rostitchery

apron cheat 2--speed round

this is for my friend julie, who asked how to make a full-body apron.

just like with the first apron cheat, start with a skirt but this time choose a longer one--when i was a teenager we called these "midi's"--a skirt that is mid-calf length.  this one came from the thrift store on half price day, it was way too small for me but i couldn't leave this cute kid cowboy fabric behind.

lay the skirt as before with the center front on the right, the center back on the left, and the side seams, stacked, in the middle. 

slice the skirt up the side seam--i actually choose to use a seam ripper this time--i like to mix it up every now and then.  you might want to slice your skirt closer to center front or center back, depending on how big it is and how much you like your aprons to wrap around your body. just use your best judgement--its an apron--save your perfectionism for your wedding gown.  reserve the back of the skirt for later.

 

then make a diagonal cut near the top of the side seam--i can't tell you exactly the size and angle you should make because it depends partly on the size of your bust--a bigger bust needs a steeper angle, a smaller bust needs a flatter angle.  don't go crazy on the first cut--you can always cut it more later if needed.

finish the side seams--i turned and top stitched, but you should use whatever finish you like.  then fold the angled edge under about 1" and stitch it in place to make a casing.

now just run a ribbon thru the casings, with the ends hanging out at the sides and a big loop at the top.  (if you don't have any ribbon, just cut some strips from the remainder of the skirt and sew them together to make one long tie). 

slip the loop over your head, wrap the ties around your body, and you're done! 

on my full-body aprons i like longer ties that i can wrap around to the front so i have a place to hang a towel.  i recommend cutting your ties long and then trimming them after you've worn your apron a bit.

you can use the back of the skirt to make pockets if you wish, or to trim a dishcloth to go with your apron, or to make a new oven mitt. 

this apron cheat was even quicker than the first one--it would have only taken about 10 minutes but i kept stopping to take pictures.  isn't ella becoming a good photographer?  she makes me look, in the words of a friend, "smokin' and sleek ".  who doesn't want to look like a smokin' and sleek?  and all it took was an apron. 

if you'd rather not just wing it when cutting your skirt, there are lots of great free apron instructions online--this one at j caroline creative has a diagram for cutting an apron very similar to this apron cheat. 

apron cheat

hey, y'all, it's national wear your apron day! 

did you forget to make a new apron? 

me too.

so, no biggie, just grab an old skirt--you know, the one in the back of the closet that you've been saving because you like it too much to give it away but it doesn't fit (or as in my case, the zipper broke and i am too lazy to fix it).

lay the skirt with the center front on the right, the center back on the left, and the side seams (stacked) in the center. 

slice the skirt one inch away from the side seam (to allow for finishing the edge).

then slice off two more pieces, wide enough to make ties.  since the skirt is folded, you'll have a total of four tie pieces.  discard the section with the center back seam (or save it for scraps, if you like).

 

stitch two tie strips together to make one long tie, repeat with the remaining two strips, then finish the cut edges of the skirt and the ties (i used the serger to make a rolled edge, but you could also turn and stitch--bind--narrow hem--etc--your choice).

stitch on your ties--and wear your apron!  this apron is so quick, i made mine while the rice was cooking for lunch.  notice what a great picture ella took!

if the skirt you've been hording is from fabric that is a little less "busy" than mine, you can add an applique or some trim or a pocket--stamp a design, or let your kids put their little hand prints on it--take it to your coffee klatch and have everybody sign it--you get the idea.  i think i might add some rick-rack to mine, but not today, because today i'm wearing it.

bonus:  here's the way i finish my tie ends:  i fold the ties lengthwise, right sides together, and stitch along the short edge.  when you turn this right side out, it creates a neat little point, automagically!

 

do you like apron patterns?  need instant gratification?  then i highly recommend emailed vintage patterns ebooks "21 retro aprons" and "make MORE retro aprons".  each ebook comes complete with patterns for all the aprons (reduced on a grid so you can enlarge them to any size), detailed instructions for sewing them, and lots of great vintage images to inspire you to new designs.

order both, and you can get "10 all-american NOVEL APRONS" free!  just place your order and tell them you want this book free.

i have ordered many, many patterns and ebooks from emailed vintage patterns and have never been disappointed.  i have no affiliation except that i am a great fan of their products and would love to see more people enjoy them too.

