June 12, 2024 at 10:17 a.m.
YOU’RE ‘NOT ALONE’
Sallyann Lamanna has got baby blankets on her mind. She also has teddy bears, crochet blankets and bonnet caps — any of the things that fill her chapter’s baby layette baskets.
Lamanna, coordinator and treasurer for the Holy Sews Chapter run out of St. Mary’s Parish in Oneonta, is helping grieving mothers, fathers and family members who have lost a child to miscarriage or stillbirth with their layettes designed specifically for premature babies.
“These babies are so tiny that even the preemie sizes are two or three times the size of these babies,” Lamanna said.
Holy Sews Inc., was founded in 2007 in Little Rock, Ark., after Regina Binz experienced a devastating miscarriage. Knowing that grieving parents had little in the way of appropriate clothing for a baby so small, Binz worked with maternity ward nurses to design an outfit that was fitting for preemie babies’ burials.
St. Mary’s parishioner Mary Laden was inspired by the organization’s mission and started a chapter in the Albany Diocese in 2014. The Oneonta chapter represents one of six Holy Sews groups across the country, including Little Rock and Hot Springs Village, Ark.; Dallas/ Fort Worth; Graettinger, Iowa; Mount Vernon, Ill.; and Springfield, Mo.
Lamanna, who joined the chapter from the start, took over for Laden in 2023. Now, a decade since its beginning, the group celebrated its 10th anniversary milestone this spring.
“It was a surprise (like) everybody when I realized it,” Lamanna laughed. “It’s hard to believe we’ve been doing it for 10 years. It’s sad there’s been a need for it, but it’s wonderful we’ve been able to fulfill the need.”
A Holy Sews boy layette. (Provided photo)The chapter mails out an average of 350 layettes per year and currently provides for 26 hospitals in New York state. Regular requests often come from Albany Medical Center, St. Joseph’s in Syracuse, St. Peter’s in Albany, and Faxton-St. Luke’s in Wynn. The group also makes military layettes by special request, which have been sent to Albany Medical Center, Samaritan Medical Center in Watertown, and Bayhealth Hospital, Kent Campus in Delaware.
“Parents (normally) hold their baby wrapped in a washcloth, and now they can be presented in the only outfit that they’ll ever know,” Lamanna said. “It helps these parents know they’re not alone and gives the baby dignity.”
The layettes are made by hand thanks to the 28 volunteers active in the Oneonta chapter, which meets monthly at St. Mary’s. Volunteers cut fabric and ribbon, sew the trim on blankets and buttons on tunics, and match sets together to prepare them for delivery. Due to a lack of space, meetings are solely for planning purposes, and any sewing or crocheting is done on the volunteers’ own time.
“We have cut kits that people take home from the meeting and sew them at home and bring back the finished layettes,” Lamanna said. “At meetings, we prepare all of the components. So there are ribbons that tie on the side of the tunics, and there’s a ribbon for the wrap, and there’s the memory cards that have ribbon strung through them.”
A Holy Sews preemie tunic compared to a newborn size. (Provided photo)Each layette consists of a small tunic, around 7-8 inches long, that opens down the back and on the sides, a 10-inch baby wrap, and a 12-inch blanket. The layettes also include a tiny teddy bear (just over two inches) that parents can keep as a memento, and a card for parents to put the baby’s footprints or other statistics for their records. Some layettes are designed for boys and girls, but parents can opt for a gender-neutral basket.
The chapter also has a number of volunteer knitters and crocheters who make caps and bonnets for the babies. Because of the small size, many use a plastic Easter egg as a measuring guide.
In October, the national organization of Holy Sews moved to an online order placement method, allowing hospitals and families to place orders with the group directly. Lamanna said the Oneonta chapter has seen an uptick in orders since the switch.
Sometimes the layettes lead to new recruits; after receiving a layette, some women contact the organizations hoping to help give back.
“We frequently get thank-you notes,” Lamanna added. “We’ve had beautiful thank-you notes from the nursing staff at the various hospitals who express their appreciation for what we do.”
Added Lamanna: “We hope that this lets (parents) know they’re not alone, and there are people who are thinking of them as we make these. Many of us pray as we’re sewing, and just to acknowledge that life and give it the depth that it should have.”
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