Aprons for Auction

Two of my ruffle aprons are heading to a silent auction benefiting my favorite youth group’s mission trips next summer. I fancied up some hangers by wrapping them in coordinating fabrics and added rolled-flower brooches to the aprons for a little a-la-mode. Maybe someone will be wearing them to prepare Thanksgiving dinner this year! ♥

More aprons . . .

• Shirt Apron
• Little Girl’s Apron
• Wonder Woman Retro Apron
• Coffee Time Ruffle Apron
• Country Village Ruffle Apron
• Mix Things Up Ruffle Apron
• Kansas College Ruffle Aprons
• Pink Ruffle Apron
• Pastel Ruffle Apron
• One-Hour Apron
• Music Lover’s Apron
• Lacy Apron
• Fancy Apron
• Art Apron
• Wonder Woman Art Apron
• Wichita State University Apron
• Kansas State University Barbecue Apron
• His and Her Team Aprons
• Cupcake Apron

Man’s Shirt to Apron

My husband cleaned out his closet, and I gained a stack of shirts to refashion.

Here’s the first result . . . an apron with coordinating fabric added for neck and back ties.

The sleeves and other leftover parts will be put to good use for another project.

Thanks, Dave! ♥

Katy’s Apron

Hello, my long-lost friends! I hope everyone is well. I miss reading your blogs and hope to catch up soon.

My friend Sewing Machine and I haven’t spent much time together this summer, but I did find a spot o’ time to make an apron for my adorable granddaughter Katy’s 2nd birthday. This fun pattern is SUPER easy to stitch up, since it uses bias tape instead of hems around all the edges. I bought this pretty pink-flowered tape for Katy’s apron at a craft show, but I now own a bias tape maker and can’t wait to try creating some myself with Beth’s tutorial at The Renegade Seamstress. Katy especially loves her name embroidered on the pocket!

Click here for the pattern from Joan Giammalva. And, if you want a fun cookbook to gift with the apron, I recommend Pretend Soup and Other Real Recipes by Mollie Katzen . . . perfect for toddlers and preschoolers.

Thank you for taking a peek! ♥

 

Coffee Time Apron

Yes . . . I made THREE new aprons! For this one, I used a print with coffee words as the centerpiece and added other prints from my stash. Click here for a link to the free Ruffle Aprons Tutorial along with my tweaks. ♥

Country Village Apron

On a recent road trip, I found this charming village fabric in a quilt shop in Tennessee. It was fun to mix and match it with some other homey prints in my stash! Click here for a link to the free Ruffle Aprons Tutorial along with my tweaks. ♥

Pink, Pink, and More Pink

I’ve been in an apron sewing mood and dug into the pinks in my stash. So fun to mix, match, and make! Click here for a link to the free Ruffle Aprons Tutorial along with my tweaks. ♥

One-Hour Apron

What do you make on a winter day and you have a free hour? A SPRING apron, of course! The tutorial is from this post by Jona Giammalva on her blog Stop Staring & Start Sewing, and the fun fabrics are from my bloggy friend Laura’s LC’s Cottage Etsy shop. P.S. Click here and here for two other aprons I’ve made with this easy peasy pattern! ♥

A Fun Project for a Fun Bloggy Friend!

This Christmas I had the opportunity to help Darilyn of Thehighnotedotnet surprise her brother-in-law with a Kansas State University guy apron to wear while serving as the family chef. (See the tutorial tutorial here at The Purl Bee.) She was sweet enough to write a lovely blog post about it, complete with photos, that truly put a smile on my face. If you haven’t had a chance to visit Darilyn’s blog, please check out her creative projects! She also has a My Fave DIY’s page and an Etsy shop specializing in items made with vintage sheet music, like these paper Christmas trees that I used while making my snowflake garland last winter. Thank you, Darilyn! ♥

Her Team, His Team

Once upon a time, a Pennsylvania girl married a Kansas boy . . . and now they’re living happily ever after in Georgia. But they still need their own aprons!

• You’ve seen my girly apron before . . . here, here, here, and here. (The last link has info about the original pattern and tutorial.)
• I found the manly barbecue apron tutorial here at The Purl Bee. It was super easy and fun to make, too. ♥

Music Lover’s Gift Basket

I love making a gift basket for the silent auction at the Arts and Crafts Mission Market at my church every November, which this year will benefit the Downtown Daycare Center here in Wichita, KS. This time I decided on a music theme.

