Category: Sewing

I love aprons. I wear them while cooking, painting and gardening. I own two vintage aprons and 2 ordinary aprons. Approximately two weeks ago, I decided that I needed yet another apron. In my desire to support the indie artist whenever feasible, I chose this pattern.

So, here I was about to embark on a fifth apron for myself, when it occurred to me that my niece’s 5th birthday was fast approaching. Last I knew, my niece, Miss C., did not have an apron. All little girls should own aprons. One is necessary to properly host a tea party and to partake in bake-a-thons with grandmothers. Plus, Miss C. will be entering kindergarten in September and an apron might save a handle full of shirts from all the messy arts and crafts projects. It’s impossible to save all of them.

With only a week to spare, I biked down to my nearby fabric store and picked out the most bright and vivacious fabric I could find. Three rows away, I found an equally bright pink fabric to use as binding.

I am very pleased with how the apron came out.

The specs for those who are interested:
Simplicity #4692
Size 5-7
100% cotton used
Binding was handmade
Minor alterations: V-neck made higher and area from neck to waist widened

The back side:

I’ll let Miss C. show off the front side.

Miss C. looks darling in just about everything so I can’t take much credit for the apron looking good on her.

Dan and I attended her birthday party on Saturday. Though I have no pictures to show you of the party (our family photographer has not uploaded them yet), I wanted to share with you a story about the day. Miss C.’s parents, my BIL and his wife, have gently reminded Miss C. that she needs to open the accompanying card to each present before she can move onto the next present. They have been reminding her since she was young enough to understand. On her birthday, when given a present, Miss C. would first go in search of the card. Then, she would open the card and hand it to her father to read. She would sit quietly and listen while he read the card to her. At the end of his reading, he would mention who had signed it. Miss C. would look up at the person who sent it and smile at him/her. THEN, she would open up the present. Or sometimes, she would forget to open up the present, and instead go in search of the next card. It was such a delightful and endearing sight to see.

Photo of Miss C. taken by Matt H. Thank you!

They are for people like you and me too!

I apologize for the lack of makeup and the overwhelming tired look on my face. I finished sewing these pants at 9:40 pm last night. Had I been in my right mind, I would have waited till the light of day before taking pictures. But after sipping on port for the last hour, dragging Dan away from his video game to take pictures of me in my Snoopy socks seemed like a perfectly reasonable request.

Now, for the stats.

Started Saturday, March 29th
Finished Sunday, March 30th
Simplicity pattern #3542
Alterations made:

• Measured a scant 1/4 inch up from the lower edge of the pants. Redrew line to mark the bottom of the pants. Then, marked 3.5 inches above this line. The area in between was used to make the cuffs. Cut away the cuff section before pinning and cutting the pant section. The bottom edge of the cuff patterns was placed against a fold in the fabric.
• Shortened pant legs by 2.5 inches, since I am only 5 feet tall.
• Lengthened the waist encasement to accommodate a 1-inch wide elastic band. (I find them to be more comfortable than a thinner elastic band).
• Used flat-fell seams throughout.

A close-up of the cuffs & the Snoopy socks.

Note that the cuffs were cut from the same fabric. The bottom of the fabric had this detail.

I love to make my own clothes for 2 good reasons. First, the clothes are better quality than what you can buy at Walmart or at a department store. I can’t tell you how many times I have had to repair ready-made clothes after the first washing. Second, the clothes actually fit me. I have the hardest time finding pants that fit me. Like most women, I do not have an hourglass figure. I am shaped like a pear. Specifically, in sewing terms, I start out as a size 12 up top, blossom to a size 14 at the waist, and continue on to a size 16 at the hips/thighs. I don’t start to thin back down until I get to my knees. Most pants I find start to thin back down once they get past the hips, leaving me look like a person who hasn’t admitted to herself that she recently gained weight and ought to retire the pants she’s wearing.

As mentioned in a previous post, I decided to make the pillowcase reversible. This isn’t the first pillowcase request I’ve received. Every year it’s a different character. This year, I decided I would be tricksy. To make sure this pillowcase can be used until the children are grown and out of the house (and to hopefully reduce the number of pillowcases requested), I lined it with plain red fabric. When they no longer like the Transformers, it can be turned inside out.

The Roman Shades are complete and hanging in my dining room.

I was originally making these shades for my bedroom windows. During the removal of the old curtains, I realized that one window was much larger than the other. The shades weren’t going to fit. Well one would and the other would look decidedly too small. Thankfully, I had only sewn the lining and the insulating flannel fabric together. (Yes, I triple layered the curtains to keep the glare down and the elements outside). I hadn’t even cut the curtain fabric.

So, then I went in search of another room that was in need of new curtains. There couldn’t have been an easier task. The only set of curtains in the entire house that I don’t hate is in the kitchen. Let us just say that the woman who lived here before me had a love of flower prints (I hate flower prints), dark colors (not a big fan of dark colors either) and ultra-traditional style. I love traditional decor, but she took it to the extreme. I suppose I should produce before and after pictures.

I found one. It’s not a picture of the dining room curtains, but the living room curtains were done in the exact same fabric and style. Ignore the quilt in the middle.

And now for the after picture:

The gold curtains match the fabric in the dining room set that we inherited from Dan’s great grandfather. The white matches all the trim and built-in corner hutches. It does seem a bit devoid of color, but I’ll make up for it in the accessories.

Can you tell that the fabrics match? Not color-wise, but they match in texture. I’m not sure if you can see that in the pictures. They both have woven lines running the length of them. I couldn’t believe my luck in finding the white fabric, since I purchased them after the gold ones were installed. First, I was giddy about the texture, and then I almost jumped at the $1/yard price.

Note: I did not make the gold curtains. I purchased them ready-made. Well, I purchased the two short ties and one long curtain. I then cut the long curtain in half to make two skinny curtains. You can’t see, but underneath the windows is a radiator. It was important to keep the curtains off to the sides and not block the heat. My dear friend Arecia, who hates to sew, recommended that I cut the curtains in half and hem them. She’s almost as bad as my sister, who also hates to sew. My sister will call me if anything needs to be sewn for the kids or her house. Which is to say, neither would think of sewing anything themselves, but love to call me and tell me what I ought to be sewing for them. Do you have friends or relatives like that?