Woman Transforms Wedding Dresses Into Burial ‘Angel Gowns’ For Newborns

Lafferty founded the organization in May 2014 after hearing a story about a mother in Washington state who delivered a stillborn baby. A hospital worker named Michelle Matthews came to the grieving mother’s aid. 

“The [hospital] brought her son to her wrapped in a wash cloth,” she told HuffPost. “When Michelle got home, she decided to use her own wedding gown to make an angel outfit for him. That was the start of what later became [her organization] Angel Gowns.“

Lafferty wanted to get involved but couldn’t find a similar group in her area, so she decided to create her own. She posted the idea on Facebook, and almost immediately a handful of friends said they’d be willing to help her get it off the ground. 

“I love to sew and thought this would give me the opportunity to sew every day that I was able to,” she said.