• First, I made an embroidered pillow and a music-note-fabric half apron with fabric flower a-la-mode. (Click here for the apron tutorial from Jona of Stop Staring & Start Sewing).
• Next, I added a framed music saying (which you can get here for FREE from the lovelyn Darilyn of TheHighNotedotNet) and a package of vintage music Christmas tree confetti from Darilyn’s Etsy shop.
• I finished if off with a blank journal and coffee cup cozy for idea-gathering and a small vintage hymnal.

Click here for gift baskets from the past few years. It’s my secret ambition to go into the gift basket business someday! (Dave, you didn’t see that, right???)  ♥

Shocker Apron

No, it’s not the Halloween kind of shocker . . . it’s the Wichita State University Shockers (as in a shock of wheat . . . click here to see our mascot, Wu Shock!). I had some fabric left over from the WSU apron I made for the fundraiser silent auction, so I made a half apron for one of my friends who is a huge fan and follower of WSU’s volleyball and basketball teams. The “Shockers” logo on the pocket is snipped from the same t-shirt that I used to get the Wu Shock for the bib of the original apron. The tutorial is from this post on Jona Giammalva’s amazingingly inspirational blog Stop Staring & Start Sewing, and the black/yellow fabrics are from my bloggy friend Laura’s LC’s Cottage Etsy shop. Here is the finished apron blowing in the Kansas wind! ♥

What can you make with a sentimental dress?

For my two year blog anniversary,  I invited you to nominate people you’ve met through the blogging world who you would like to have as next-door neighbors. It was SO heartwarming to read the lovely comments that came from around the world! The blogger with the most nominations was then invited to send me a once-loved garment to remake into some new treasures and return. This year’s winner was Staci of Crafty Staci, who decided to send her going-away dress from her wedding 22 years ago! She said, “It’s been stored under my bed ever since.  I’d love to have it made into some things I could actually have out to enjoy, and red is still my favorite color, so that’s what I’ll be shipping to you.” I was so excited, and when this exquisite handmade dress arrived, my mind started spinning! So . . .today is the reveal! Here we go!

(1) I always like to start with a pillow, and the bodice of this dress was the perfect size to make a pillow cover for a 12 x 16 cushion. After detaching it from the skirt and shoulder straps and removing the boning, I traced and embroidered the logo from Staci’s blog and Etsy shop. Next, I put the pillow inside and nipped and tucked and pinned until I had a perfect fit, then took in the seams and stitched across the bottom. (The zipper is still in the back, just shortened a bit.) To fill in the armholes at the top, I made a lining with a coordinating floral fabric that could peek out at the corners, checked the fit again, pinned, then stitched the top closed. Then all I had to do was trim the seams, turn, press, and zip the pillow inside.  I love that I got to showcase the lovely lace on both the front and back of the pillow!

(2) Next, I wanted to use part of the still-gathered skirt to make something to wear and decided on an apron! I found my inspiration on page 40 of my A is for Apron book by Nathalie Mornu which had a short skirt over a longer one. I used pieces from several different apron patterns along with some of my own ideas and two fun fabrics from my stash, and it came together perfectly.  Here it is blowing in the wind on photo shoot day!

(3) When I saw the size and shape of the shoulder straps, I immediately thought of a bow clutch–one strap for the bag and one for the bow. However, this project turned out to be a little more challenging! I opened up one of the straps for the bag, made a lining from a coordinating fabric in my stash, and attempted to put in a zipper. Since the bottom was already closed up, that was a total fail! So I carefully removed the crooked zipper and simply blanket stitched the top and lining together, then added a button hole and vintage button for the closure. Next, I opened up the side seams and handstitched the other shoulder strap in on both sides, being careful not to catch the lining since I probably should have done this step first! (Since both pieces are padded, the seam was too thick for my machine.) Finally, I used another strip of the lining fabric to cinch the middle of the outer piece to form the bow. So . . . it’s not as perfect as I had envisioned . . . but maybe it will be cute for an evening event where the lights are low??? ♥

(4) The next step was to trim the hem from the skirt. With it, I made three of those fun  “twist, coil, and stitch” flowers. I had a straw wreath and some red and green ribbon in my craft stash, so I wrapped the wreath, added green vintage buttons to the flowers, stitched the flowers onto the wreath, and added a coordinating green ribbon for hanging.

