July Apron Tutorial - Jeans Apron

OK I know it is the last week of the month. I have been battling what to do for the apron again. I really want to keep to my goal of reducing my stash of stuff and not buy more fabric to make aprons with. That is getting challenging, not that I don't have more stuff, but the coming up with a new idea on how to make aprons from it.
My kids said that I HAD to make a 4th of July themed apron so I used Patriotic fabrics from my stash. I also remembered seeing a Jeans apron idea somewhere and wanted to do something fun with what was left of my favorite pair of pants. (they had a major blow out and I can't wear them anymore.)
For the tutorial this month I will post how I made my version but I am also going to send you out into the net to see some other tutorials from some of my favorite bloggers so you can get more ideas and make your apron truly your own style.

Start off by taking an old pair of jeans and cutting off the waistband and the seat.

Smooth up the sides however you like. I took a plate and made a curve at the corners of mine.

Then I cut up the back seam a little way (4-5 inches or so) and overlapped the pieces so the bottom would lay flat.

Then I cut the yolk at the back of the pants under the waistband and inserted a rectangular pocket inside the apron. (there are more instructions at Betz White). You can make this pocket as deep as you want.

I top stitched the pocket down to give it more stability. ( I intend to use this for heavy crafting so I can keep track of all my tools.)
Then I finished off the edges of the jeans with Bias Tape (because I have tons of it in my stash).
You could just fold the edge under and top stitch, you could rag the edge or you could sew rick-rack down to finish it off.

Then I cut the ends of the waistband off and inserted ties into the ends and secured them. (My son Joe asked why I didn't just leave the button on there to use and then thought about it for a minute and said, "well I guess if it was too big then it would just fall of you mom and ties would be more useful wouldn't they?" Smart boy!! He will go far if he always assumes that things will be too big for the women in his life than too small.) Hee Hee Do be sure to allow yourself enough tie room. Mine are a little short so they don't make a bow.

I also added fabric flowers that I made from Patriotic fabric Bryan bought me last fall. They are so fun and fast to make. The tutorial is at Molly Chicken. If you Google "fabric brooch tutorial" or "Fabric Flower Tutorial" you will come up with some really wonderful and fun things to make.
The other place that I liked was at Kleas.

Mama Byrd Creations Dot Com

I am starting up a new Web Store Through Hyena Cart. It is called Mama Byrd Creations. I am pretty excited about it. This store will feature things that I make for Mamas and Children.

I will have

Bum Stuff

Soap

Baby Carriers

Baby Shoes

Aprons

Hand Made Toys

Dress-ups

Clothing

And other Fun Stuff

I have hired a graphics designer to help me do it all.
Here are some of the Shoe that are going into the store.

My friend Coralee makes these and I sell them for her.

Jeddie has a pair of these and we love them. They are really soft yet really protect his feet.
The design is very authentic. They are made from deer hide. My site is still under construction so I might just put a pair in etsy and see how they go.

Tasty Goodness

I tried some net yummyness this week. Bryan is nuts for good bread. My niece Katie posted a recipe for Quick Sour Dough Bread. It was quick, it does taste like sour dough, and it is very good. I added 2 Tablespoons of flax seeds. This changed it enough that I will have to do some tweaking. It was still very good!


I also went to The Black Apple and saw some yummy cupcakes.

The cup cake recipe is here. The butter cream recipe is here. My secret addition (not secret any more is it!?) is the addition of cinnamon. I added 1 tsp of cinnamon to the cupcakes and 1 tsp of cinnamon to the frosting. The cupcakes smelled just like snicker doodles when they came out of the oven. For more cupcake goodness go to 52 Cupcakes.

Potter Anxiety

Is anyone else having a really hard time finding things to do until Saturday at 12:01 a.m.?
My niece sent along this link the other day and my kids have been singing this song ever since.
If you are a fan and need some Potterness (or Snapeness) to get you through till Saturday, then check out the Potter Puppet Pals and the ticking noise.

Gloria

We have had a new arrival here at the Byrd House.
She was rather shy at first. Didn't like the camera in her face.

Then her true monkey side came out and she just got really curious. She had to check everything out and wouldn't sit still for pictures.

