CHARLOTTE, NC (KABC) — When Tom and Deanna Williamson lost their baby boy at just 20 weeks gestation, the couple was given an angel gown from Levine Children’s Hospital. It gave them a way to dress him, hold him, and remember him for the short time they had with him. Now, the family from Columbus is paying it forward by sewing angel gowns for local hospitals.
The first floor of Colleen’s home in Hot Springs Village has been turned into a workshop. She works from there to sew these tiny angel gowns for premature babies. It’s a labor of love and one that she hopes will give grieving families a little moment to hold on to.
A snip here, a stitch there, and a gown is made. She works to make sure that each gown is a beautiful way for families to honor their lost angel.
And the need is great. The number of newborns that die each year is staggering, and 1 in 4 women suffer from infant loss — whether through miscarriage or stillbirth. That’s why a seamstress like Terry Bauer is busy sewing angel gowns from donated wedding dresses.
She’s been doing it since 2014. In fact, her hobby now helps to heal the hurting families that come to her.
After her retirement from the Pickerington school district, she was looking for a new way to use her skills. Scrolling through Facebook, she stumbled upon a woman who sewed “angel gowns” — outfits for infants who have died at any stage of pregnancy or after birth.
The gowns are made from repurposed wedding dresses and are given to grieving parents so they can dress their baby, hold him, and remember him for just a short time. They are crafted in three sizes: Angel dresses for girls, Angel suits for boys and Angel pockets for the tiniest babies who are too small to fit into a gown or suit.
Beck and her volunteers also sew prayer shawls, hats and buntings for angel babies. They have an online list of locations that can take their clothing. And they even offer kits to people who want to learn how to make a gown, but find the project too emotionally challenging.
But the idea of helping other families in the midst of such pain isn’t something that has been hard for Wright to get behind. And she says she hopes more people will join her in her labor of love. “It’s a very heartfelt thing to do, and it doesn’t really take very much to do,” she said. “It just takes someone with the heart and willingness.”