Tiger Lily's Threads

This past April I attended a Victorian-themed birthday dinner party honoring my good friend Chelsea of Sartorial Statement. It was a weekend long celebration that truly was memorable and a lot of fun. Saturday morning kicked off with high tea, while later in the evening we donned our Victorian & Edwardian evening gowns for an elegant dinner and dessert. Sunday concluded with a nature hike nearby.  While I couldn't make it to the other two events due to work scheduling conflicts, it was really great to catch up with everyone and celebrate the Lady of the Hour.  To make the dinner gown, I looked at several examples from the late 1890's and early 1900's to decide just how I wanted the design and embellishments to look. After searching around for sometime, I decided on loosely replicating this style below.  The 7 yards of peach silk taffeta fabric I have always held on to since 2020; originally this was going to be used for an Angelica Schuyler cosplay since Hamilton was ...

Three years ago, I attempted to host my very first historical outing. However, this was at the beginning of the Coronavirus pandemic and the week before National shutdown. So... no tea party that year.  There was another attempt to have a gettogether in 2022 at the local beach... But we had to cancel due to a hurricane coming up the coast. Ready to give up, but I figured that maybe a this would be year to give it a final shot. . in 2023, Maybe the third time will be the charm? Thankfully a Sunday in late January was the best time to meet up, as everyone's schedules were open and conditions were favorable...ish. 😅 It started to rain some, but it bother us one bit since we'd be indoors. Anyway, the tea was held at a beautiful Bed & Breakfast called Peace Hill Farm, located in Charles City Virginia. I really love that everything was from farm-to-table, and has a "feels like home" aesthetic. I've visited here a few times last year, and each visit is always a wond...

Over the Summer, I faced a medical emergency which resulted in a week-long “staycation''. While in isolation, I opted to do some stash-busting. The project started off with a simple plaid Edwardian skirt, made from a recycled cotton 1830’s gown I made in the Spring. I was very pleased with the finished result, but realized that it needed something more elegant than the blouse I made two years prior. While you can never have too many shirtwaists, I really wanted one that was best suited for this future ensemble.                                      Using the Edwardian Blouse instructions from Black Snail Patterns , I opted for vers.1 -- but with some modifications. Instead of cutting out the neckline as directed for the insertion lace (for the upper portion of the blouse’s neckline and collar) I left the pattern as is. I also pin-tucked the collar for the sake of ornamental aesthetics…whi...

Last September, I came across these beautiful fashion prints of 1890's walking suits. I've seen these online before (mostly through Pinterest), but seeing them again, there was just something about the style and silhouette and fabric prints that inspired me to want to make my own. I particularly fell deep in love with the herringbone and plaid printed suits... I just had to replicate it . . . OR at least combine the two styles to make something completely unique.  Luckily, I managed to obtain 8 yards of cotton "plaiditudes" fabric from JoAnn's and got to work... well, sort of. While the shape of both skirts are definitely similar, I did not have the actual pattern to replicate the skirt; also did I want the skirt cut out in seperate pieces or in two pieces?  So, what does one do when they don't have the appropriate pattern? Why they make their own. I utilized a generic steampunk skirt pattern, and elongated the front and back pieces (excluding any extra pieces...