Victorian Mourning Dress Fragments

Friends, by now you must certainly think that I am fixated on Victorian mourning. I assure you that is not the case, and this will likely be almost my last post on this subject, at least for a while!

I just wanted to share with you some lovely finds that I will be incorporating into some fabric collage at some point.

This first one is a small piece of antique Victorian

velvet trim, or fabric, measuring about

7 by 9 inches at its widest points.

It may or may not have been used on

a mourning dress, 

but I can only imagine the beautiful dress

that it once was a part of...

There is only one motif on this piece,

but that's enough to let my imagination

run away with me...

The best part is that it incorporates

several tiny black jet beads and sequins

(see my last post),

 which have been

embroidered onto the satin flowers,

leaves and stems...

All the embroidery was completed by hand,

as you can see in the photo of the reverse.

Dressmakers of that time period

were really extraordinary,

weren't they?...

The other piece is a triangular shaped

fragment that is about 22 inches long

at the longest section.

It is an antique silk embroidered piece, 

also from the Victorian era...

The embroidered portions have faded to a brownish color,

which I think lends to the overall charm.

The lace portion is stunning...

...and I can only wonder what the dress

that it embellished, or was part of,

looked like...

I actually have a plan for these two pieces,

and some of the others that I have recently purchased,

but that may have to remain a secret for a while!

Thanks for coming by!