First Light · Handmade 1960s-70s Crochet Christening Gown
Acrylic/wool blend · satin ribbon · handmade crochet · 1960s-70s · 55cm length flat · approx. newborn-3 months, cut long · excellent condition
A tiny pink flower is embroidered at the chest, easy to miss until you're looking for it. Below the solid-worked bodice, the skirt opens into a lattice of joined lace motifs, sheer enough that it was always meant to be worn over a slip rather than alone.
No label survives, which is typical of a gown made for one specific occasion rather than sold. The solid crochet bodice, motif-square lace skirt, bell sleeves, and ribbon sash are all hallmarks of christening gowns crocheted at home through the 1960s and into the 70s, made long regardless of the baby's actual size, since a christening gown's length has always been more ceremonial than practical.
The bodice is worked in solid single crochet rows up to a shallow round neckline, with a pale pink satin ribbon threaded through the waist seam and tied in a bow at centre front. The skirt drops from there into open lace medallion squares, finished with a scalloped hem that matches the scalloped edge at each bell sleeve. Every edge, from the neckline to the cuffs, gets the same careful finishing.
Material
Acrylic/wool blend, satin ribbon.
Care
Hand wash in cool water, do not wring, and dry flat away from direct sun. Remove the ribbon before washing if you'd rather protect the satin, and re-thread once dry.
More on looking after vintage pieces in our care guide.
Size
Measured flat: 55cm length flat, cut long in the traditional christening-gown style regardless of the baby's actual size. Bodice is 15cm long and 23cm across laid flat, with a 4cm neckline depth. Sleeves are 24cm long, flaring from an 8cm width to 12cm at the bell cuff. The hem measures 39cm flat, opening out considerably once worn. Reads as roughly newborn to 3 months through the bodice, worn long by design.
Our size guide explains how vintage sizing is read here.
Condition
Excellent. The white holds clean and even, the lace motifs are all intact with no pulled threads, and the ribbon is bright with no fraying. Best worn over a slip, since the skirt is worked in an open lace rather than a solid fabric.
Our condition lexicon explains the grades we use.
Before it reaches you
Someone loved this before you did, and I try to honour that properly. Each piece is hand washed, or cleaned in the way that the fabric permits, then steamed until it softens and straightens and feels newly attended to. Wherever a button was missing, it has been replaced with a vintage one from my long-kept collection. Wherever a hem had given way, I fix it by hand. By the time it leaves this room it is genuinely clean, pressed, whole, and looked over one final time before I let myself believe it is ready. Not restored. Not made new. Just returned to a state where it can be loved again, by someone who was not there the first time.
This was made for one afternoon, a christening, a font, a photograph that probably still exists somewhere in a family album. The lace skirt was never meant to stand alone, it was always going to be worn over something plainer, the way the important part of an outfit sometimes needs a quiet layer underneath to be seen properly.