A perfect bit of Southern femininity. Knitted, felted and embellished with appliqués and embroidery. Includes Mississippi travel tips and the best Red Velvet Cake recipe.

If you want a real taste of the antebellum South, the Pilgrimage in Natchez, Mississippi is guaranteed to do the trick. For a few weeks each year, many of the city’s spectacularly preserved mansions open their doors to visitors. Strolling the gardens where the creamy magnolia blossoms perch among glossy green and copper leaves, you can’t help but drift off to a time when belles in hoop skirts fluttered their eyelashes while they sipped tea.

This tea cozy was inspired by the lavish blossoms of Mississippi. At the risk of being thought too flashy to be truly ladylike, there’s a bit of shine, courtesy of a few golden glass beads. Not enough to be trashy, mind you. Just a little something to keep your tea pot warm while you nibble daintily on a slice of Red Velvet Cake.