Last Minute Apron Tutorial

I have dusted off my Apron Tutorial writing skills and whipped up a Last Minute Apron (& Stocking) Tutorial for my blog world friends. It is actually featured over on Apronista. So... I will just post a link here for you.

Enjoy!
P.S. I got my lovely Dishtowels at one of my favorite quilt shops (in Historic Carthage Mo.), Block by Block which is run by my dear friend Amy. Go check out her on-line store!

I'm a Loozer!

If you were my swap partner and you got this apron.....

...... would you truthfully say that it was better off LATE than never??

Yes I am a late swapper. I will not tell you which swap it is for because my partner would know and because then you would know how big a LOOZER I am. Life jumped up and BIT me this summer and fall and things are not happening as I had hoped.

The apron was very fun to make and I think should be sized up so some of us chubby chickas can wear it too. What do you think?? yes that means I am asking for comments.....

Apron Model

My niece Katie agreed to pose in the Mama Byrd Sweetheart apron for me. Some of you have wanted to see it on someone. So here you go.


Thanks Katie!

Sneek Peek at New Pattern

I have been working on a new pattern for a few weeks now and would like to get you a sneak peek at the apron.

I have made this Sweetheart Apron from a picture of a vintage apron from the 50's. The pattern will be ready for sale very shortly in both hard copy and PDF format thanks to my fabulous niece Alisa.

I think I might have to do a Mama Byrd's Sweet Heart Apron Giveaway. The pattern comes in three sizes Small which fits 2T to about 6T, Medium which fits larger children to teens and Large which fits adults.
I can't wait till this one is done! It is so much fun and works up really fast and only take 1 to 1 1/3 yards of fabric!
Here is the small size apron. It only take about 1/3 to 1/2 yard fabric to make.

Gingerbread Goodness!

I had some left over brown fabric and had to make a couple of extra Gingerbread aprons.




My great nieces Renata and Gwenny were sweet enough (with a candy bribe) to pose in my Little Gingerbread Apron. It is size 2-4T and is waiting to be snatched up over at my Etsy store.
I also made a grown up version size M-XL. It should fit a size 10-18 US.

My cat Ginger had to help check the whole photo process out. Sad thing was it was below freezing outside when I shot the pictures. My fingers went numb with the cold.

Here is some of the pink frosting detail.

The brown apron is trimmed with light pink ribbon frosting with white rick-rack trim at the top and bottom. The ties are pink ribbon.

One Yard Half Apron Tutorial

OK so I don't know what to call this apron but I do love it.

It meets my criteria for a good apron - fast, fun and easy to make and only takes one yard of fabric.

This apron makes a quick gift for birthdays, Christmas, Swaps, or just because you love your friends. It works up in about an hour or less.



Materials



1 yard cotton fabric (the fabric I used is Morning Call by Hoodie's Collection)



4 yard ric-rack trim in a coordinating color





Cutting instructions



Apron:

Lower section - 13" by width of fabric

Upper section - 8 1/2" by 27"

Waistband - 4" by 19"

Ties - 2 1/2" by width of fabric



Pocket:

2 pieces 6 by 6 1/2"



Sewing instructions:



1. Take the lower apron piece and gather the upper edge of it.



2. Pin the top of the lower section to the bottom of the upper apron section. Stitch in place.

You can top stitch this seam for a more professional look if you like.

Be sure to press the seam toward the top to catch it in the top stitching. (by the way I finish all my seams with the serger or with a zig-zag stitch, nothing ruins a fun apron faster than ravelled seams on the back. It is just plain tacky!)

3. Make a narrow hem on the sides and bottom of the joined apron pieces.



4. Gather the top edge of the upper apron section.



5. Pin the apron skirt to the waistband and adjust the gathers. Be sure to leave 1/4" of waistband sticking out and each side of the apron. Stitch in place.



6. Fold the top edge of the waist band down 1/4" to the wrong side and press.



7. Sew up your apron ties. You can do this by folding them in half lengthwise and sewing down one long side and across the end and turning. OR... you can hem both long sides and one end of each tie by turn under a scant 1/4" and turning under again and top stitching. (sorry I forgot to take a picture)



8. Place the apron ties on the waist band right side down pointing toward the apron center and pin or baste in place.



9. Fold the apron waist band down toward the apron front with right sides together and stitch the short ends together. Turn the the right side out and press in place.



