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Toddler Dress in a Shadow Box

I first wrote about my little dress in 2010, not long after I started my blog.  You can see the history of the dress here.  My mother made clothing for us from flour sacks.  Back then in the early 50's flour was bought in 50# bags. My mother's motto, was "Waste Not, Want Not", so these bags provided free fabric. Fabric she used to make dresses for us, aprons for herself, and runners for the tables.  She was creative, and would make her own patterns for dresses, by cutting out the pieces from brown paper bags, she would save.

Any way, the story goes that my mother and sister were on the back porch washing clothes using an old wringer type washer. My sister had a baby 1 1/2 years younger than me, and had gone in to check on us in the crib, when she smelled smoke. There was an electrical problem, and the home burned to the ground. We lived next door to the church we attended, and she drove us to the church parking lot for safety.

This is the dress I was wearing that day in 1954.




Ruffles across the bottom


I wonder if she ran out of trim.  There isn't a button or snap closure of any type to fasten the dress so I assume she used a safety pin.


It's a cute little dress, and has held up well to be over 60 years old.
I've had it hanging in the closet for years, and this week I
FINALLY,  purchased a shadow box and now have it on display in the guest room.








This dress means the world to me, and I'm glad I now have it where it can be seen.  I know each stitch was sewn with love, and my Mother saved the dress for me.  It's one of my greatest treasures, just because she made it.

Hope you enjoyed this look into my younger years. Here is a picture of my sweet mother at age 21.


She was voted most beautiful in the county where she lived!  Don't you love the hair style......roaring 20's!  Such beautiful skin, not a drop of makeup EVER, and those eyes!!

What a gorgeous lady, my mama was!!

I know this post is different than most I write, but I wanted to share the dress again for those who may not have seen the original post.

Sharing here:
Sunday’s at Home @ My Soulful Home 
Tuesdays at our home @ Our home away from home
Inspire Me Tuesday @ A Stroll Thru Life 

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