Depression Aprons

Hey, happy first day of 2009!

These were gifts for some wonderful ladies in my life. The pattern is the "Vintage Apron" pattern from a totally awesome book, Bend the Rules Sewing.

I call them depression aprons, because I didn't buy any fabric, it was all reclaimed fabric from thrifted items: A big reversible Ikea duvet cover, a coordinating Ikea pillow sham, and a bit of an Old Navy Men's dress shirt. I *almost* didn't buy buttons, but I found one that was so perfect, and I did buy trim. However, the one with gingham trim required no trips to the store whatsoever.

During the Great Depression, there were many little sayings to remind people of the way things were, One of them, "Make do or do without" has run through my head most of the last year. But then, I can run out and pick up trims and buttons...the way things are, maybe I should just change the name to recession aprons!

This first one has a very old fashioned Embroidery technique on the gingham pocket called Chicken Scratch. It must be done on gingham, and a few very simple stitches result in a lovely lace pattern. I made a "large heart" from the pattern I found here. The embroidery went fast, but this apron definitely took the most time, due to the Chicken Scratch. Hand sewing always increases the time any project takes.





check out more Chicken Scratch photos in this Flickr Pool

The rest are variations of the same, all with the Ikea fabrics, vintage buttons and retro-kitch trim, like ball fringe, cut felt leaves, and ric-rac.

Embroidery

So, I've finished a few tops, and am feverishly working on finishing a gift for an adult friend (shock!).

I've got one other shirt done, but no pics uploaded yet. One inked-up shirt for my darling Si-Pi (he loves me so much, and the feeling is mutual), and two (two!!) other gifts for adult friends all ready to go (that is, all ready to be embroidered).

There actually has been a slight lull in baby-births...although I am not caught up...I've been considering being a bit more selective with who I do this for. Simply put, some people really value it, and it seems--to my great surprise--some don't. I don't want to labor and spend a ton of time lovingly creating something when it won't be appreciated. So...that might help free up my embroidery-time a bit. I can easily hand-make simpler gifts in those cases.

Additionally, I have some gingham lying around and I really, really, really want to try chicken scratch. I'm sure I have lots of time to do that! :)

I'm really looking forward to starting some embroidery lessons with a friend (or two) of mine this Fall. It will be so much fun to teach these gals this very simple, easy home-craft, not to mention to have regularly scheduled visits to chat and catch up. All the while creating beautiful things for our homes or for others. Yay!

Without further ado, here are the latest baby shirts!

Front:


Back:


I really enjoyed this one--I don't often work on colored shirts, and I've never done (probably because I usually work on white) a mono-chromatic (one color, different shades) one like this. I really like the effect.

The baby this was for is so feminine and lovely. And I think the color would also look darling on her, but I haven't seen it on. She's dainty enough, too, that I didn't have to worry about the shirt size. It was a 6-9 month, but it didn't seem as big as the white 6-9 month shirts I usually work on.

Next one...
Front:


Back:


Isn't Aria an awesome name?!

I was really excited to work on gray, but now I think I ought to have chosen a design with less colors...maybe just pink and white or black...I do love this design and the colors...but they don't *pop* quite like I want them to.

Hopefully this shirt still fit when the gift was delivered. :)