Gilded acorns, walnuts and pine cones were popular Christmas tree decorations in the Victorian era. Continue reading DIY Golden Acorns – Natural Christmas Ornaments
Tag Archives: victorian
24 DIY Christmas Ornaments & Treats – Craft-Along Advent Calendar 2020
Bake and craft along with me to count down the days until Christmas! Visit my interactive Christmas countdown calendar every day in December to open a door and find a DIY Christmas ornament tutorial or Christmas recipe behind it!
Merry Christmas and welcome to my Advent calendar 2020! ? This year is the fourth year that I’m hosting an interactive craft-along Advent calendar on my blog. Continue reading 24 DIY Christmas Ornaments & Treats – Craft-Along Advent Calendar 2020
15 Victorian Bread Baking Secrets – Perfect Bread With Wild Yeast From Scratch
How Victorians baked perfect bread by making their own yeast at home from scratch. 15 Victorian bread baking secrets that are still useful today!
The Victorians usually made their own yeast at home from scratch, even if commercial yeast was already available. However, the Victorians believed that wild yeast bread from scratch was better, healthier, more digestible and more flavorful. So they made their own yeast at home with hops, potatoes, flour, peas or grapes. Over the years, I’ve tried different spontaneously fermented bread recipes from the Victorian era: Some failed and some turned out delicious! Continue reading 15 Victorian Bread Baking Secrets – Perfect Bread With Wild Yeast From Scratch
Hops Yeast Starter – Victorian Wild Yeast Bread
Make delicious wild yeast bread with hops yeast water starter from scratch!
The Victorians usually made their own yeast at home from scratch, even if commercial yeast was already available back then. But they preferred bread with homemade yeast because it was more flavorful and healthier.
In the Victorian era, homemade yeast from scratch usually contained hops. Just like beer, hops yeast bread tastes bitter because of the hops. This bitter taste is unusual in bread but not in an unpleasant way. And besides the bitter taste, hops yeast bread is also very moist compared to other wild yeast breads. Continue reading Hops Yeast Starter – Victorian Wild Yeast Bread
Victorian Graham Bread – No Yeast & Vegan
In the Victorian era, Graham bread was promoted as healthy bread. Graham bread is named after Sylvester Graham, a minister and dietary reformer. Victorians preferred white bread, whereas whole-wheat bread was considered rural and therefore inferior. Graham, however, argued that white bread is unhealthy because it was usually made from bleached whole-wheat flour at the time. No wonder that he propagated Graham bread as healthier than faux white bread that is loaded with toxic chemicals! Continue reading Victorian Graham Bread – No Yeast & Vegan
Victorian Black Wool Dress
My Victorian black wool dress is completely sewn by hand: it took me 28 hours to hand-sew the dress! I used thin 100% wool broadcloth and the dress is partly lined with cotton fabric. And even if the Victorian dress is black, it’s not a mourning dress! A dress like this would’ve been worn as expensive but serviceable everyday dress in the Victorian era. Continue reading Victorian Black Wool Dress
Victorian Salt Rising Bread – No-Yeast & Vegan
This old-fashioned salt rising bread has a mild taste. Unlike other salt rising bread recipes it has absolutely no cheese taste! And although it’s made from scratch, it’s quick to make: the bread is ready in just 7 hours! The Victorian salt rising bread is even allergy-friendly because it’s dairy-free, yeast-free, nut-free and vegan!
‘Salt-rising, or rather milk-rising bread[…] looks finer, tastes better, and is more healthy, beside being less work about making it than the common yeast bread. […] This bread if made aright, is white, moist, tender, [and] sweet’ (The Ohio Cultivator, 1859, p. 223).
The recipe for this salt rising bread is actually from the Victorian era, from 1859 to be precise! If you follow my blog, you know that I’m trying out old recipes from time to time: Victorian recipes, Edwardian recipes, Depression era recipes and sometimes even medieval recipes! And making this Victorian salt rising bread was on my list for a long time and now I finally made it!
The Victorian salt rising bread is the sixth recipe in my series about historical bread recipes without commercial yeast. Continue reading Victorian Salt Rising Bread – No-Yeast & Vegan
Edwardian Health Corset – “Good Sense” Corset Waist
‘For those who are convinced of the harmfulness of the corset, a variety of articles called corset-waists are made.’ (Beauty: Its Attainment And Preservation, 1896)
In the late Victorian and Edwardian era, some women preferred to wear a health corset. Health corsets had a button closure at the center front instead of the typical steel corset busk, had shoulder straps and were made of white or blue jean (a strong, durable twill-weave cotton fabric similar to denim fabric). They also were either unboned and stiffened with cord, or just lightly boned – and some even had elastic insets at the front and sides! Continue reading Edwardian Health Corset – “Good Sense” Corset Waist
How To Clean A Corset
How To Clean A Corset
‘Give your corset air and sunshine if you want it sweet and odorless. You should not expect the best results from your corset without a second one to wear alternately. Any corset needs a rest; two corsets worn alternately will give more satisfaction and service than the same two corsets, each worn continuously until they are worn out, just as two or three pairs of shoes last longer when worn alternately. Continue reading How To Clean A Corset
6 Ways How To Insert Lace – Heirloom Sewing Tutorial
Learn 6 different vintage ways to insert lace and improve your heirloom sewing skills! So if you’re wondering how to add lace trim like in earlier times, read on.
Today, lace is usually inserted with zigzag stitches by machine. But in past, lace was either inserted by hand or with a straight-stitch sewing machine. In this tutorial I’ll show you 6 ways how to insert lace by hand or with straight stitches by machine. Let me know in the comments what’s your favorite way to insert lace! 😀 Continue reading 6 Ways How To Insert Lace – Heirloom Sewing Tutorial