Apron Strings

I love aprons. I love the feeling of nostalgia that comes over me when I put one on. I love how an apron is both functional and pretty at the same time. I feel like I’m carrying on a family tradition when I tie the sash. My Mom wears aprons. My Grandmothers both did. I’m sure their Moms did before them. I think that it serves as a nice connection to those ladies both past and present.

I have several aprons to choose from. Many of them I have had for years. Others are newer. My favorites are the bib type and I like pockets. Last Christmas I made a little apron for Will. As I was finishing it up, I decided I’d like to make one for myself too…. Because, after all one can never have too many aprons, right?

As I often do, when starting a new project, I decided to use only fabric and supplies that I had on hand. I wanted something bold and fun. I dug through my fabric chest and came up with two prints that I liked, and which were similar in color scheme. The red was one that I’d bought for a project that never panned out. The yellow was the fabric I used to re-upholster my kitchen chairs a few years ago. I had plenty of both, so I got to work. I didn’t have a pattern handy, so I just made my own by tracing around one of the aprons I have that I’ve always liked wearing.

I started out just applying the pockets by hand, fully intending to finish it off with my machine. After a bit I decided to just do the whole thing by hand as my machine has some tension issues at the moment, and I have not yet taken the time to make necessary adjustments. Also, I really love doing hand work. I find it to be relaxing and fun. The drawback of course, is that it took much longer than if I’d whipped it up with the machine. This wasn’t a huge issue though, as a new apron clearly wasn’t a dire need.

So, I took my time and made design decisions as I went along. I wanted a cell phone pocket on the bib (yes I know, THAT isn’t something my Grandmother would have wanted – but times, they are a’changing). A plain pocket seemed boring to me, so I brought out my jar of buttons and found a bunch of red ones, situating them to form a big “C”. My husband asked, “Do aprons usually have unnecessary buttons on them?” I replied that since this one was to be a fun apron for yours truly, it didn't matter what other aprons usually have. I quite enjoyed the idea of having a decorative button monogram front and center.













I didn not take any pictures during the process of putting this all together, but here are some of the finished product. It is bold, but I like it. Wearing it makes me enjoy my kitchen tasks even more than usual, and I’m very pleased with the end result.

full view:












There is just something about an apron. Something old fashioned and comforting. Wearing my apron sooths me. It brings to mind the feeling of being hugged by my Mom in her kitchen...surrounded by the fragrance of baking biscuits and frying bacon. It is a reminder of home, of family, of long standing traditions... It may also be terribly silly, but when something as simple as an apron can conjure up such wonderful images, is it any surprise that I love wearing it so much?







and here Will and I are modeling our new aprons. Oh what fun we're going to have in the kitchen! There are so many memories ahead, just waiting to be made.