I’ve been making receiving blankets and a few other simple things for
daughter Hallie, who expects “Little Guy" in a couple of months.
My mother clipped tips, articles, and poems from magazines and newspapers, especially when she was younger. At one time, I had an envelope full of these clippings, most of them undated, but I can guess that she saved this one as she was waiting for her first baby (Harriet Lee Walrath) in 1930.
Baby’s First Clothes
In preparing the layette or wardrobe for the new baby, the young mother should keep these “don’ts” in mind.
· Don’t buy poor material, for baby’s clothes are often soiled and often washed, and should be strong enough to look well after frequent launderings.
· Don’t make elaborate, fussy garments which make the baby look like an animated pillow sham. They make hard work for the laundress, much trouble for the mother and a great deal of discomfort for the baby.
· Don’t make more articles than are really needed. Baby grows very quickly and needs larger clothes every few months.
Briefly then – get good materials, make neat, simple styles and get just the needful quantities.
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| Nina Portfors & son Francis, c. 1909 |
Despite the outdated language, it’s still good advice – buy quality goods, keep the style simple, and invest only in what you need. And note – the expectation is that the mother will make these clothes herself.
On the same clipping is another brief article on the same subject:
Wee Baby’s Trousseau
Just what articles to prepare for baby’s wardrobe, and just how many of each to prepare, is a question that may perplex some young mothers. The Woman’s Home Companion in an excellent article on the subject recommends this list to the inexperienced mother:
Six night slips
Six day slips
One fine robe
Six barriecoats (pinning blankets)
Three flannel skirts
Three white skirts
Three pairs bootees
36 diapers
Three flannel bands
Three knit wool shirts with long sleeves
Seven bibs
I know about bootees, diapers, shirts, and bibs, but otherwise, I don’t know what they’re talking about. From generation to generation, things change. When my sisters were having babies in the ‘50s, we prepared sacques (short jackets that tie in the front), kimonos (much the same as sacques but longer), gowns, and receiving blankets. Those cute footed sleepers came along in the ‘60s, I think.
Fast forward another 50-60 years to today, and it’s again very different. The
baby’s clothing is individual from the beginning, according to the personality
his/her parents want to present. Fabrics have improved to the point that I
think store-bought socks and hoodies are more serviceable than handmade bootees
and sweaters. But – the problem has been the same from time immemorial – how to
keep baby (and everyone who handles him) clean, dry, and sweet-smelling. KW
[The portrait is of our maternal grandmother, Nina May Sanders Portfors with her son, Francis Albert Portfors, otherwise known as Uncle Porkie. Baby clothes have changed in style and convenience.]
1) Whoa, that’s some hair. 2) it looks like Uncle Porkie is wearing a ring on his right hand!
ReplyDeleteInteresting that they recommend 36 diapers—I had read 24 would be sufficient.
Undoubtedly, they didn't wash as often.
ReplyDeleteGrandma had beautiful auburn hair, and she had a "swich," I think it was called -- this mound of her own hair -- to make it look like her hair was piled on her head.
They used to do baby rings. I have one.
I had a baby ring, too, although I don't know where it is now. I looked up the barrie coats/pinning blankets and they looks like a petticoat that was pinned closed and apparently you could pin up the bottom to enclose the legs to keep them warm.
ReplyDeleteI remember Laura Ingalls Wilder writing in one of her books about her mother saving her hair from her brush to make a hair piece. Laura made her mother a "hair saver" for Christmas.
Thanks for the info on barrie coats. I know that in earlier times they put dresses on the baby, regardless of gender. Garments were much more elaborate, at least for those who could afford it.
ReplyDeleteAnd the hairpiece -- my grandmother saved her own hair to make the "switch," and probably by that same method -- from her brush. Then she would use the switch to built up whatever style she wanted. It was her own hair -- sort of. Mother showed me the hairpiece when I was in high school, but it had long since fallen into disuse.