Design Blog: Butterfly Garden

Publicado el Jul 21, 2023 By Heidi O'Ferrall

Hey forest dwellers!

This week has been slower for me, as I've taken some much-needed vacation days to recover after my long period of stress. But today I'm back with another design blog, featuring the Butterfly Garden look from our AX stage show!

I designed this outfit around the Butterfly Garden Apron, a plus size piece created with a vintage linen napkin as the apron bib.

I love using recycled materials whenever possible, because they are so charming and unique. My grandma in California mailed these linen napkins to me, along with a huge stash of vintage doilies, crochet, and other goodies. The apron itself was built around this centerpiece, with hand-stitched 3D elements to give it more detail. I added handmade flowers, dyed lace, and a beautiful tulle butterfly to the center. The body of the butterfly is stitched down with embroidery floss, while the wings hover above the fabric as though it's ready to take flight!

The rest of the apron was assembled with materials from my stash, including vintage cotton pockets, a lyocell skirt, and a cotton gauze ruffle along the hemline. Although it wasn't used on stage, I also have a matching handmade tote bag available.

Because of the butterfly theme, I decided to put large butterfly clips throughout her hair. Our model, Melissa Wood, is wearing the Ashley Wig in Rose Brown from Arda Wigs. These butterflies are all hand-painted to match the color scheme of her outfit.

Melissa Wood in the Butterfly Garden set

To complete this outfit, I created a dress with more upcycled and repurposed materials. I customized a light teal dress with ruffles and trims to make it compliment the beautiful apron.

I had some deep turquoise fabric on hand, which I purchased from an estate sale many years ago. The darker color created a nice base to contrast the pastel elements found throughout the rest of the outfit. I used this turquoise fabric to create a long ruffle at the hemline, and voluminous puff sleeves. This dress is a one-off which is currently available.