10. Top stitch along the base of the waist band catching the front and the back of the waist band making sure the apron skirt seam is inside the band. This will finish off your edges nicely.



11. Sew around the pocket piece leaving an opening at the bottom to turn.



12. Clip the corners and turn and press the pocket. Place 3 rows of the ric-rack trim on the pocket and stitch in place about 1/2" apart. Be sure to leave about 3/4" tails on the trim. Fold these under when attaching the pocket to the apron to make sure they are secure.



13. Position the pocket on the right or left side of your apron upper layer where it is comfortable for you. Top stitch around the sides and bottom of the pocket being sure to back stitch a few times at the top of the pocket to secure.

14. Sew ric-rack trim on the bottom of the apron in three rows about 1" apart. Be sure to leave tails and fold them under to the back side of the apron to secure in place. I am using just a straight stitch to secure the ric-rack.



You are now done and have a fast, fun, and flirty new apron.



This apron fits most. For a smaller or skinnier apron cut the waist band at 16". For a larger apron cut the waist band at about 22 inches and increase the upper portion to 30". The lower section can stay the same and will just have more or less gathers depending on if you are sizing up or down.

The Little Women's Club

Doesn't that look inviting???
I am a new Primary President in my ward (church unit) here in SW Missouri. One of my bestest friends in the whole world has been called to be our Girl's Activity Day leader. Miss Jill has so many fabulous plans for these girls. I have to admit that I have a vested interest in her plans as two of my own daughters are in this fabulous group of girls age 8 to 11.

Twice a month these little girls meet with Miss Jill and as many helpers and she can pull in, to learn about Jesus Christ and how to be the wonderful women we know they will become.
The other half of our program is the cub scouts. Those little boys get to meet every week with their lovely blue uniforms, they get to have pack meeting once a month that is just about them, and they get to go to scout camp every summer. As the mother of two boys I think this program is fantastic, however, the little girls tend to get lost in the shuffle and wonder about their value.

Our last leader did a fantastic job with these girls. Now miss Jill is on board and we are so excited about her plan. She wants to instill in these little ones their value in the grand plan we have here on Earth. So we decided to give these little girls a uniform. We (Jill and I and several ladies in the Relief Society group and church) made up some of my double sided, Sassy Little Aprons for them. The are simply darling!

Why aprons? Well because the girls love them, aprons are the coolest things ever, and because of what aprons represent. Aprons are the uniforms that we as women choose to put on as we pledge to serve and protect our families. Most of these girls are going to grow up to be moms. That is a noble thing. Good mothers is something we need to be creating more of in this world of ours; Women of faith, intelligence, and purpose. I hope these girls grow up to be many wonderful things someday and expect my own three girls to get good educations. I also hope that they are good homemakers to boot.

So this year Miss Jill is planning all kinds of wonderful activities that will help teach these girls so many things about themselves and life.
The aprons are just one fun things that we have planned. As more of these activities happen, I will post some of her great ideas.
The aprons came with this lovely invitation.



At the meeting Jill introduced herself to the girls. They learned to make Pizza from scratch and a treat (rice crispies). She said that she wants them to learn how to make several dishes that they can fix all my themselves at home. They get to copy these lovelies down in their own little cookbooks. I am so excited for my Little Women, I can hardly stand it. :o) They are also so excited and have talked about nothing else all week.

Oh, I almost forgot, Jill told me yesterday and she is going to call the girls her "Little Women" after the book and they will call themselves "The Little Women's Club."
Coming up later this month is a trip to the apple orchard, apple dumplings, sewing drawstring bags and more fun! I can't wait.

