Grand Apron #2

I really wanted to whip up another nursing apron before baby day and I managed to eek out enough time yesterday. I used the same recipe as the last time, so the sewing and cutting only took a couple of hours to do. Easy as pie. I used some fabric that I got ages ago at Repro Depot. I bought it with no real purpose and a single yard was just the right amount for this apron. Hooray.


Above is a picture of it on. I didn't really have the patience to stage a decent self-shoot, so this is the best you get.

And, it looks like I finished just in the nick of time, as I seem to have gone into pre-labour. I think it's still going to be a couple of days, but it looks like I'm going to have another February baby. Three weeks early? Why can't these kids give me a little extra time? Always in such a rush!

Grande Apron #1

After making those wee aprons for Ruby (one of which she wore to help make dinner last night... sigh), I've turned to super-sized aprons. I didn't use a nursing apron when I was feeding Ruby. In fact, I think they've only gained popularity in the last couple of years (I could be wrong on this), because in my mom's group, only one of us used one as far as I know. I found that my lack of a cover made for a limited wardrobe choice -- while I'm not shy about feeding in public, I always did so in a t-shirt that I could discreetly pull up rather than something that needed to be pulled down from the top, as to not show my goods to the whole world. I believe in being natural, but I also have my pride.

You can buy nursing aprons in all kinds of super hip fabrics, but like their cousins the hipster sling (which I did buy -- I don't trust myself to sew anything that requires safety standards), they're mucho expensive. So, I decided to try my hand making one. I used the Vintage Apron pattern from Amy Karol's Bend-The-Rules Sewing as my starting point and just made a few simple modifications. I made it about five inches longer than the pattern called for and only gathered it up to 19 inches rather than 15 inches at the top. I tucked the edges of the waistband in and sewed them flush to the body of the apron and attached the ties vertically, rather than horizontally. Not rocket science at all.


Here it is on -- I think my belly roughly simulates how much room the baby will take up underneath. I love the fabric, which is another super cheap-o deal I found at a local going-out-of-business sale. I added the pocket to stick any supplies I need in and some rick-rack to keep it sassy. I plan to make at least one more of these before Frank makes his appearance because as any mother already knows, these things tend to get covered in barf and end up in the laundry often.


I also treated myself to a new teapot, since I'll be able to jump back on the multiple cups of tea bandwagon before too long and my old teapot is all gross and flaky inside. Nothing special, I just think it's pretty.

Petit Apron #2

Here it is, the skirt-style apron to compliment Ruby's smock. I like the smock a lot, but Roo is a very particular little lady and I know that she'll want a skirt like mine. I used Amy Karol's Vintage Apron pattern from Bend-The-Rules Sewing, and it really was easy as pie. I reduced the dimensions to 65 per cent (except for the width of the waistband and ties, which I kept the same) and added the bias tape pockets, also from the book. The whole thing took a couple of hours and was really easy.

It's not a perfect work by any means -- I'm still learning and my finishing skills are kind of crap (Tim Gunn would gravely furrow his brow if he looked at the back side and the stitching). The gathering is a little lopsided too, but I'm thinking that Ruby won't really care. The material is from a local fabric store that was having a going out of business sale, so I picked up some of this daisy fabric. It's weird how the difference between an awesome design and a so-so design is such a fine line -- it the daisies were just a slightly different shape and the yellow was a slightly different shade, this would sell on SuperBuzzy at 12 bucks a yard. But it's just a wee bit off, so it was three bucks a yard. I still like the way it looks, but it doesn't have the pizazz that the smock does.

I still have one more little project to do before Ruby's birthday. Here's hoping everything gets done on time.

Petit Apron #1

Although I've been yearning to knit, there are a few sewing projects that I've promised myself I'd take care of before it's, you know, too late. I've wanted to make Ruby her own apron for a while now and ages ago, I bought the Simplicity 4286 pattern with the notion of making the smock style. So, I did it. Here it is. Upon inspection, there are a few little details that need finishing, but this is pretty much it.

I can't quite remember where the fabric came from, but I'm pretty sure it's Reprodepot. In retrospect, I think it would have been easier to have just used the Swing Smock pattern from Bend-The-Rules Sewing, but the end result is pretty close to being the same. This one was super easy, but I did find the amount of bias tape really annoying. Still, it's super cute, so totally worth it.

With all that said, after prodding Ruby a bit, it's clear that she wants an apron more like Mommy's, so I'm going to whip her up a wee skirt apron. I still have another couple weeks until her birthday, so as long as I don't go too heavy on the bias tape, I should be fine.

Book Review: Bend-The-Rules Sewing

Wow. I've been excited about Bend-The-Rules-Sewing ever since author Amy Karol announced it on her much-loved blog Angry Chicken months and months ago. Billed as "the essential guide to a whole new way to sew" (which I'm guessing are the publisher's words, not necessarily Amy's own), the book is like a how-to to following the Angry Chicken aesthetic and sewing sensibility, which as Amy's readers know is all about cute and easy projects that are fun, functional, sometimes silly and often kid-friendly.

As many of you know, I love the idea of sewing projects, but I'm scared to actually take very many of them on. I mean, it took me almost a year to take my sewing machine out of the manufacturer's box. So many sewing books assume that you know how to make a buttonhole or how to apply a snap or what slip stitch is, which makes even easy projects intimidating. Amy is great in that she doesn't assume that you're a total idiot if you don't understand these things, but she still explains them all simply enough that even if you are a sewing know-not, it's easy to understand. It's all written in the same conversational style that she uses on Angry Chicken, making the book and its author immediately friendly and likable. It's like she's cheering us scaredy-cats on gently, but firmly.


Of course, the meat of the book is in its projects and unsurprisingly there are dozens that I'm dying to try. Bags, tea cozies, pillows, quilts and of course, Amy's signature aprons are all in here. The pictures are gorgeous and Amy's great taste in fabric makes every single project that much more enticing. And most of them seem pretty simple, so again, there's zero intimidation.


I started off with what is without a doubt the easiest project in the book, if not the easiest project to ever employ a sewing machine: the tea towel apron. Basically, you sew some ribbon onto a tea towel and tie it around your waist. Yup. So, above you see myself in an apron celebrating one of my favourite foods, Yorkshire Pudding. I also made one from a thrifted barber shop motif tea towel that I had lying around. Thrifting and sewing together? It couldn't get much better than that.