See you later, comfort zone

Remember this apron I wanted to make?

You may have seen this picture in my flickr photostream a few days ago. It was the fabric that I’d cut out to use on this apron. But it had two problems:

1. The trim fabric and the cherry fabric just seemed to busy right up next to each other
2. I cut out the pocket portion of the apron upside-down.

I needed to re-think this a bit, because I really wanted this to be my Summer apron. The one I already have in this Elsie’s Kitchen fabric is nice, but it’s full length, and I generally prefer the half ones. I had a lot of fabric pieces from this collection sitting around, but none big enough to allow me to re-cut the pocket in the right direction.

Here’s what I did:

1. I took the back panel (which featured right-side up cherries), cut a few inches off of the top and made that be the pocket.
2. I took two smaller pieces of red polka dot fabric from my stash, sewed them together to make a long strip, and attached that to the former pocket. The resulting piece became my back panel.

The upside-down cherries were no longer a concern because they’d be hidden behind the pocket. And, the red fabric would separate the two busy fabrics from each other.

I’m really pleased with the way this came out. It’s a brand new pattern for me and involved several things I hadn’t done before, including making gathers, using bias tape, and doing all of that funny business I described with the pocket.

If I make this again, I’ll lengthen the ties so that they can tie in the front. I’ll also probably skip the gathering step, since I don’t think it really adds anything essential to the look. I’ll also probably do the photo shoot when the children are otherwise occupied, so I don’t have to hear, “Mom, why are you taking pictures of your butt?” Boys!

This project came from the A is for Aprons book, which I highly recommend. It’s full of fun, up-to-date styles and projects. I did have to step outside of my comfort zone to make this, and as such it took longer than my usual projects. Still, I think it was time well spent. I’ve learned a few things, I really like the results, and now I have a nice half-apron to go with my Summer napkins. I can feel free to commence cookie-baking at any moment. Or maybe just make a supper this weekend that didn’t originate from a box or the freezer

This day in blog history:

• Playing with scraps - 2009
• Anticipation no more - 2007
• Young Love, Anticipation and Salad - 2007

This topic in blog history:

• Green (and pink) aprons - May 2009
• Apron OCD - September 2008
• I dug into the pile - January 2008