Soft Pleated Apron Tutorial

Happy Valentine's Day Sweet Readers.

My gift to you.
My first tutorial.
This pleated style body is based on a vintage apron I found when out treasure hunting. The waistband and ties are pieced using the technique from
Jona Giammalva's Apron in an Hour.

Fabric Required
Body 1/2 yard
Waistband Ties & Trim 1/2 yard
Thread to match fabric

Supplies
Basic sewing supplies
"Quick Turn" fabric tube turners by Dritz
Iron

Cutting Your Fabric:
First, remove all selvage edges from fabric.
For apron body cut 1 piece of fabric 39" wide by 18" long
For waistband, ties & trim cut 4 strips 4 1/2" by width of fabric

Adding the bottom trim piece.
Take one of the 4 1/2" strips and iron in half.
Place this strip on the bottom raw edge of apron
right sides together.

Stitch, using a 1/4" seam. I like to zigzag the seam allowance.
You could also use pinking shears.

Trim strip even to match apron edges.
Iron seam upward.
Top stitch on front of apron.

Side Hems

Turn and press under 1/4" on each side edge.
Fold and press again.
Stitch.

I like to top stitch a second line of stitching.

Adding the pleats.

On the wrong side of the body apron piece
measure in 5" from the side edge.
From this mark measure every 2 inches.
Number your marks 1-2-3-4-5-6

Working on the wrong side of the fabric
bring line 1 to line 2 and pin.
Bring line 3 to 4 and pin.
Bring line 5 to 6 and pin.
Repeat for second side of apron.
Baste the pleats in place, keeping the top edge straight.

The folds of the fabric will be facing
toward the middle of the apron.

On the right side of your apron, the pleats
should be laying towards the outside edge
going away from the middle.

Adding Waistband and Ties

Take one 4 1/2" strip and lay on the top edge of apron.

Cut strip to fit adding 1/2" for seams.

Take one 4 1/2" x 44 strip and sew to one end of waistband.
Take 2nd 4 1/2" strip x 44 strip and sew to the other end of waistband.
Press seams open.
Smaller strip piece should now be in the middle.

Fold the waist tie strips right sides together matching raw edges.
Pin and stitch leaving the center above the main apron piece open.
Turn ties right side out.
Press, making sure the seam edge is flat.

Fold under 1/4' and press unfinished edge of your waistband strip
directly above the main apron body.

Fold the unsewn part of the waistband over so that
the folded edge covers the stitch line.
Pin in place.
Stitch close to edge.

Top stitch waist band and ties.

YOUR FINISHED!!!
Now try it on and take a picture.
I'd love to see what you've done!

If you have any questions please email me.
The link is at the top of the page.

Now let's hear the hummmmm of those
sewing machines.

*P.S. Don't forget to leave a comment on the Vintage Inspiration post
to be entered into the drawing for the pink apron.

A Vintage Inspiration & A Winner

Oh Look.......

At this cute old apron I found
while treasure hunting on Saturday.

Notice the soft pleats?

Sew flattering to wear.
And the print!
Red & White with Chickens

The fabric measures 36" across, selvage to selvage.
How long as it been since they made cotton 36" wide?
The selvages were left on and used for the sides of the apron.
They were not turned under.

Notice the ties?
A white piece of fabric was added.
To replace the original fabric?
How did the button holes work?
And the white pocket
on the inside of the apron.
Maybe for her egg money?

I thought this simple apron would be easy to duplicate.
So here is my version.
It uses the same trim and waistband technique as the
Apron in an Hour by Jona Giammalva.

Tied with a bow in front
or a knot.
I prefer the knot, so I can slip my
flour sack dish towel over the waistband.

I wrote my first tutorial ever for the apron and will post it this weekend.
There are a million pictures to help make the instructions clear.
I just need a few more days to "fine tune" things.

The apron give away for next week is this pink beauty.
Don't forget to leave a comment to enter your name.

And now the drum roll please.......

YEAH Tonja!

The Cupcake apron is yours!

Stop back this weekend for the instructions to make your own apron!

Stay Warm and keep those sewing machines humming.

Cupcake Love Apron

Let's start with the tasty stuff first.
Doesn't this look just delicious?
It is from The Farm Chicks in the Kitchen.

My friend Kathie came over to sew and I made this for lunch.
Kathie's made it several times and knew the perfect topping.
Nope, not maple syrup or powdered sugar but
vanilla ice cream!
Oh my goodness, with a cup of coffee it was heaven.
Mine did not turn out as beautiful as the photo above,
which was taken from the book.

