Day Apron: My First Tutorial

Last year my mother bought MM a pinafore made from vintage linens and capris to match (at Green Pomegranate, of course).  Some people also call them smocks.  Basically it’s a sleevless shirt-type garment that crosses the back and buttons at the shoulder.

My mom said she used to wear them when she was little and they called them “day aprons”.  Mothers would put them over their clothes to keep their daughter’s dress from getting messy.

Isn’t that a fabulous idea?  I thought so!

So two days ago on my wonderful snow day off from work, Mother and I ventured into the basement to work during MM’s naps.  {My sewing “studio”–hehe–is in my parents’ basement since my own basement is a dirt basement with scary old pipes and a 100 year old boiler–yikes}  We took MM’s pinafore that fit her and made a pattern.  I don’t know how to do all those fancy-schmancy .pdf patterns I see everywhere, but here’s one that’s looks pretty similar.

With our first pinafore–the one MM was wearing in my last post–we used two Alexander Henry fabrics that I’ve been saving for a fun project.  With our second pinafore (the one seen here) we used some fabric I liked at Hobby Lobby that was 30% off.

After we she cut it out she put right sides together and pinned.  {She’s the official fabric cutter and I’m usually off working on another project at the time}

After I pin right sides together I sew.  I usually do a pretty small seam allowance–1/2″ and no more.

Then I turned it inside out and ironed.  If you ever sew anything you must know one thing: the iron is your best friend (with pins a close second). 

Finish the garment with a 1/8″ stitch around the edge to close the opening.

After that it’s time for buttons!  I use vintage buttons from my collections, but any buttons will do.  Thankfully I have two sewing machines that can do automatic (“sensor”) button holes for you because I could *never* do that stitching on my own.

Finally, you sew on your buttons and taa-daa! your day apron is complete.

I also find that since MM drools a lot–and has been since she was 8 weeks old, will it ever stop?!–this is like a big bib for her too.  So it keeps her clothes clean and the drool away…perfect in my book.

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