We finally got her settled down and ready for a nap before going to her new mommy, Gwendoline.

Happy Pinkness

I realized that I have allowed the difficulties of life interfere with my blogging. This is my corner of happiness and fun. I need to post more.

My little Hannah turned 5 this month. I can't believe how time is flying. She starts kindergarten in a month. I don't know if I can bare to let her go. She is such a bundle of happiness.
My niece Angelic came here this summer and brought her (and her sisters) a tutu. Hannah wore it non-stop for 3 days. Bryan caught her wearing two of them the other day while I was at work. I was so happy he thought to take a picture.


We also held our family reunion on her birthday. It was so great to visit with my brothers and sisters and their children again. I will post some pictures of that funness when I get my hands on some.
My niece Josie was able to come from Nigeria (too fun to see her!). She brought me a wonderful treat from the markets there.

Not only is it a fabulous apron, but it is also blue, batik , and has a tree on it. All of my favorite things! (I don't know if that was Josie's intent but it was a happy coincidence.)

June -- Clothspin Apron

June has been just the busiest of months. All 4 of the big kids are in summer school so I should have tons of time on my hands. However, I have to work more hours at the health dept and I decided to teach 4 after school classes this summer. Soooooo ...., my time is just gone. Also my FIL is getting re-married today and has sent all of my MIL's things here this past week and I am up to my eyeballs trying to sort through it and return my home to some kind of normal before the family reunion next week.
I have had this apron in my head for a long time and really wanted to make it. I saw a picture of one in the Apron Book and just loved the idea. So I thought about dimensions and drew up a pattern. I would show that but Jeddie did some art work on it yesterday and tore it to shreds. I will have to make another one now but didn't want that to delay this posting any longer.
Here are the dimensions of the pattern pieces so you can make your own.

The apron skirt is made of 2 pieces, a front and a back. The whole apron is a pocket.
To make the pattern, the dimensions are for half the apron (as you would place it on the fold).
The apron skirt is 16" tall, 10" wide at the top, and 12" wide at the widest point.
The front, or pocket, is the same size as the back and has the pocket holes cut out of it. To make the pocket holes, measure out 5" from the center and draw a vertical line. Now measure down 7" from the top and draw a line. This is your cut out area. I curved mine using a bowl or plate as a template.
The waist band is 3 1/4" tall in the center and 2 1/4" tall at the ends. I made a curve near the middle of that just for looks. You can do this any way you wish. The waist band should be 10 1/2" long. (I forgot to add the 1/2" and had some troubles fitting it on.)
The apron strings were cut with the rotary cutter. I cut them 3" by the width of the fabric. I cut one end at a 45 deg. angle for looks. (I thought this would be wide enough to gather at the waist band but it just fit. I would make the next one wider 4-5" maybe.)


Fabric Needs- (this is a great way to showcase a novelty fabric!)
½ yd of theme fabric
½ yd of backing fabric
¼ yd contrasting fabric for the ties and waistband (use some scraps you love)
Double fold bias tape


Cutting Instructions
Cut one front pocket piece on the fold
Cut one back piece on the fold
Cut 2 waist band pieces (you can make this sturdier by also cutting an inner lining out of pellon or some such stuff)
Cut 2 ties (3”X the width of your fabric)


Sewing instructions:
1. Sew the bias binding along the curves of your pockets.



2. Sew the bias binding along the outside edge of the apron with front and back pinned together. It really helps to pin the front down all over the place to keep it from shifting.



3. Pin the waist bands to the apron top. One in front and one in back, right sides together. They should overlap ½ ” on each side. Fold this overlap in so the waistband is flush with the top of the apron skirt. (remember I forgot to add the ½” on each side so mine won’t show this.) Sew a quart inch seam. Fold the waist band up and press.



4. Trim the top of the waist band with bias tape. Sew in place.
5. Fold the ends of the waist band to the inside ½”.



6. Fold down the edges of the apron ties ¼” and then again ¼” and press. Top stitch. Be sure to leave the strait short end plain.



7. To attach the apron strings, insert them into the waistband on the ends that are folded in. Gather the strings as needed to fit them in. Pin them in place and top stitch to secure them inside. (remember that I made mine wrong so I had to attach them from the back.)


