Apron Madness

First there was the Tie One On challenge - which I finally entered. Then there was a conversation with my friend TB at Joseph-Beth Booksellers about the kajillion cute aprons she saw at Gift Show - none of which were for kids. Then there was an explosion of apron-making this weekend in my sewing room. I worked up prototypes of three different styles and all of them still need a bit of tweaking - but Jo has already decided on her favorite.

Ah - the aesthetic values of a five-year-old! I finished this late last night and decided that it was just too busy. My first plan is to reduce the width of the ruffle by an inch so it's more in proportion to the skirt part of the apron. I'll make the waistband and tie out of the skirt fabric so we'll lose a bit of the busyness from the contrast. I thought about leaving the pockets off altogether (again with the busyness) but Jo declared them "perfect" so I guess they're staying. Pockets are critically important - what was I thinking?

Jo saw this when she woke up this morning and her face just lit up. "Is it for me? Can I wear it to school today?" That response is really rare - I make so much stuff that a new project from the sewing room doesn't usually get a big response from Jo, even when it's for her - so I immediately said yes. As you can see in the photo - she picked her outfit today so it would match the apron. Too cute! The last time I got a response this enthusiastic it was for the Wonder Woman dress, so I'm pretty jazzed myself.

There are a couple of features that I designed into these aprons that I'm really excited about - but no good pictures yet so that's going to have to wait. I'm off to NY for work for a few days - so no evening sewing - but my Big Plan is to finalize all three patterns and make them available as a download by the end of next weekend.