Melissa, my fabulous mother-in-law, devoted many late nights to sew Abigail and I both dresses out of a dream, a Victorian dream that is!
This dress is the prettiest thing I have ever owned, and I think you'll agree once you see it! Though we did receive our dresses on Christmas, they weren't quite finished yet (there are many, many hook & eyes along the back, which took a long time to sew I'm sure!), and life got in the way and they weren't finished till October of 2018. By this time it was too rainy and gray to wear something so lovely outside, so I had the whole of the winter to daydream about wearing my pretty Victorian dress. After a while of dreaming I decided to put my hands to work and create some accessories!
First came the idea for a hat - a big, beautiful Victorian hat straight out of a BBC show! I looked around Pinterest for a tutorial on how to make one, but I didn't find anything that matched exactly what I was going for, so I made it up as I went along (of course the second and third hats turned out better...yes, I've made three! But I'm getting ahead of myself.).
I used a straw hat as a base, hot glued fabric with pleats around the crown of the head and then wrapped the fabric underneath the brim and hot glued it to the inside of the crown, pleating it again (so both the top part and the underside are covered). I then covered the top of the hat with some stuffing to give it the illusion of a larger top, and then stretched fabric over this and hot glued it down - covering any hot glue with a nice ribbon and flowers.
The next project I tackled was a matching purse to go with my new hat. I found a free pattern on Pinterest for a Regency era reticule (which is a fancy purse, often heavily beaded or decorated). Even though it wouldn't be historically accurate, I thought it would look very nice with the dress, so I first made a very simple version and then got creative with decorating later. Alright, I know I've kept you waiting long enough. Let me show you the lovely Victorian dress and the hat and reticule I made to go with it:
Quinn took these photos of me in January, right after I made the hat and purse. The snow was frozen from several clear nights, and I thought it made the perfect backdrop for my cream-colored dress and the bright pink peonies on my hat.
My childhood dream of having a hat like Marry Poppins has come true!
Please do excuse the haphazard nature of the tulle - I still haven't perfected putting it over the hat myself with the aid of a mirror. I bought the flowers (the tiny lily of the valley are my favorite) while visiting my parents in Seattle at a Marshall's (pretty sure I could live in that store, ha!). After covering the hat in fabric I would lay out the leaves and flowers to try to plan out how I would have them, but they would always change a little as I set to hot glueing everything in place.
This was the first reticule I made, so it's very plain compared to the ones I made later. I used a cream silk similar to what my dress was made of for the body and lining, and as an accent I covered the outer fabric with a layer of the same shiny salmon tulle I use to wrap around the hat. I added a tassel and two tiny flowers to the bottom, and the ties are cream velvet ribbon.
Moving on to the winter of 2018 - my mom and dad gifted me a lovely pair of lavender gloves for Christmas, and I was inspired again to make a new hat and purse to match. I went and got more flowers from Marshal's, and with my new knowledge from making my first set I made another hat and purse!
For this purse I decided to sew flowers and beads onto the outside of the bag, and I am so happy I did, as I am quite pleased with the result. Allow me to show you the purple and blue version of my outfit (and please do tell me below in the comments which set you like more!):
I use a wide silk ribbon as a belt for now, but someday I hope to sew a belt like the salmon colored one Melissa sewed for me (those little bows on it are just divine!). I love the lavender colored gloves - and I'm so happy I can wear them with this dress.
I have since bought a beautiful purple colored cameo brooch to wear with this ensemble - I hope to wear it soon! The blue hydrangea is one of my top three favorite flowers, and doesn't it look lovely with the purple and the tiny lily of the valley?
And here is a closeup of the second reticule I made! I think the flowers and beads really made it stand out - I love the icy blue hue!
I was so happy with the way these projects turned out, that I simply couldn't stop there! Early this spring Abigail and the family were gone, missing Easter Sunday. As a surprise, I decided to make them all some Easter baskets to come home to. But a basket is boring! (I say this in jest of course, I have a love for baskets and my collection is getting quite large, ha!) So instead I decided to make each person a hat to put their surprises in.
Please forgive the not-so-nice photo, it was taken with my phone!
The rain hat on the top left is of course for my father-in-law Paul, who is always out in the elements (Quinn picked it out, and I taped the flowers and ribbon on it just to be silly).
The large sun hat with the black ribbon says "her royal highness", which I made with Laura in mind. She always asks us to call her this whenever we play games that involve picking a name for yourself. The lettering is strings of black or gold sequin trim (bought in big spools off of Amazon) and is glued onto the hat. I made a whole set of these two years ago for all my sisters and my mom for a family vacation - they were a big hit!
In the top right we have a bonnet-style sun hat that I decorated for Melissa. I added the light blue ribbon and hot glued the yellow flowers on it, thinking it could be the perfect gardening hat for her.
And finally the hat for Abigail: a large flowery hat that looks as if it came right off of a BBC period film shoot! I am happy to report that she loved it very much, as well as the matching purse I made her (which is wrapped in one of those boxes on the table).
Now imagine our delight at the sunny weather we have been blessed with! Abby and I simply couldn't wait to go out together wearing out finest, and the time finally came on a warm Saturday afternoon. We drove out to the Jensen-Olsen Arboretum (which you may remember from this post so long ago!) with a tea party packed away in my picnic basket and with Melissa tagging along. Oh Dear Reader, I couldn't help but think I was dreaming - Abigail looked like she belonged in a movie!
We sat on an old quilt in the grass, and watched the butterflies go by (for there were so may of them among the flower beds). I had brought along a book of poems by Emily Dickinson, so we took turns reading aloud while we sipped our tea. I think it must have been the most perfect way to spend an afternoon.
The Arboretum closed far too soon for our taste (I think we would have all liked to stay hours more), so before we left we snapped a few pictures of each other before promising ourselves we would come back again very soon.
I simply can't wait to put the dress on again - next time I will wear the purple and blue set! I have also been dreaming about making a hat and purse set with reds and greens, and some big poinsettias - but I don't know what sort of Christmas gathering I could possibly wear it to (can someone please invite me to a Victorian Christmas party?).
I do hope you enjoyed this look at the prettiest thing I have in my wardrobe. I plan on wearing this ensemble a lot this summer, weather permitting. Until next time, Dear Friend!
