Replicating a Tiffany Peacock in Textiles
Author: Heather Daveno
I’m a self-taught textile artisan from Seattle. I have been a hatmaker for 40+ years, and now create one-of-a-kind fashion pieces inspired by a 1910 aesthetic. Travel has been an intrinsic motivation behind many of my most popular designs. Learn more at Daveno Travels (https://davenotravels.blog/).
Featured Image: Kasey Cruz, Nigel Quinn and Alinne Oliviera
I took myself on a self guided architectural tour of Chicago in 2018. The building that inspired my textile work the most was the Palmer House and its Peacock Doors. The doors were designed by Louis Tiffany and cast in bronze for C.D. Peacock Jeweler, who set up shop at the Palmer House in 1927.
When I returned home, I tried to squeeze the design onto one of my hats, but it wasn’t a large enough canvas to do the design justice. So when I stopped making hats in 2023 and began work on a clothing line, it proved to be the vehicle I needed to bring this design to life.
I started with Folkwear’s Model T Duster pattern as the base garment. Although I had planned to add additional gores both front and back in order to make a fuller skirt, fitting the pattern to my dress form showed me that I only wanted one additional gore at the center back, in addition to the two that the pattern called for. I constructed this garment as a sleeveless tunic-length vest to increase its versatility.
My stash of recycled textiles yielded a lovely blue herringbone wool for the body, and a rust colored suede cloth for the peacock which would replicate the bronze color of the Tiffany doors. I made several photocopies of the photos I had taken of the Tiffany doors, and played with them on my drawing board before transferring them to the dress form, where I revised the posture of both birds so they would be asymmetrical.
Since the design was complex and I didn’t plan to line the garment, I worked each peacock on navy tulle so I could applique them to the vest as single pieces and minimal ‘sew through’ embroidery. I traced the design from the photocopy onto tissue paper, which acted as a stabilizer to the tulle. The photos below show me using a window as a light-box for this tracing. I braided yarn to lay as the tail feather spines and connector pieces, which acted as guides for positioning the suede cloth ‘feathers’.
I found that I needed to do a lot more embroidery than I had planned. I added metal studs to the tail feathers after abandoning the colored and bezeled jewels I had collected for this project. I also ended up working the body and tail as separate pieces. A friend had donated a tatted wedding dress, which was perfect for replicating the filigree of the Tiffany door. I cut a piece for the body of the peacock and painted it with acrylic. The body would ultimately prove to be more fragile and time consuming than the entire tail.
I had planned to make the lace gores rust colored as well, but I only had enough paint for the peacock, so I turned to dye. But my test pieces came out maroon! A navy dye worked better; it was a good color match to the wool, and the gores would be more subtle and less of a distraction from the overall design. Another modification occurred when I tried to shape the front closure, and found that the wool curved naturally around the peacock’s head and neck – a very happy accident. (Not shown here is the hook closure behind the peacock’s head.)
In spite of my best efforts to avoid it, I ended up lining the upper portion of this garment where the applique had required anchoring. I finished the seams around the lace insets with a rust and silver ribbon, and added a single pocket to the right side under the overflap.
After an estimated 300 hours of work over the span of 2 years, I am happy with the results. The front hangs smooth and straight, while the back flows over my bustle with the aid of three lace inset gores. I am now preparing to repeat this peacock on a shorter jacket made from pieced herrringbones, with the peacock itself executed in black leather (a Goth Peacock!)
If you are interested in purchasing this piece or the next one, please feel free to contact me.
(Blouse and bustle are for modeling purposes only and are not included).
The original article can be viewed at https://augustphoenixhats.com/the-making-of-the-peacock-vest/ and has been edited for Creative PlaceMakers.
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