Peachtree City Quilter’s Outlander-Inspired Gowns Go From Living Room to Museum Exhibit

When Peachtree City resident Teri Biglands began hand-quilting in 1983, she never imagined her needlework would one day hang in a museum or go viral online. Yet her handcrafted gowns — inspired by the Outlander book and television series — now fill a full gallery at the Southeastern Quilt and Textile Museum in Carrollton through December 20.

From Draperies to Design

Biglands, 65, spent more than two decades operating a custom drapery workroom in Peachtree City. When she retired, she redirected those same sewing skills toward quilting and creative costume design.

“I’ve been quilting since 1983 — mostly hand piecing and hand quilting, the old-school way,” Biglands said. “When I retired, that gave me time to do more of the creative process.”

A lifelong fan of Outlander author Diana Gabaldon, Biglands had read the novels since 1992. When the television adaptation debuted, she became fascinated by the intricate period costumes. “I’d never noticed costumes in a show before,” she said. “But the books and the show together — it was just inspiration.”

Going Viral With ‘Droughtlander’

During the offseason of Outlander, with leftover silk fabric from her drapery studio, Biglands created her first Outlander-inspired gown — silk on silk, embroidered entirely by hand — and posted photos on Twitter with the caption, “Look what Droughtlander made me do.”

Hundreds of thousands of likes and shares later, Biglands suddenly found herself with an international following. “I was trying to respond to comments all night long,” she said. “My husband told me, ‘Put the phone down.’”

That same gown earned Best of Show at Wizard World New Orleans Comic Con in 2019 and third place in the needlework division at New York Comic Con later that year.

Her second costume — featuring a quilted silk skirt with 400 hours of hand quilting and another 300 hours of detailed stuffing to create raised 3-D stitching — won Best of Show at New York Comic Con in 2021.

The Bee Dress

Biglands’ most ambitious project, known affectionately as her “bee dress,” took three years and roughly 6,000 hours to complete. It features more than 100 patchwork blocks, elaborate embroidery, and 30 tiny hand-stitched bees — each one taking 20 hours to craft.

“The last costume probably represents my life’s work,” Biglands said. “Everything you see on it — the embroidery, the appliqué, the piecing — it’s all hand done.”

The dress was directly inspired by Gabaldon herself. “Diana once said she’d tell me the name of her next book so I could embroider it on the costume,” Biglands recalled. “She emailed it to me in advance — A Blessing for a Warrior Going Out — more than a year before she announced it publicly. I had to keep that secret from my best friend, and she was furious!”

The bees that adorn the gown pay tribute to Gabaldon’s earlier book, Go Tell the Bees That I Am Gone, and became a motif throughout Biglands’ work.

A Museum Milestone

This fall, Biglands achieved a longtime dream: a solo museum exhibition. The Carrollton museum dedicated an entire gallery to her quilts and costumes, covering her 42-year creative journey.

“I’ve been trying for 40 years to get one of my quilts into Paducah,” she said, referring to the renowned quilt competition in Kentucky. “After that, my next dream was to be in a museum — and here we are.”

At her artist meet-and-greet, she was surprised by a visitor from Edinburgh, Scotland. “He walked in with the full Scottish accent,” she said, laughing. “He was visiting relatives in Carrollton. How can that happen? It was so neat.”

Teaching and Inspiring Others

Biglands remains a founding member of the Southern Crescent Quilt Guild, which began meeting at the Fayette County Library in 1998. The group has grown to 100 members and currently meets twice monthly at the Evergreen Church in Peachtree City.

She continues to share her work and techniques with younger creators she meets at conventions. “I love answering their questions,” she said. “They’re so talented — more than I was at that age.”

What Comes Next

True to form, Biglands already has her next project in mind — an Americana gown celebrating the nation’s 250th anniversary in 2026. “Wouldn’t it be fun to make something patriotic and wear it to Comic Con?” she said. “I may even sew my own red-and-white silk fabric together to get it just right.”

For Biglands, creativity and persistence go hand in hand. “I don’t have expectations, but I do have tenacity,” she said. “That’s what keeps me stitching.”

Learn more

Southern Crescent Quilt Guild: qgscquilters.com
Southeastern Quilt and Textile Museum: www.sqtmuseum.org
Facebook: facebook.com/teri.biglands
Instagram: instagram.com/kylander_kouture