A few days ago I finished the apron I was sewing for the Sew for Victory 2014 challenge. It turned out better than I expected and I’m not sure I have the heart to wear it for cooking. I don’t want it to get covered in grease spots, lol. As I worked away at it it turned out to become vintage in a few different ways. First, here’s a picture of the illustration from the pattern and the apron I made. (I had to get the help of a woolen blanket to model it for me, sorry)
I ended up making view C but I think it would also look good if I used the binding to make the crosses in view B. It would give it a little more character.
The patterned fabric is from years ago and though not 40s appropriate it’s certainly pushing being vintage. I’ve been looking for a project to make with it and I think it looks good as an apron.
The thread I used was a pale yellow that was in the remains of my mother’s stash and I’ve often wondered if it was worth keeping because I couldn’t see myself making something that would require yellow thread. The green biased binding was also my mother’s and from the 80s at least, so another vintage item.
My sewing machine is a somewhat recent buy for me and it wasn’t until a couple of months ago that I really started sewing with it. When I was about half way finished with my apron I noticed a round adjustable thing at the top of the machine that I remember adjusting when I got it but which use thoroughly escaped me. Reading through the manual I had a look at the different stitch options and realised it has an overcast option (!). Boy could I have used that on my previous project. I promptly decided to use it for my apron and the results were really good. I have to keep that in mind for next time.
To finish off the edge of the apron I used the green biased binding from the previous photo. I’ve never had any luck using biased binding in the past so I was a bit nervous of how it would turn out. Apart from a few places on the back where it didn’t catch it ended up really good. And I can just stitch the rest in place by hand.
All in all I’ve thoroughly enjoyed making this apron. And even though it looks like a quick project it has taken me a surprisingly long time to finish.
I want to say a thank you to Rochelle who started this challenge. It has really gotten me excited about sewing my own clothes.
The Blue Oak Tree 