Wee Care Gowns - a Mission of Giving
As part of our mission to serve our community through smocking and needle arts, the Milwaukee Area Chapter of the Smocking Arts Guild has lovingly created and donated many bereavement and dedication gowns to the Neonatal Department of St. Joseph's Hospital in Milwaukee and Community Memorial Hospital in Menomonee Falls. Our members spend many hours sewing, planning, and stitching these very special gowns, which can help families in a unique way who are going through the grief process. It is hard to imagine the pain of losing a child after many months of anticipation, and anything that we can do to support these families through our craft, we want to make a priority for our group.
In July 2016, we met at one of our member's home for what we like to call "a Wee Care Workshop". It was a time of fellowship, but mostly a time to work as a team to cut, construct and pleat the base gowns so that our members can add a personal touch to them using smocking,embroidery or other creative needlework techniques. As a group, we teach new members these techniques so that they can be a part of this amazing mission.
Following, are examples of some of the gowns that we have created and donated in the past few years.
