Quote:
Originally Posted by Margaret Pilkington
I have a very vague idea...in the back of my cranium that it was traditional to keep babies in long clothes(even boy babies wore dresses for a long time) until they Christened......A new mother was churched at six weeks after the birth...until then the mother was not really allowed out for social events.....churching seen as a cleansing event to rid the mother of the stain of original sin.......it is just that I can't recall hearing of a ceremony specifically to allow the babe into short nightwear/clothes.
Ma is 84.......will ask her if she can throw any light on the subject.
|
Yes Margaret - agree with you on all that. Perhaps your Ma will be able to help.
Found the following which does mention the word shortening on a fascinating website about the cotton industry
Spinning the Web > Clothing & products > Childrens wear
Babies 1890 - 1940
The major revolution in babies wear in this period was the introduction of terry towelling for nappies and the first pairs of rubber pants. Babies were no longer swaddled ('long clothes' were worn for the first few months of life) but dressed in smock shaped 'shortening' dresses which reached only to the baby's ankle instead of trailing. These dresses, in white or cream cotton fabrics, had small yokes and long sleeves and were trimmed at the hem with embroidery or hand made lace. The 'New American Shape' had no bodice and the yoke ended at the armholes. Raglan sleeves were used for dresses and nightgowns.