The Sew and Tell Project

I am a Roman Catholic mother. The sacraments are where I experience some of my deepest moments as a mother. I have stood at the baptismal font with all of my children and have had them baptized into our Catholic faith as newborns. I have waited nervously outside of the confessional while my two oldest children complete the Sacrament of Penance for the first time and celebrated with a gift of candy since God’s mercy is so sweet!

On Friday, I got to experience my nine-year-old daughter’s Confirmation and First Communion. Creating her dress out of my mom’s wedding gown was actually an impetus for starting this blog. I wanted to share this journey about being brave with my sewing and confident that I could create a well-constructed heirloom garment. I also wanted to connect my daughter through the generations to her great-grandmother who died 14 years ago, long before I was married.

If you are familiar with Catholic sacraments, you may also be a bit surprised that my daughter received the sacrament of Confirmation on Friday night. We live in a diocese that celebrates the restored order of Catholic sacraments so the children are confirmed by the bishop in the same Mass in which they receive their First Holy Communion. There are ten dioceses around the U.S. that do this including ours! My daughter chose St. Kateri Tekakwitha and St. Thomas Aquinas as her confirmation saints.

Because the parish we attend is small and rural (as are many of the surrounding parishes),  the parishes do a joint First Communion and confirmation at one parish. This also allows our bishop to preside over all of the Confirmations and First Communions. I am also a catechist at two parishes and six of my students received their sacraments on Friday as well. I was so proud of how well they answered the bishop’s questions.

The following Sunday, each parish has its own celebration and the First Communicants get to wear their clothes again and sit together during Mass for a Solemn Communion. This makes this sewing mama’s heart soar since the dress I poured myself into was worn twice by my daughter. I will now launder it and pack it away to be worn, God-willing, by her little sisters.

The children processed in with candles, and again, heard a homily directed toward them and their hearts. Here Father presents them each with a scapular to wear.

I am still going through photos and processing the beautiful sacraments I observed this weekend, but for now I share this small sampling of thoughts and photos with those who have followed along and helped me construct this gown.

Our whole little crew with Father after Mass. What a blessed weekend it was!

I’m also linking up with Fine Linen and Purple for my first ever What I Wore Sunday. I’m in my favorite trusty Lands’ End Fit and Flare dress.