(5) Last but not least, I decided to make something kind of artsy and festive with a remaining piece of skirt fabric. I cut it into one-inch strips and made a pom-pom, then I hung it from ribbon on a gold wooden frame from my stash. I hope it will inspire the idea of “celebrating the everyday” as Staci lives her very creative life with her loved family and friends.

Thank you for being our good neighbor, dear Staci . . . and your package is in the mail! ♥

Go, Team, Go!

I got my undergraduate degree at Wichita State University here in Wichita, KS where Dave and I now live. WSU has a huge basketball following, which grew even larger when the Shockers went to the Final Four last year! So I decided to make a WSU apron for a youth group silent auction fundraiser this fall. I love how it turned out! Then I made aprons for the other two state favorites–the Kansas University Jayhawks and the Kansas State University Wildcats. Fingers crossed that they raise lots of money!   P.S. Both black/yellow fabrics and the three ruffle fabrics on the purple apron are from my bloggy friend Laura’s LC’s Cottage Etsy shop. All other fabrics are from Jo-Ann. ♥

Giveaway Winners!

Thank you SO much for all the fun links you sent me for your giveaway entries! I had tons of fun reading your favorites . . . and browsing around at some of your other posts, too!  After putting all the names in a hat, I drew Tamika, Laura, and Jen’s names for the three gifts from my “What can you make with a vintage dress?” refashion. Please contact me at k_scraper@hotmail.com with your mailing addresses, lovely ladies! And have a wonderful weekend, one and all! ♥

Catch-up Giveaway!

Hi! I’m back from my Pillows A-La-Mode month off!  I spent it working 12-hour days on several huge writing assignments for work (some that aren’t quite finished yet!) and going on a lovely trip. I’ve missed reading your blogs, so I came up with a way to catch up that I think will be fun for us all.  Will you post a comment with a link to your favorite article you’ve posted on  your blog in the past month?  I promise to read them all!  Plus, I have PRIZES! Three commenters will receive either my vintage shabby chic pillow, apron, or clutch!  (Please add a note to your comment if you have a preference . . . otherwise you’ll be in the drawing for all three!)  I’ll announce the winners in one week—on Friday, August 16. Have a happy weekend . . . I can’t wait to hear from you! ♥

Amanda’s Apron

I LOVED my houseful of little boys! But I was also super-excited when my niece Amanda was born. She used to come for an Amanda-Aunt Kathy overnighter every summer where we’d play, sew, craft, embroider, bake, and shop. Now Amanda is grown-up, married, and a high school math teacher several states away (besides being beautiful, she’s also S-M-A-R-T!), but on a recent visit back home she came to sew with me! She loved the blog posts with the ruffly aprons (here and here), so that’s what we made. Amanda picked these lovely, summery fabrics from my stash, which are all from my bloggy friend Laura’s LC’s Cottage Etsy Shop. Isn’t it just perfect on her? ♥

 

 

Pink Vintage Apron Love

Look at this BEAUTIFUL apron I won in a recent giveaway from Deb and Kathy at Second Hand Roses! It’s vintage! And embroidered! And PINK! I just LOVE it!

If you’ve never read the Friday morning posts at Second Hand Roses, you MUST subscribe to their blog! Deb and Kathy give a tongue-in-cheek play-by-play of their visits to local second-hand shops and sales, like Be Kind to Animals, Please and Another Friday, Another Estate Sale.  They make me laugh every time! They’ve even invited me to go shopping with them next time I visit Colorado . . . it’s on my bucket list!

Thank you, Deb and Kathy! ♥

P.S. Click here to read about Deb’s apron collection!

One Last Wonder Woman Retro Apron . . .

