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This is a baby's nightdress. It is made of white cotton, with feather stitch embroidery and a tie belt. It is one of a set of baby's clothing which was made by the donor's French Great-Grandmother, her Great Aunt, and her mother. The clothes were the daily wear of infants when she was born in 1911.

1 nightdress: cotton

MERL 'Handwritten catalogue' form – 'NIGHTDRESS // Used for baby: see form // White cotton dress with feather stitch embroidered and tie belt. Used for nightwear.', MERL Recording form – 'Baby clothes // Long day gown // nightdress // Back flannel // Short day gown // Bonnet + veil // Additional information // The two day gowns are made of [?] (a very fine cotton Italian woven); the nightdress is made of longcloth, and the back flannel of an extremely good quality fine flannel. Such garments were the daily wear of infants when I was born, in 1911. These were in everyday use and were made by my French Great-Grandmother, my Great Aunt Rose and my mother. The garments themselves are not very remarkable, but the hand sewing is absolutely exquisite, not one stitch by machine. Notice on the long gown how the underarm seams of the sleeves are joined by "insertion"; how exactly measured every tuck, every seam, and every gather picked up separately, while the amount of material in each gather is exactly the same as all the others. My family certainly were fine needlewomen. // The bonnet is rather grubby, but I am afraid to clean it as the silk is so frail. Incidentally boys wore hats and girls bonnets, so it was possible to identify the sex of a new baby at a glance. // No baby ever went out without a veil over its face in this period, even in the hottest days, so the veil must go with the bonnet. // Only the ribbon in the sleeves of the short dress is new, and the lace at the neck and sleeves of the nightie being rather worn has been replaced.'

1911 - 1911