Remember the 1 Yard Apron? and In the Toolbox:)

The languishing 1 yard apron. I have had this cut out for a long time but it was one of those projects that I just could not get to. That said, I carved out about an hour this afternoon to put it all together. Easy.

As you can see by the line drawing it is two pieces, pocket and ties. First you join the front panels at the neck, stitch down the pleats, make the ties, attach the pockets and add the bias binding.

My fabric, crockery themed quilting cotton. This is the pocket, sewn, turned, bias applied.

I used a Fasturn to turn my ties. If you are not familiar, here are a few photo's. I used to make a lot of lingerie with little spaghetti straps. That was a while ago, but these little tools have many uses.

I bought this at a sewing expo in the early '90's. This box holds several sizes. I don't know how they are packaged now.

6 different sizes of tubes and two sizes of pigtails. What is a 'pigtail?'

base of the pigtail

little twistie hook on the end. I guess I could have had both ends in one photo but I was too tired to stand up for a better angle. Now there's an embarrassing fact!

slide your fabric over the tube wrong side out

push the pigtail wire up through the tube, poke it through the fabric, catch the twisted wire into the fabric and pull the wire back out, through the tube with the fabric attached. Sometimes you might need to help it along by pushing the fabric down into the tube with your finger or another implement. 

the fabric is turning right side out as it passes through the tube, and.......

out the other end!

smooth it, poke the corners out with a point turner or in this case, an orchid stake, press

used this to poke out the pocket corners

Oh, and here is the apron!

Conclusions:

• This is a nice quick little project. 
• Will I make it again? Probably not, and this is an entirely personal reason, nothing to do with the drafting of the pattern or design. I don't like things weighing on my neck. This is one of those possibly quirky little things of mine. An old neck injury seems aggravated by the minor weight of such things. I rarely, if ever, even wear traditional chef-style aprons for the same reason. Second, again a rather personal reason, my Cha-cha's are too generous. If you have smaller proportionate endowments, this will likely not be an issue for you. The front panels seem to shift about with wear because the girls are right up there. They may be attempting an escape. ( I know some otherwise lovely persons who considers cooking a form of bondage and wearing an apron is the eepitome of domestic servitude!)
• I will stick with my tried and true tabbard and 



my favorite, Simplicity 7481, OOP







• lapped over-the-head style.

A very hot and steamy week ahead for us. A good time to spend:

1. stitching up and completing those UFO's because I found some cute Christmas in July ideas to share.
2. scour the local greenhouses for some sales on abundant annuals. I have found some outstanding values after July 4th. I also need to plan for some Fall garden re-do's. Need to poke the brain a bit for ideas. Take photo's and make sketches.
3. I have to board baste the scrappy stars quilt top.  
4. take some snaps of the floundering fabric collage, I see no hope there!
5. shuck all that corn I picked up yesterday, bag it and freeze.

Till next time, remember to remain hydrated. This heat can be a killer.