Laura's Apron

So in a follow up to the card I posted yesterday, here's the gift that went with it - my lil' sister is getting married in July and had long ago requested one of my hand made aprons, but it seemed I was always too busy around Christmas and her birthdays, so when I was invited to her 2nd shower I made a point of sitting down to create something just for her.

I paired the cherry fabric I used earlier in Al's apron with some black & white polka dots, which I thought looked very rockabilly, and reminded me of how my sister pairs bright red pumps with black or navy outfits. I also took some liberties from my usual pattern (I'm getting bolder!) and added a bottom ruffle and extra wide waistband with longer ties. I'm really proud of the final result, and I think it fits her personality perfectly - even the colors match the kitchen items she registered for!

My first apron

This was the first apron I ever attempted, a child-sized full apron from a modern pattern, which I later gave to Hub's niece. I was in love with this fabric so it was hard to cut into, but a shame to leave it on the shelf.

Aprons are a good start for someone who wants to improve their sewing skills, they are mostly straight lines and the patterns are easy to read, there's a lot of give as far as sizes so you can't really mess it up too badly, and you can use any fabric including recycled or re-purposed, since they usually require small amounts.

After this picture was taken I decided it needed something more, so I added some lime green ribbon trim on the waistband, just to make it pop.

Al's Apron

I think I was about 3 years late on delivering this apron I promised to Al...but I finally came through! I told her it was just as well, as my skills have greatly improved from the time I first launched into my "business" selling aprons at craft fairs. This one was a little improvised - I took the elements of a retro-styled pattern I liked but gave the top a little more coverage so it would actually be useful for washing dishes and the like. This was the first apron I'd actually bought special fabric for - before that I'd only used cast offs from an interior design company, beautiful designer fabrics but not all that hip and young. I fell in love with this cherry print for it's pin up/rock and roll attitude, and the colors are actually great as far as not staining and being able to really get it dirty. It's cotton, so that should wash decent, and it'd look cute hanging on a hook in a pantry :) Who knows, you might just see this pattern come up again in another project...