Now you are done!! This was so fast and easy (for me). I hope my instructions were clear enough.

I haven't made any extras yet. If I do I will put them in my Etsy account.

The Winners

I know I was supposed to post this yesterday but I was just too sick to remember to post.

Here are the winners of the two Quilt Blocks

Block #1

... goes to ..... kaathy

Block #2

... goes to .... bethany

E-mail me and I will get these blocks off to you.

Pork Tacos

I have to share this recipe with you. My sister, Mary, shared this with our family and I had to give it a try. She calls it Cuban Pork Roast. It is so full of flavor and not too salty. I like that.
For my Tacos, I use only plain corn tortillas. They are so much better for you than the wheat flour ones. I opt for the plain tortillas over fried shells too for health reasons.
What I do is take the corn tortillas and heat them in a cast iron pan (that has NO oil in it). This will soften up the tortillas so they don't just break on you.
Then we layer on the goodies we like,
And they are:
Pork Roast
green onions
chopped tomatoes
cheese
avocados
etc.

Here is the Pork Recipe:
2 to 3 pound boneless pork roast
1 Tablespoon minced garlic (I use 3+ Cloves)
2 Tablespoons minced parsley
1 Tablespoon paprika
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon salt
2 Tablespoons lime juice
2 Tablespoons honey
2 Tablespoons olive oil

Directions:
Mix all together except the pork. Rub the mixture over all surfaces of the pork. Cover well, and refrigerate for 6 to 24 hours.
Roast the pork in the oven at 425 degrees for 30 to 40 minutes. (that seems a little short to me)
My sister (and I did too) put it into the crock pot and cooked in for 10 hours on low.
I then took it out of the pot and shredded it with a fork.

Chopped tomatoes:
Chop up Roma tomatoes
Add some chopped fresh Basil
Add a pinch of salt
Let it set for a couple of minutes to bring all the flavors together. This gave a really nice kick to the tomatoes.

Spring Craftiness

My girls and I had a crafting fix this week. I just have to post the fun things we made.
Sarah came to me and begged me to teach her how to make a Not So Sock Monkey. She loved little Ivan and wanted one she could have (sorry Ivan is mine). So I worked out the pattern for her and she did 99% of it by herself. I was very pleased with her work. Sarah is 9 now.
Well Hannah was so excited about what Sarah was doing so she begged me to let her make one too. I did and she did 75% of it all by herself. Keep in mind that Hannah is 4.
Here are their Monkey Sisters.

Here are their little curly tails.

Caroline started a monkey too but got tired of waiting for help and went off to play. She did make this for me this spring so I figured I would share it with you. I just love it. It is so like her.

Well I got bitten by the Crafty bug and had to make this little doll. Her name is Alice.

Oops.

She is just too cute. I had a Raggedy Anne Doll when I was really little that one of my sisters made. I don't know what happened to it. I have always wanted another one. Now I have one.
I bought the pattern from Christine Zorn's Etsy Store HERE. She sells the pattern and finished dolls. I love the dolls with petals. You can also get her dolls at her Ebay store HERE.
Go check them out.

May Apron Tutorial - Quilt Block Apron

I have really been debating what to do this month. There were several options and I decided to go with this in the end. In our quilt guild my niece, Rebecca, has issued a challenge to get rid of your UFO's (unfinished objects). So I decided to make a pattern for an apron that can use up stray quilt blocks. The blocks in these 3 aprons are all from my UFO stash. The first block is a flower done in Cave Man Quilting style that I learned from watching Ricky Tims over a year ago. It has been kicking around my sewing room just waiting for a project. The second apron is a left over block from winning the Block of the month drawing in my Quilt Guild, the Newtonia Battlefield Quilters Guild. The third block is one from a pattern my mom introduced to the guild over a year ago called Scrappy Around the World Block. I love that block and it just needed a project. Also in keeping with the theme of recycling or finishing. The orange skirts are part of a very old project. I hand dyed a sheet a while back and used some of it for a project. I saved the hemmed ends of the sheet and used them for the skirt of the apron because they were already hemmed. This apron pattern came from the first apron my mother gave me a long time ago. It is now falling apart and I wanted to preserve the pattern and keep it in memory.
Well...... on to the Tute.....
Fabric Requirements:

2 Neck ties - 2 2/5" x 22" (or half the width of your fabric from salvage to salvage)
2 Waist ties - 3" x 44" (or the width of your fabric from salvage to salvage)
1 Waist Band - 3 1/4" x 22" (half the width of the fabric)
1 Skirt - 25" x 44" (the width of your fabric)
1 quilt block (about 12" remember that an unfinished quilt block will measure 1/2" wider than the finished block will be)
1 Bib back - cut the exact same size as the quilt block
Always use 1/4" seam allowance
1- Make yourself a quilt block. There are tons of free on-line quilt block patterns to choose from. My favorite place to go is Marcia Hohn's Quilter's Cache. If you like the Tulip I have up in Apron 1 you can get the instructions from Ricky Tims.
OR.... if you are lucky enough to inherit one or get one at a flea market, Use it.
***NOTE*** If you get a block and it is stained, do NOT wash unfinished. Finish the project you are making with it and then wash it.
A good size for a block is about 12". If the block you have chosen isn't 12", you can add boarders to the sides as needed.

2. Cut a backing piece for your bib the exact size of your quilt block.


3. Now make your neck and waist ties. Fold your ties in half lengthwise. Stitch along the long side and one end.

Clip corners, turn right side out and press the ties. I use a long chop stick to turn skinny things like ties and doll arms.


4. Attach the neck ties. Place the neck ties at the top of your quilt block right side up. Place them where you would like them. I like them at the outside corners. Remember to place them at least 1/2" in from each side to leave space fro the seam allowance. You don't want to sew them into the side of your bib.

Now place the bib back piece on top of this with right sides together. Stitch around the sides and top of the bib. Leave the bottom open. Clip the corners and turn it right side out and press.

5. The Skirt. Hem the bottom of the apron skirt and the sides. I do this by folding the bottom edge down 1/4" and pressing it. I then turn it under again about 1-2" and press again. I top stitch the edge to finish the bottom hem.

For the sides I fold them in 1/4" and then fold them in again and stitch it down.

6. Gather the skirt. To draw the skirt in to fit the waist band you can gather it or pleat it. To gather it, run 2 parallel rows of stitching across the top of the apron. then gather it in to fit the waist band OR... you can pleat it. I cheated on this. I took the waistband and the skirt and folded them into 16ths and pressed them really well with the iron. (if you do this make sure that you leave room for the seam allowance on the waist band part. I hope you can see that in the photo.

Now to pleat the skirt. Take the bib and place the back of the bib on the face of the apron. Center it in place a pin it there. Now take the skirt and match up the fold marks with those of the waist band. In them in place where the folds are. Now flatten your pleats in what ever direction makes you happy. (make sure that you put the apron and bib right sides together.

Sew the bib, band, and skirt together.
Now on the top edge of the waist band, fold it under 1/4" and press. Fold the band over, right sides together and press. Now slip the apron ties into the band and pin in place. I know that my wording is confusing but look at the photo. I hope it makes sense.

Stitch each end of the band, clip corners, turn and press. Top stitch the bottom of the band to close it or you can hand whip stitch it together.


7. Place the pocket. Now put the apron on and tie it in place. Put your hand on the apron where you would like the pocket and pin the pocket in place.

Oops we need to make the pocket. Take your 6" square and the accent band and place them right sides together and sew them along the top. Fold the seam open and press.
Now take the top edge of the accent piece and fold it under 1/4" and press. Fold the piece in half and stitch in place.

Now go and pin it where you like it and stitch it in place. Remember to re-enforce the tops of the pocket to keep it from ripping off.

NOW you are done.

This is my mom wearing her new Mother's Day Apron. :o) I have to say it is my favorite.

Now I have 2 extra quilt blocks that need a home.

I would like to give them to 2 of you. So, I will do a drawing of the names of people that add a comment on this post. I your comment I would like you to share something quick about your earliest Apron Memory. (a quick description, who wore it or something like that). I will put the names of all the commenter into a hat and draw out 2 of them next Sunday (May 20th).