I had just enough fabric left to make one last Wonder Woman apron to give to an amazing Wonder Woman I know.  But, even though I’m moving on to new designs, I’ll definitely keep using this pattern!  Click here for links to the free tutorial along with some of my own tweaks.  And, speaking of aprons, I’m taking a week off from work (and sewing! and crafting! and blogging!) and donning an apron to play hostess to our family while everyone gathers in to celebrate Dave’s milestone birthday.  The house is clean . . . the party and meals are planned . . . the decorations are made . . . the toys and crafts are ready. . . the cookie jar is full . . . I can’t wait!  See you next week! ♥

The “Mix Things Up” Apron

Here’s my latest apron . . . and I must say, I had LOTS of help! Here’s the scoop:

• The adorable design on the bib came from my blogging friend Megan of A Kitschy Kitchen. Click here, and this original drawing can be yours, too, as a gift from Megan! Since I used a heavy muslin (a remnant I had on hand) for the bib, I was able to simply trace the design. Then I embroidered it while watching TV when we were snowed in. 🙂 Megan has an Etsy shop, too . . . here’s a post about it!
• The skirt, bib ruffle, and neck and waist ties are made from this fabric I bought from Karen of KRS Designs. The cute baking motif was perfect for this project! You can find links to all of Karen’s shops on her blog.
• And now for the ruffles. The blue one was from a gift of fat quarters I got for my birthday. It has a seam in the middle, but it’s pretty well hidden. The fabric for the pink and brown ruffles came from Laura of LC’s Cottage. Click here for Laura’s blog, here for her Etsy store, and here for a previous post I wrote about her shop.

Details about the design are available on my Wonder Woman Retro Apron post . . . a free tutorial from the Jo-Ann web site along with a few tweaks of my own. The only thing I changed on this one was to line the bib to hide the back of my embroidery and make the top ruffle smaller so as not to hide the mixer.

I had SO much fun making this, and thank you to my friends for your lovely contributions! ♥

Art Apron

Recently I shared “Another Wonder Woman Apron”  (a version of the Wonder Woman Retro Apron) that I made using a denim apron body from a sack of remnants a family member gave me.

A little more digging uncovered another one—a light blue this time—but again just the body and a bib pocket with no straps.

So . . . I decided to make another art apron!

First, I removed the pocket, googled a clip art picture of a paint palette, penciled it onto the pocket, embroidered it, and stitched the pocket back on.

Then I used the zebra fabric you’ve seen on some of my other projects (originally a set of sheets from Target!) for the neck and waist ties.

Ta-da! ♥

Another Wonder Woman Apron!

Remember my Wonder Woman retro apron? (You can take a quick peek here!) I’ve made and given away three so far and have more in the works, but I wanted to make a simpler, non-ruffly version for art teacher Tiffany (one of the beautiful brides on my mantel!) who wears fun aprons at work in her job as a middle school art teacher. Then I received a bag of sewing hand-me-downs, and tucked between some fabric remnants was a denim work apron—just the body with a pocket on the bib, no neck or waist ties . . . perfect! To WW-ize it, I:

• removed the pocket,
• appliqued one of my WW bibs right over the top of the denim,
• used the pocket I removed for the inside of a new WW star fabric pocket and sewed it on the skirt, and
• made and attached star-fabric neck and waist ties.  Done! ♥

P.S.  Click here for the heart-to-heart garland and here for the red sweater heart pillow.

More Shop Love!

Last week I put out my first “Shop Love!” post.

I wanted to start promoting our blogging friends’ small businesses.

I’ve done a little more shopping . . .

and I won a giveaway . . .

so today I’d like to highlight four more bloggers and stores.

Once again, each one impressed me with both their BEAUTIFUL products . . .

and their QUALITY customer service.

Here are their contact links!

You can also check them out ANYtime on my new “Shop Love” page above. ♥

(1) The Original Thread: I fell in LOVE with this inspirational 2013 calendar, which is designed by Melanie of The Original Thread blog and sold as a fabric panel in her Spoonflower shop at Madex Designs. She has many other gorgeous fabrics as well!

(2) Terri’s Notebook: I recently won a lovely giveaway from Terri’s Notebook—two pdf patterns. I was going to wait until I made the items to share them . . . but that hasn’t happened yet, so I’ll share what they WILL look like. 🙂 The first pattern is for Stuff Baskets and the second is for a Checkerboard Set, and both are for sale at her Patchwork Trails Etsy Shop. You can also visit Terri’s portfolio here and her paper goods shops here. Terri’s motto is “Explore. Dream. Create.” Don’t you love that? ♥

(3) A Kitschy Kitchen: I’m just starting to make aprons myself, but I know someone on my gift list who will LOVE this one! It’s from Megan of A Kitschy Kitchen: The Life and Studio of an Apronista who sells her creations at her Etsy shop. Notice, too, the adorable fabric gift card holder! Stressing quality as well as beauty, Megan’s motto is “Buy Well, Buy Once.” She also has some other lovely items in her shop, such as embroidery, cocktail napkins, and coasters.

