An Apron For Mr StitchNSew

Some projects jump the sewing and blogging queue and this is one of them.

As Mr StitchNSew does most of the cooking now I thought I’d make him an apron as we only kept one when we moved and he is now using that for other crafts. Last month when Helen’s Closet released the new Sam Apron (free to newsletter subscribers) I kind of lost my mind at how perfect it was. In the kitchen more often than not Mr StitchNSew can be found with a tea towel hanging off him somewhere. The first thing I noticed with this pattern it has tea towel straps!!! It is the homeware equivalent of “It has pockets!” The Sam apron isn’t a one size fits all pattern just like a regular pattern it comes in various sizes. This gave Mr StitchNSew some practice in me taking his measurements and having fittings for when I make him clothing in the future.

Thinking I would be making 2 aprons (one for the wash) I showed Mr StitchNSew the pattern telling him to decide on the colours, strap style and pockets. A couple of days later he came back with “On my kitchen one I want this, my gardening one I want this and on my ship building one I want this” So it turns out I was now making 4 aprons.

Once I discovered I was making 4 I took over fabric choices and went shopping in my stash picking a large piece of denim. I brought it years ago to make a shirt with but once it was washed it was too stiff but for aprons it was perfect. For the pockets I decided to use fabric leftover from a couple of gifts I made Mr StitchNSew’s grandson. The bias binding used to cover the raw edges of the bib section was left over from gifts I made his granddaughter. It was a small touch that connected him to gifts I had made for them, they live overseas so we don’t see them often.

The final aprons were (accessories picked by Mr StitchNSew himself)

Ship Building – Halter neck, no pockets

Gardening – Halter neck, waist pocket divided in centre

Kitchen – Halter neck, tea towel straps, waist pocket divided in 3 (4” in from each side)
I made 2 for the kitchen so one could be washed if needed or so we can both wear them if cooking together. They are exactly the same design wise.

Pattern Elements / Modifications

Tea towel straps cut 4″ wide not 3″ and done in a ¼ fold
Pockets cut 14.5″ long not 19″
Pockets cut out double thickness, stitched together right sides together and then bagged out
Tea towel straps sewn within pocket bags
Waist ties cut at longest length

For the most part I did follow instructions but not necessarily in the stated order. I attached the pockets last instead of doing them in earlier steps. When I pinned them on to check for placement we discovered the pocket was too wide as the tea towel straps were towards the back not the side when the apron was on so I cut them down and redid them. Upon redoing the pockets I placed the tea towel straps within the pocket bag to enclose the ends. It also enabled me to reinforce the stitching a couple of times on the inside for added strength. After I cut the pockets down I re-ironed each apron to find the new centre fold in case during the sewing process my sides were uneven. Second time placing the pockets Mr StitchNSew was happier.

I’m really proud of these aprons as they really showcased how I’m trying to make sustainable choices in my sewing. Not only did I use a fabric from my stash for the aprons, leftover fabric for the pockets and bindings but I used up half full bobbins and spools of threads that weren’t enough to use in other projects. The top and bottom threads didn’t match but that didn’t matter. I’m not saying Mr StitchNSew doesn’t deserve to have nicely matching things made for him but put it into context on how the item is going to be used. Pick your time and place for perfection. These aprons are going have paint, dirt and food stains all over them. Mr StitchNSew isn’t going to care what colour the stitches are he is just going to be using it and protecting his clothes. The mismatched threads add to the storyline of these aprons. From the moment I finished these last week he started using them. That’s a wining project in my eyes.

Cassiy