Meet: The Three Month Aprons

I’ve been going on and on and on about these aprons…and wouldn’t you like to see the finished product?

 

Of course you would.

 

Ages ago (back when the year was new), one of my husband’s friends contacted me. She wanted to work together to come up with some aprons for her son and his best friends. The aprons, she was sure, would be a hit with the kids. The matching hats, she was sure, would be a hit with their mothers for as long as the kidlets would keep them on. Heh.

 

I don’t remember what exactly took so long, but picking out fabrics was definitely a big part of it. There was the shopping around, waiting for things to be back in stock, finding another seller for a print that was not negotiable and then the process of picking out coordinating fabrics for the details. (Each apron is double sided, with the backside matching the pocket from the front side and the band on the hat.) The actual production of the aprons was pretty quick, and took about two weeks (including cutting, pressing, aprons and hats). There was one tense moment when I realized that I had cut a directional print…the wrong way. Do you think a little girl would notice if all of her Winnie the Pooh’s were laying on their sides? Yes? Luckily, there was a remnant of the fabric left that was just big enough to cut another apron front, the right way.

 

Unfortunately, that remnant was a mis-laid hat piece. Which meant I had to cut another hat piece out of the REAL remnant piece that I had already put away on my shelf. Whoops. 

 

Ready to meet the babies?

 

Fabric purchased here and here. Both shops were a delight, and I will be going back! 

PS – If you are interested in getting a set, I will work with you to pick out fabrics. The sets are $30 each, plus shipping.

An Apron for a Princess

BBJ attended a birthday party for a friend, with a Princess theme. The girls were invited to wear their best "princess dresses" and come enjoy a lovely Tea Party. Oh, you'd better believe BBJ was excited! She picked out her dress herself ("I want my Easter Bunny dress, Mommy!" Funny that the Easter dress from 2008 still fits...)

We found some girly-girly fabric in the stash, cut out a basic pattern, and got to work! (Of course, when I say "we", you know I mean "I sewed while the big girl entertained her baby brother", right? 'cause that's a team effort, in my book.)

This is a new design for me, and I have to say...I think it turned out Princess-erific!

(If anyone is interested, some aprons similar to this one will be prepared for the shop soon. Shoot me a line if you'd like more info.)

A Mod Apron

Materials: Home dec. weight canvas cotton
Source: IKEA
For: Adults
Details: Two pleats, giving the skirt an A-Line shape.

I think I may have finally come up with a flattering apron! Do I get my Nobel Peace Prize now?

This one will be up in the shop soon...but she needs a name. I'm thinking "Heidi". Thoughts?

The Ultimate Reversible Apron

Last week, a friend approached me and asked me to make an apron for her sweet little girl, who is turning 2 in a few days. I was so excited! She's a beautiful little girl, with bright blue eyes and a smile that melts your heart.

Since her mom knows her best, she went and picked out the fabric - two identical prints in pink and purple. When I saw them together, I knew it was time for me to make the Ultimate Reversible apron.


She wanted a chef-style, to keep as much gook off of her little baking helper as possible, with a large pocket to hold all her Friends and Stuff.


I wanted it to be completely reversible, with a large pocket on both sides, so she could be purple if she wanted, or pink.

I am so proud of how this apron turned out. It seems impossible for me to make them perfect in just one pass. With this apron, I finished it Monday night, held it up for Lo Gung's inspection, and he looked at it...and said, "The pocket's crooked!"

Sure enough, the way I tried to put pockets on both sides had Failed.

Thank goodness for a tutorial I ran across a few months ago - how to rip out seams. I never thought there was an art to it, but there is!! I took out all the seams I needed to in just a few minutes, pinned it all up straight, and had another go at it...and I'm in love. (Of course, I can't find the tutorial now. If you'd like to know how to rip out seams QUICKLY, let me know and I'll put up my own tutorial. Or maybe it's just me that seems to rip out 1/3 of all the seams I sew!)

I'll have to make some more of these to put up in the shop. (By the by, that etsy update I promised a few days ago is coming. Check back here later to find out what they are!!)

What do you think? BBJ is already a big fan!

A Pioneerish Apron

This is kind of a surprise, but...since the recipient of this apron probably doesn't read this blog...I'm probably safe. (Besides, I couldn't figure out how to photograph the apron so you could see it properly, so I'm sure she'll still be surprised when it arrives in the mail!)

