Sharon Sews

Just this morning I finished sewing my apron for the Holiday Hostess apron swap . Not being able to find fabric I envisioned combined with a serious lack of sewing time, resulted in a finished apron that looked quite differently than my original sketches. However, I'm still pleased with it and I certainly hope my secret swap partner will be too. The pattern: Originally I was going to do my own design. But as time began to rapidly slip away from me I choose to use a commercial pattern. It's Butterick 5302 , a fairly new release, that includes four different apron designs. Fabric Used: The front of the apron and the apron tie: quilting cottons from Treadle Yard Goods. Gotta keep those independent fabric stores in business you know. The white contrast band and waistband: stretch panne velvet. (Note: be sure to interface a knit fabric when sewing to a woven to prevent the slight sagging you see happening on my band.) The underskirt: a sparkly, sheer, polyester fabric embellishe...

I found the instructions to this "Charming Hostess Apron" on the inside of a vintage package of Wright's Seam Binding. I guess it pays to actually open those packages up and use the trims! I' participating once again in an apron swap - this time it's the Holiday Hostess Flirty Apron Swap - and posted this on that blog also. This posting is for those of you who might not be aware of that blog. Let me know if any of you get around to sewing this one! If you click on the photo you'll be taken to my Flickr account where you can download a larger image. Happy Sewing!

My apron for my flirty apron swap partner is done! (No thanks to my expensive painintheneckwillnotmakeagoodbuttonhole sewing machine.) Sometime you feel like a flirt... ...sometimes you don't. But wait! There's more! Flirty cooks can get a bit distracted while cooking in the kitchen so sometimes they need an apron bib... ...and non-flirty cooks are sensible enough to know a bib helps protect that gorgeous top they're wearing. Apron design inspiration This was a fun project to do especially because I wasn't able to get a real good feel for my swap partner's likes and dislikes. I used advice my mother would give me when I was younger and would agonized over choosing just the right gift. She'd tell me to choose something I would like to receive. Which is exactly what I did. I ended up not sewing any of the four options I had originally thought I would use. My design inspiration was another vintage apron pattern from the 1940s as well as a photograph of a 1970s S...

I did it. I joined the Flirty Apron Swap . Why? I dunno - it's not like I don't have a gazillion sewing projects underway at the moment. Guess I thought it would be fun to sew an apron for someone I don't know. So now the question is .... what to sew? A current pattern? Emmeline seems to be apron of the moment - and for good reason. Make up my own? I have a few apron sketches (complete with fabric) that I haven't sewn yet but maybe I shouldn't make my swap partner an unsuspecting guinea pig. A retro pattern? I do love this old Betsey Johnson apron pattern - and judging by the way it gets snapped up on eBay I'm guessing others do too. A vintage pattern? I've wanted to try out this 1946 pattern with the interesting ruffle detail. A simple half-apron with unique embellishments? I just checked out 49 Sensational Skirts from my local library (I first heard about the book when Stacy reviewed it). Talk about fiber art inspiration! Some of the embellishments wou...