Heirloom Blessing Dress
Irene Monson Jenkins (1935– )
- Medium
United States
ca. 2009
Sewn fabric
"This blessing dress for Elle Jenkins, my granddaughter, is made of silk shantung with French lace, white silk ribbon, white silk embroidery floss, and white machine embroidery. It features both hand and machine embroidery. I have always loved the shape of a teardrop in lace. To me, the teardrop symbolizes the blood of Christ, which was shed on the cross for us. In the dress there are 14 teardrops in lace. One of the special parts of this dress is the slip made of white Swiss batiste. There is Swiss entredeux at the top of the ruffle and an edging of wide, white French lace on the bottom. Baby Elle Jenkins’s family history has been stitched into the slip using a large hoop and computer-assisted lettering to create family history pages. This includes her genealogy for three generations."