 

tying up loose apron strings

this is not strictly "wardrobe" but it is a refashion, i finished the potholder to go with this apron.  it's round, and foldy.  i've decided that, for the purposes of the wardrobe refashion project, this will now be designated a fashion accessory.  :)

it's a little smaller than my other potholders, and the black is a little more prominent than i had imagined it would be, but i love it nonetheless.  (dang, this is one boring post).

the best apron EVER

this is another of my mother's aprons. i love this apron so so so so so much....

look at all that citrus-y goodness!  look at that round, citrus-resembling pocket!  look at that BLACK RICK-RACK!

no potholder yet, i want to do something a little different with it and i need to harvest more fabric from the stash.  and no "before" picture either, but here are the scraps to prove this was, in fact, a refashion and not just created from scratch:

my love affair with rick-rack was bad enough, but now that i know they make BLACK RICK-RACK, i feel an almost irresistable urge to create a gothic donna reed ensemble. 

instant heirloom dress

this shirt has been hiding in a box for nearly a year, i bought it while shopping for "a little night music" but i just found it while cleaning the shop last week.  as you can see, the tag was still on it--i bought it on 14 september, 2005 and it cost $3.99.

yesterday, it became this:

and today, it got to do this:

ella wouldn't take it off--she insisted on wearing it to bed.  one of the last things she said before falling asleep was, "thank you for my pwetty dwess, mama, i wub it!". 

I WIN!

little things mean a lot

why they don't already make these, i have no idea.

i have never been able to find the kind of little socks i want to wear with my low-cut slippers--i want VERY low cut COTTON socks that i can wear with ballerina flats.  the only kinds i have ever found either aren't cut low enough, or they are nylon--or both. (you know--the kind that shoe stores have for you to try on shoes--ick.)  so i decided to try making my own and by golly, it worked!

it was pretty straight forward:  i put the chosen victim socks on with the target shoes, i marked said socks, cut them, serged elastic around the edges.  10 minutes later i had a pair of custom-fitted, all-cotton, extra-ultra-low-cut footie socks to make my piggies happy.

now even my socks aren't safe from wardrobe refashioning!  i can hardly wait to make some for the rest of my shoes--the next idea i'm going to try is making something that will work with sling-backs--the only question is, how am i going to make a sock sling???

let the refashioning begin!

or rather, let me make my wardrobe refashioning "official".

as you can see from the button in my sidebar, i joined the wardrobe refashion project for a 4-month term.  what this means is that i have pledged that i will not buy ANY new, manufactured clothing from now until the end of november.  this is so fine with me, i feel like it is almost cheating to have joined--i can barely stand to go into retail clothing stores, much less give them my money.

but i like to play, and this game seemed like one i could stick with for the long term, so here i go!

for my first project i have (as always) a long story, will try to condense:

about 12 years ago, i was trying to make some extra money by selling some of my sewing at a friend's store.  she was going to a fair and offered me space in her booth.  i told my mother about this, and mama was so concerned that i wouldn't have enough stuff to sell that she made a bunch of aprons--the bib kind, like for cooking at a barbeque.  when i took them to my friend's booth, i told her about the aprons and i started crying--i was so overwhelmed by my mother's loving generosity YET AGAIN in my life, and i so desperately needed to sell these aprons but very desperately wished i could just keep them all.

when i came back at the end of the fair to collect my stuff, my friend told me that i had sold some of my vests and ALL of the aprons.  it was bittersweet because she gave me a much-needed check but all my mother's aprons were gone.

this was in the fall.  at christmas that year, my friend sent me a present--it was the aprons--she had bought all of them to give back to me. 

so yet again, i was in tears, because of the kindness yet another person had shown me.  and because i got to hold my mother's aprons.

(the above has been a pattern in my life--i have been literally carried along by the kindness of the people god has chosen to surround me with--it is something i will never be worthy of but always will be thankful for).

i wore these aprons from time to time, but i never wore them often because....i don't like bibbed aprons.  i don't know why--for some reason they just feel so.....utilitarian.  so i cut them down and made regular aprons out of them--i made a waistline casing and put elastic thru it to make them hug my waist better--i put some trim on them--and with the scraps from the bib sections i made pockets and hot pads.  here are the first two, i have 5 more to go:

i LOVE these so much!  they are simple, but they make me feel pretty and they make me feel loved.  and to me, that is the magic of aprons and of a mother's handiwork.