It's CUPCAKES with Choc trim
for the Apron Give Away this week.
Just leave a comment and I'll draw a (your) name
next Wednesday.
If you haven't a blog, don't forget to leave your email addy
so I can contact you.

I finally finished all the embroidery work for the
"Walking In A Winter Wonderland" quilt.
I'm not sure how I want to piece it together.

We went to Tomah over the weekend to see our grandson play
in a basketball tournament.
It's hard to believe my oldest son is "pushing 40".
How can that be when I'm only 39??

And look how cute my granddaughters are! Here are my 2 youngest grandsons.
Quiet.
Trust me, that didn't last for long.

I have a few tests at the hospital in the morning.
Just routine. But I still hate to go.
If I never see another Dr again
I wouldn't miss it.

I'm quilting a little each day.
And sewing with a friend one day a week.
Wonder how long it will take me to find my "old self" again?

Stay warm.
It's suppose to get down to 20 below this weekend.
Yep, below.

And The Winner Is.......

Vivian Lee email me your address and I'll send it off!

I'm going to post the next FREE apron on Wednesday.
Stop back and stay warm!

Sewing on a Cold Winter's Day

Look at this weather!
It's raining. We're expecting an ice storm tonight.
Egads!
Makes a girl just want to stay inside and sew-sew-sew.

Which is exactly what I'm doing.
My neighbor, Kelli, came over and we "played' all day.

I used my Singer Feather Weight.
Talk about love a machine.
I forgot how much I enjoy sewing on it.
Did you know the Feather Weight only sews a straight stitch?
Nothing fancy here, but a real workhorse.

The purple, blue, yellow and green 2 1/2" strips are from an exchange
with my Las Vegas Quilting Queens group.
Let's see, that was 4 years ago.
Thank goodness fabric has no expiration date!

The pattern is in the February issue of American Patchwork & Quilting.
It is called "sew scrappy" by Darlene Zimmerman.
In the magazine it is done in 1930 reproduction prints.
While I do have a zillion 1930 fat quarters,
I happened upon the Vegas bag of cut strips and thought
"BINGO".
It will definitely have a different look.
So "Springy" on this cold day.

Of course, I had to bake a treat for our coffee break.
I only had the basics on hand.
No running to the grocery store in this weather.

Looks pretty good huh?
The recipe is from my Goose Berry Patch cookbook.
Next time, I think I will use brown sugar in place of white.
The sour cream makes it very moist and
the house smells so good!

I hope you have a cup of coffee or tea.
And a little chocolate maybe.
Because there's MORE.

Don't you just love the apron print?
And the aqua polka dots?
It could be yours!
Just leave a comment.

On Monday morning I will draw a name
and get it in the mail to you.
In fact,
I am going to give an apron away
every week.

Ohhhh, I just can't leave you without a couple pictures of my grandbabies.
It was their Daddy's birthday on Monday and
they are enjoying the cake Grandma baked.

Stay warm.
More on Monday.

A Little of This & That

Let me introduce you to a fellow "Sew Whats" sister.
Her name is Pam and she is truly a Fiber Artist.
Pam thinks "outside of the box" as they say.
Each meeting she brings her latest pin cushion creation.
My personal favorite was the chicken
(which, when raffled off, I didn't win).

Pam hunts everywhere for treasures to use in her art.
This vase, found at the local GW store, turned into a lovely
bowl of felted fruit.

The Multi-Miracle "TOOL" is a handmade (one of a kind)
usable Work of Art by Pam.
The pointed end aids in guiding fabric
thru the sewing machine like a stiletto!
It also works as a corner turning tool and aids in turning curves.
The flat end is a wood iron.
Great for putting seams in there place!
Thank you Pam for the perfect gift!!!
I'll think of you each time I use it.

And this is another favorite-can't live-without tool.
Perfect for turning fabric tubes.
Example, apron ties.
In the old days, I used a large safety pin just like my grandma taught me.
And it took forever.
Using this Dritz "Quick Turn" makes it so fast and easy.

Below is a new recipe I tried.
I happen to catch an episode of Sanda Lee's Semi Homemade.
I thought her basic concept was good
but I tweaked the recipe to my liking.
Mike & I both thought it was delicious!
Perfect for a freezing, snow falling night.
The aroma from the crock pot all day was heavenly!

Stay warm and happy sewing!