A number of local groups have popped up across the country that are dedicated to making beautiful angel gowns for small babies who need to be dressed for their first and last moments, photos, memorial services or when family arrives to say goodbye. These gowns are especially needed for micro preemies and smaller newborn babies. It is a very emotional project for volunteers who sew them.
The gowns are made from donated wedding dresses that have been dismantled, washed, and cut into tiny dresses for infants who pass away before birth or shortly afterward. The groups are donating the gowns to hospitals, bereavement groups, and funeral homes in the area. Each kit contains the special gown, a blanket, two hats and a heart and memorial trinket. It is an incredibly touching and thoughtful gift for grieving families.
It is very difficult to lose a baby, but these angel gowns help provide comfort for families who are struggling with the loss of their little one. Having a keepsake to honor the lost child makes it easier for families to cope with the loss, and they are treasured by their parents and loved ones for generations.
This is what drove a Spokane woman named Sarah Mangiaracina to start her own group, W.L.J. Angel Gowns, in 2019. She saw a newspaper column about a man from Puyallup who had donated his wife’s wedding dress to an angel gown group after losing her at seven months gestation. “He was talking about how he missed out on all the birthdays and special events that they would have had with her, and it really touched me,” she said.
Mangiaracina’s group is now in six states, including Washington, Oregon, Idaho and Montana. She says she receives about five donated wedding dresses a month, and turns them into as many as 18 unique angel gowns or angel wraps. Then she donates them to hospitals around the region and across the country.
A recent delivery was to Dignity Health – St Mary Medical Center in Long Beach, California. “They are a wonderful hospital that helps so many families, and the nurses there are so caring and loving,” Mangiaracina said.
If you’d like to donate a wedding dress for an angel gown, click the link here to find a group in your area. Some of these organizations also need sewing supplies, such as ribbons, lace, pinking shears and buttons. Or, ask your hubby to clean out his closet and see if he has any men’s ties that could be made into little bow ties for the boys’ gowns or wraps.