Domestic Goddess Apron

Are you old enough to remember when everyone's grandmothers, aunts, friends mom's and  your own mother  always wore an apron while working in the kitchen? Years ago some wore aprons while doing household chores. Some wore the half aprons and others wore full bib aprons to protect their clothes from spills and splatters.  
Most often there was  something tucked away in the apron pockets. Sometimes it was a hanky to wipe away tears,  sometimes a candy treat if we were really, really good.  Aprons have made a come back and you can buy them in many stores today. Fabric stores have decorative fabric that is preprinted with an apron shape. You just cut out around the pattern and sew the apron together.  I can remember making my first apron in 8th grade. That was a long time ago, but it came out really well.  I was so darn proud of that pink and white check apron.

I recently joined a swap and we had to create a paper apron that measured 5.5 x 3.75 inches. We also had to include a summer drink recipe. The pattern that we had to use can be found on the Stampington & Company magazine website, under tempting templates. The are several nice template card patterns to choose from.  http://www.stampington.com/html/tempting_template_index.html

This morning I copied off the apron pattern, and then I enlarged the pattern on my copier to 150%. I ended up making 2 apron cards.  For the first apron I used a 12 x 12 sheet of stiff scrapbooking fabric that I bought awhile back at a wonderful quilt shop that is located on 6A in West Barnstable, MA. I visit that shop each time I go to the Cape.  http://www.tumbleweedquilts.com

I cut out my apron and pocket. I then stitched the fabric to a piece of cardstock, glued on some lace and added ribbon apron ties. From the pattern I cut out another bottom piece of the apron and glued it to the back side.  The buttons on my apron are vintage. I dug thru my big box of buttons that my mother  gave to me several years ago. I treasure all those old buttons too. I tucked in a small piece of paper towel inside the pocket. My mother and grandmother always had a tissue tucked into their apron pocket.

As for including a favorite summer drink recipe I couldn't make up my mind. I love pink lemonade, ice tea with lemon, root beer floats, orange floats, but decided I would include the recipe for Virgin Pina Colada's as children can also share a tall frosty glass.

Its hard to tell in the second photo of the cream/brown apron, but I went back and added a dark ecru lace on the bottom of the apron. In the photo it just looks like a shadow, but if you click on the photo on the enlarged photo you can see the lace clearly.

I had fun creating the aprons. This swap brought back a lot of wonderful childhood memories.  I think I may scale down the size a little and add one of the paper aprons to the handmade journal cookbook that I made. I keep adding recipes to my book. I really need to make a second recipe book, as I have two sons. Someday, when I am no longer here, they can enjoy favorite family recipes that I've handwritten the recipes  in their own books. I hope this post brought back memories from your childhood too. Have you ever made an apron? A few weeks back I bought some fabric to make one.