The Piper at the Gates of Dawn is a new, one-off original design Irish dance dress from Silverlode Needlecraft. The silvery-golden, earthy, and rosy-dawn colors, as well as the flower-and-leaf repeated patterns, were inspired by a passage in The Wind in the Willows.

The primary base fabric is an egg-yolk gold metallic silk, and the insets are a copper liquid lamé. The appliqué consists of various metallic fabrics (glitterdot, lamés, brocades, etc.) in shades of golds, rose-pinks, lime- and teal-greens, coppers, and silver. The embroidery is freehand machine work in metallic shades of the same colors. The skirt lining and bloomers are made of a metallic gold lycra with a “broken glass” rainbow shine. The pleats—front and back—are a multicolor glitterdot. The dress is accented with Swarovski crystals in the colors of Fuchsia, Blue Zircon, and Topaz Aurora Borealis. There are approximately 415 crystals on this dress!

designer/seamstress
Rachel Murphy

"The Piper at the Gates of Dawn" was completed in early June, 2006.

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