Apron Angels

Many of you are aware of my Apron Swaps I do. At the end of them I have been asked by some very wonderful participants if Apron Angels were needed to send off aprons to swappers that didn't get an apron for whatever reason.
The term Apron Angels has stuck in my head and after recent events in my community I would like to make a call out to My Apron Angels.
Just over a week ago on May 10th an F5 tornado and a few little ones as well, ripped through my community here in South West Missouri. Many lives were affected. We were fortunate to be unharmed. The tornado that wiped out the little town of Newtonia, missed us by only a mile.
The Monday after the storms I brought some bread and a pink apron to one of my friends hit by the storm. I was touched by how much the apron seemed to mean to her. The event got me thinking and I mentioned it to a couple of my Apronista friends and a plan was hatched.
I decided to make the call out to all my aproning friends around the country (if not globe) to send aprons to the women affected by this tornado. A couple of friends of mine in the community have offered to help distribute the aprons to the people affected.
Some of these women lost everything they had, other have had their live altered drastically and are trying to deal with the chaos that follows this kind of destruction both physically and emotionally.
We would like to send a message of love and encouragement with these aprons.
Aprons my be a simple bit of cloth and ruffle but they carry so much power with them. They are the uniform we choose to wear to serve and protect our loved ones. They are a message from our post and a hope for our future. They have the power to lift our spirits to remind us of happy times.
If you would like to be an Apron Angel and send a message of love and hope to these women, please contact me at byrdhouse1(at)windstream(dot)net. We will collect aprons here for several weeks and get them sent out to people as they come in. It would be nice if you could include a small note for your recipient.
Our goal right now is to collect about 100 aprons. I know there were more than this many affected but it is a start. We can use aprons from size 4-6 to 3-4XL.

Swapping Goodness!

I got really lucky this week with some pretty sweet swapping goodness.
First off, I got my quilt from the Four Season's Quilt Swap.
I was so surprised. I had been so worried about sending mine off that I forgot that I was getting one too.
Bryan is my mailman too and brought me a package from the post office and asked what in the heck I had ordered for Australia and did I know what the postage was on things from AU. I about died because I am usually very careful about where I order things from ebay and etsy but occasionally I will get carried away with the item I want and forget to check the shipping. (you know apron bidders can go a bit nuts sometimes.)
I opened the package and found this lovely quilt and about peed my pants!!
It is from Helen of Patch Work of Mini Grey.
It is so fantastic!

It has multiple layers and fabrics. The workmanship is simply wonderful. It is all Wonky and I LOVE that! The colors are so bright they just dance off the quilt. The flower and stem parts are made from string pieced bits. I love it!

Yes I am spoiled!

THEN......

I got my Summer Sassy Apron Swap Apron early. The aprons aren't due till June 1st. My partner gets a gold star! My partner was Paige from Paige's Page
The theme was summer and she took that plus my list of favorite things and came up with this.



Chickens, yellow, red, black polka dots, what's not to love!

Here is the back detail.

Also too stinking cute.
Then to top it off she finished the rest of requirements with style.

A chicken dishtowel and a sassy summer drink recipe (no alcohol thank you). To top it all off she made me a pair of chicken book ends. They are so darling. I will have to put them in my kitchen when I finish it. It will be so fun! I might just have to do a chicken kitchen.

Thank you Paige and Helen!!

The Winner Is

Ok so I waited till morning. I was just too tired. :o)
I numbered everyone and put the numbers in a number generator and it picked number 32 and that is .....


mattie said...
Happy Birthday! Such a cute apron...

So I will contact Mattie and get the shipping details from her.

For the rest of you, I am sorry I couldn't give an apron to each and every one of you. Your sweet comments made for an extra special birthday treat each time I sat down to the computer.

THANK YOU!

I do have two extra aprons left though. ( I couldn't help myself). They were so fun to make and I had such fun fabric in my stash. I had a lovely pair of black jeans (my favorite pair in fact) that were screaming to be made. So I did two more in black and pink. I am putting them in my Sexy Apron Day Etsy shop. If you want one made by the master (hee hee) you can snatch them up today.

Birthday Giveaway!

OK, I promised that I would post this. It is my birthday today. I am now 3 times as old as my oldest child. To celebrate I am giving away one of my new Jeans aprons. I stayed up late last night making one but didn't get a picture taken yet. I will get that as soon as I can today. It is FREEZING outside so it may be a little bit before the pictures get loaded.
So, until I get that done I wanted to make sure you had the opportunity to post and get in on the drawing. What you have to do is leave a comment on this post and I will pick one of you at midnight tonight and post the winner. If your profile is one that won't let me e-mail you directly then you are going to have to come back here tomorrow morning and find out who won. If I can't contact that winner with-in a day, I will pick another one. :o)

Finally got a minute!

