her Papa, of course!
Every little girl should be privilege to a serious case of hero worship. Rather she calls him Dad, Daddy, or (like at our house) Papa, she deserves to have the man of her dreams wrapped right around her finger. This dress is just as much for Papa as it is for Onyx.
For this epic first dress I chose a very classic 1950's silhouette with dark touches for a fun, rockabilly look. It is fully lined with hand stitched hems and custom details.
The main fabric of the dress is a cotton/spandex blend from a re purposed dress I wore only once and the lining is cotton gauze. When I designed the dress I didn't plan to add a collar, but my design consultant (Papa) decided it needed one. I painted tiny skulls on a remaining piece of the lining fabric and used an over layer of tulle to blend the bright pink with the overall design. Heavy cross stitches hold the narrow collar in place and add to the rockabilly theme.
For the key element of the dress, I painted a stylised human heart and the word "Papa" on white cotton broadcloth. The applique is muted with three layers of black tulle and stitched on by machine.
A rhinestone zipper adds a fun finishing touch and is stitched in by had for finesse. All the hand work made this a labor intensive garment, but I couldn't be happier with the outcome!
