From wedding dresses to burial garments for infants
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Susan Bruce was saving her wedding dress for her daughter to use, but when her daughter died in 2014, she didn’t have a purpose for it anymore.
Before losing her daughter, Ashley Bruce, she also endured two miscarriages.
“When I lost my two, when I miscarried, there was nothing like this (Manitoba Angel Dresses). It was like ‘Oh, well. Too bad. So sad, go home.’ but that’s how society was at that time,” said Susan. “It was a baby. It was a human. It’s still a devastating loss.”
Between 15 to 25 per cent of pregnancies end in a miscarriage, according to the Public Health Agency of Canada 2020 survey.
“Now it’s something we want to remember. These babies were here,” she said. “I had my wedding dress still. When she (Ashley) passed away, I said, ‘well no one’s going to use it now.’ That’s when I went to donate my wedding dress, and then I got involved.”
Manitoba Angel Dresses has 75 volunteers—seamstresses, crocheters, and crafters—creating tiny outfits for a deceased infant to wear for free. The outfits are created from donated bridal gowns, and the pops of colour are from bridesmaid dresses or donated fabric.
A year after Ashley died, Susan lost another daughter, Allyson Bruce.
“This has really helped me. It was something to do. It’s helping others,” said Susan.
Seamstresses hand-sew layettes—an outfit intended for the newborns first few months—wraps, and pouches with a card and a bracelet.
Volunteers can make eight to 15 tiny outfits from a wedding dress depending on its style and the amount of fabric.
“For smaller newborns there’s really no store that provides baby clothes that are tiny, so this just saves them (grieving parents) a step. They don’t have to go shop for something to bury their little baby in,” said Susan.
There were 1,631 total infant deaths in 2023, according to Statistics Canada.
Susan also donated a CuddleCot, a bassinet-like device used to keep a deceased baby’s temperature cool to slow down the decaying process.
“You can tell them how much you love them, that they were important to you, and have your family come and meet them,” said Susan.