first time, including the tucker and the buttonholer. I used the ruffler attachment for the top of the doll’s skirt instead of gathering, and it worked well. I joined modern times by using my Juki serger to tidy the raw edges of the dresses and do the rolled edge of her veil.