Up until the seventeenth century, young babies were tightly wrapped in swaddling clothes and carried to the font in a "bearing cloth". This was a large square piece of silk, edged with trimmings of gold lace and braid.
As we now know it as the "Christening Robe"; it evolved when babies were freed of swaddling at a younger age in the mid-eighteenth century. The earliest example to survive were made of white silk and consisted of a front opening which could be fastened with ribbon ties or left open to reveal a petticoat underneath. Like the women's gowns of the period, the robe had similar decorative curving lines of braid.
The first Christening robes were made in the style worn every day by eighteenth-century children: both boy and girl babies wore "slip" dresses, with a very long, flowing skirt falling from a short, tucked bodice and a low neck and short sleeves. Other items of clothing such as bonnets and bootees could be made to go with the robe. A number of exquisite Christening sets survived from the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, including bibs, head bands, mittens and pincushion covers or handkerchiefs in embroidered linen.
Victoria era babies wore Ayrshire decorated gowns. Ayrshire is a delicate form of white-on-white embroidery that originating in the Scottish Lowlands.
An old Scottish custom was to pin a piece of shortbread to the Christening robe and was to be worn for the duration of the ceremony. Afterwards, if an unmarried girl ate the shortbread, she was sure to dream of her future husband that very night. It was also deemed necessary that the baby sleep in its Christening robe for the first night after the baptism in order to bring good luck and good health in the future.
An endless tradition
Over the years, the same fashion for Christenings has remained popular. This is partly due to the fact that Christening robes are traditionally handed down from one generation to the next, so Christening robes may be worn by dozens of babies over many years.
If your family has no tradition of an antique gown, you can begin this tradition for future generations with a gown from our range of traditionally made gowns, composed of fine natural pure silk and embellished with exquisite embroidery and tucking. - 16003
As we now know it as the "Christening Robe"; it evolved when babies were freed of swaddling at a younger age in the mid-eighteenth century. The earliest example to survive were made of white silk and consisted of a front opening which could be fastened with ribbon ties or left open to reveal a petticoat underneath. Like the women's gowns of the period, the robe had similar decorative curving lines of braid.
The first Christening robes were made in the style worn every day by eighteenth-century children: both boy and girl babies wore "slip" dresses, with a very long, flowing skirt falling from a short, tucked bodice and a low neck and short sleeves. Other items of clothing such as bonnets and bootees could be made to go with the robe. A number of exquisite Christening sets survived from the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, including bibs, head bands, mittens and pincushion covers or handkerchiefs in embroidered linen.
Victoria era babies wore Ayrshire decorated gowns. Ayrshire is a delicate form of white-on-white embroidery that originating in the Scottish Lowlands.
An old Scottish custom was to pin a piece of shortbread to the Christening robe and was to be worn for the duration of the ceremony. Afterwards, if an unmarried girl ate the shortbread, she was sure to dream of her future husband that very night. It was also deemed necessary that the baby sleep in its Christening robe for the first night after the baptism in order to bring good luck and good health in the future.
An endless tradition
Over the years, the same fashion for Christenings has remained popular. This is partly due to the fact that Christening robes are traditionally handed down from one generation to the next, so Christening robes may be worn by dozens of babies over many years.
If your family has no tradition of an antique gown, you can begin this tradition for future generations with a gown from our range of traditionally made gowns, composed of fine natural pure silk and embellished with exquisite embroidery and tucking. - 16003
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