I used my one and only Amy Butler piece of fabric. I love the little bit of blue in it.

Here is the pocket detail.

Jeans Half Apron Tutorial

I couldn't help myself. I had to make another apron tutorial. I vowed I wouldn't do anymore after last year but I miss them! I love creating aprons. I can't take all the credit for this. I got the idea from my niece Angelic's Spring Sassy Apron. It was just so sweet and simple. I had to make one and I thought you might like making one too.

Supplies:
an old pair of jeans (actually just one leg)
Scraps of fabric
1 1/2 to 2" Ribbon (optional)

The instructions - (I won't be giving exact measurements because I didn't really make them and you can tailor this to fit what you have on hand.)


1. Cut the leg off an old pair of jeans and cut the inside leg seam open. Lay the leg out flat.

2. Fold the fabric in half and trim off the leg hem. I measured down 18 inches and made a straight cut. This is easily done with rotary cutting tools.


3. You will notice that one side of the pant leg is wider than the other. Trim them up so they are even.

This is what it should look like now.


4. Fold the sides under and top stitch to finish the edge.

5. Cut a piece of fabric the width of the top of your apron plus about 2 inches or so. I cut mine about 6 inches wide. This will be your waist band.


6. Take your waist band piece and fold it in half lengthwise and press. Then fold each of the long sides in about 1/2" to 3/4" and press. Sandwich the apron top inside of this band now. Take the ends and fold them over the apron top and then fold the band piece down. I know that sounds confusing but I hope the picture shows this.


7. Cut two pieces of wide ribbon for the ties (about 32" long each) and sandwich them into the layers of your waist band. Top stitch all the way around the band to secure everything.


8. For the quick pleat ruffle, fold the apron bottom in half. Fold it in half again. Fold it in half one more time. :o) Yes three times. Now press it really hard with your iron.
I cut out a ruffle piece that was about 5 inches wide by the width of my fabric. (that was the size scrap I had so I used it.) Hem one long side of it and the two short ends by folding under and stitching. Fold this ruffle in half three times like you did the apron bottom. Press it very well with a hot iron.


9. When you unfold the apron bottom, quickly pin where the creases are or they will disappear quickly.


10. Unfold the ruffle piece and pin it to the bottom of the apron matching up the crease lines.


11. Eyeball the pleats now which ever direction you want them to lay. Have fun. I made box pleats.

12. I almost forgot the pocket. I cut out two 7" squares from my fabric scraps. I sewed around the edges leaving a hole to turn the pocket. I top stitched across the top of the apron and the pinned it in place where I wanted it and stitched it in place. I like my pocket on the right side because I am right handed. I think the pocket looks better on the left for some reason but works better on the right for right handed people.


13. To finish off your ties, cut the ribbon at a 45 deg. angle. You must seal the edge or it will ravel really bad. You can do this by running it quickly over a flame from a lighter or a match. I just couldn't take a picture and demo it. :o)

Now you are done!



Ruffle detail.

Ok Now that you made it all the way to the end, I have a treat for you. I just love this apron. I would like to share one with one of my many bloggies. So in honor of my Birthday on Tuesday, I am going to make another one of the puppies and offer it to one of my bloggies. What I will do is post a picture of it on Tuesday morning and I will watch all the posts that day. At midnight, I will put all your names in a pot and pick a lucky winner that I will ship my apron off to to celebrate my birthday. I can't wait to see which of my blog land friends gets to have the sassy jeans apron.


****Edited May 26, 2009 *****

Dear bloggers,

I have had some questions asked about how to make this apron just a little wider. This might be necessary if the jeans you are using are not really big. I use rather large men's jeans because that is what I have access to.
To widen the apron simply cut off the other pant leg of the jeans. Cut it as long as the desired apron. Cut the let seams open and trim up the pieces so you have two equal sized pieces. Simple add each of the pieces to the sides of the apron and sew them on. Then follow the tutorial as normal. You will now have a much wider apron with a very similar look to the ones in the pictures.
Hope that helps!