My little sister is participating in Trek in a few weeks. Trek is a youth activity at church that, over the span of three days, marches youth ages 14-18 across a large piece of land, reenacting circumstances from the pioneers' trek across America. This includes, but is not limited to, dressing in appropriate period clothing, eating appropriate period food, washing your hair with lye soap, packing only 17 pounds of gear per person, and carting it all in a handcart.

My job was to make an apron. What do you think?

LoLo Craft Giveaway on McMommy and Me!

So, Sunday morning, I was checking my e-mail and I was thrilled to see an e-mail from McMommy there. See, McMommy doesn't e-mail just anyone...or at least, she's never e-mailed me before! If you've never seen her blog, you should hop over. She's got two adorable little man, she's ridiculously gorgeous, and she's just so funny...you'll love it. She's also really, really popular...hence my star-struck reaction to her e-mail!

A few weeks ago, she decided she was tired of cluttering her hilarious blog up with giveaways and reviews...but still wanted to do the giveaways and reviews, so she branched out and started McMommy and Me.

So, like I was saying, Sunday morning, I got an e-mail from McMommy. It went something like this.

"Hey! I was perusing your blog, and you have a shop and I have a giveaway site, so, I was wondering.....let's put the two things together and have some fun!"

Or something like that. Now, this McMommy - she doesn't waste time. About 12 hours, and 17 e-mails later, we had a giveaway put together! (Why the rush? Well, I really want to get the prize into the winner's hands before Easter!)

So, why are you still here? Head over to McMommy and Me and enter to win! You have until Wednesday, March 25. Good luck!

Oh, what will you win?????

How about one of these!

A Flowery Apron

I started this apron last week, for something to work on. I was lacking in inspiration, and so it kind of sat...unfinished...in my projects bag for a few days.

Until this weekend! Our congregation organized a silent auction to raise money for our Young Men and Young Women to attend their various camps this year. Members of our ward donated services, items and experiences. (Seriously - we had everything from flat screen computer monitors to a football signed by Steve Young to Yankee's tickets!) I donated an apron, but was unable to attend the auction to find out who won it.

On Sunday, I found out, and BOY was I excited! The apron is destined for a vivacious little girl in our ward. She has a wacky sense of humor and a head full of gold ringlets. When her mother found out that I was working on a "Hawaiian print" apron at home, she knew that was the one she had to have! Once I knew this apron was meant for that little girl, I suddenly had no problems finishing it off.

I've perfected my skirt technique, and I really like it.


The straps are so long, they wrap around and tie in the front. I love it!

The patch at the top is a pocket, and my first attempt at machine embroidery. What do you think?

My daughter didn't want to part with it, but after I told her who it was for, she relinquished her claim and asked for a movie as a parting prize. Works for me! I sure hope our golden haired friend likes it, too!

Sassy Little Girl Apron

Here's a little apron I made for the giveaway winner on Be Different...Act Normal. I couldn't send her one of the aprons I already had made up, because those ones were designed to fit toddlers. The winner had a toddler girl, and a kindergarten-aged daughter. The toddler already had an apron...but the kindergartner had none!

Well, that just can't be! Every little girl needs their own apron! This was the first apron I made from an upcycled/thrifted sheet.

I think the fabric makes great aprons...but can you imagine sleeping on that?! Seriously - how is bright red gingham checks supposed to make you drowsy?!

A Craft Fair Apron

I made this this weekend for a special someone (who probably doesn't read this blog, so I'm safe). She's a jeweler who peddles her wares at various craft fairs around NY. I couldn't think of what to make for her, when suddenly I remembered that I am the Apron Lady! And what Craft Fair working lady doesn't need a sassy apron??

It's a pretty simple apron, but I love it. It hits just about at the knees, to catch any bits of paper, string or what-have-you that might fall into your lap while you're crafting behind your table. There's a little pocket on the front, just about hand height, perfect for holding a little sketchbook or receipt book and a pen.

And what apron would be complete without a sassy little bow in the back??

This apron is the second one I've made from a thrifted fitted sheet - doesn't that gingham just scream apron to you??!

(Please ignore the sweats and Mariners t-shirt - we were rather short on perky, skinny, sassy little models on Saturday night, and I wanted photos of the apron for Thing A Day!)