(4) TheHighNoteDotNet: I’ve followed Darilyn’s lovely blog thehighnotedotnet for a long time now and was so excited to receive my first purchase from her Etsy shop, which specializes in vintage music projects. Darilyn even included a little gift . . . a copy of my favorite quote, which I embroidered on a pillow and she offers to all of us for free to make an iron-on transfer. She graciously provides tutorials for her projects as well. And check out her craft room . . . it’s amazing!

 

Wonder Woman Retro Apron

I saw a set of superhero aprons on Pinterest and was so excited to try them, only to find that the post didn’t lead anywhere, even to a photo credit! But thank you to someone out there for inspiring me to figure out my own design, which—since I decided on Wonder Woman + ruffles—I’m calling “Wonder Woman Retro.”  Here are some links and tips if you’d like to make your own!

• I got the white-star-on-blue-background fabric here at the Hancock Fabrics web site. (I used remnants for the red and yellow.) It washed beautifully and came out wrinkle-free.
• I found the Wonder Woman logo here on Google Images. Go to print preview, click landscape, resize to 175%, and print. I traced around the pattern on the yellow fabric, cut it out leaving a 1/2 inch edge, and pinned it to the apron bib. Then I embroidered through all the layers in red, trimmed close to the outer border, and zig-zagged the edge.
• I used the Ruffle Aprons Tutorial at the Jo-Ann Fabric and Crafts web site for the rest of the apron except that I  (1) made the neck straps the old-fashioned way from two folded/stitched/turned lengths of fabric, (2) shortened the bib ruffle so it won’t cover the logo, (3) used the bib ruffle as the top seam and tucked the neck straps in before stitching instead of sewing everything on separately,  (4) stitched the skirt, top skirt ruffle, and bib together at the same time, (5) added one more ruffle on the skirt, and (6) top-stitched all the ruffles down and tucked in the side ties before topstitching the top skirt ruffle. However, I’m sure it would turn out just as cute if you stick with the original directions . . . I’m just not very good at that. 🙂

Happy sewing! ♥

Cupcake Girl

A special little girl in our family celebrated her sixth birthday on December 1st. As you know, a December birthday gift must NOT be Christmasy! 🙂 So, since she absolutely loves to bake with her mom, I decided on a cupcake gift. First I made an apron using a remnant from the nursery pillows I sewed last summer that looks like sprinkles. I didn’t have a child-size pattern, so I just cut a rectangle for the front, a long, skinny piece for the waistband and tie, found some rick-rack trim, and stitched it up. Then I folded a piece of paper, sketched half of a cupcake paper and top, cut them out, unfolded the paper, and used these as patterns for some cupcake a-la-mode (two yellow fabrics and sequins for sprinkles) and a scrapbook paper gift tag. Then I bought some cake mix, frosting (with sprinkles!), cupcake papers, and cupcake flags to go with the apron. I was going to make a little totebag to gift it in, but then I spotted this adorable tin for $2.99 in my grocery store’s clearance aisle . . . how lucky is that! Happy birthday, dear Kira! ♥  P.S. Please check out this fun post on Peg’s Gotta Do for more cupcake inspiration!

Stylin’ in the Kitchen

Lucky me . . . I won the giveaway from Kelly at Boomdeeadda, a lovely handmade apron, mitts, and card! I’ve displayed the card and tucked the apron and mitts away for Thanksgiving so I’ll be stylin’ when all our family is here. Thank you, Kelly!  P.S. Click here for my last apron post. ♥

Aprons!

You know how some of our lovely blogging friends give things away? Well, I just received this BEAUTIFUL polka-dotted apron from Moosewood Vintage Wearables & Sundries, specializing in vintage clothing & accessories, gently used formal dresses, and goat milk soaps. I LOVE it! Please visit Ruth’s WordPress blog, her FB page, and her Etsy shop. Thank you, Ruth! ♥ While I was photographing my new apron, I also pulled out my three other favorites. My mother made the one with the quilted top and pocket, and my grandmother made the tangerine print (which has a fancy cross-over back; it’s sort of like putting a puzzle together to get into it!). And the little half-apron was my VERY FIRST sewing venture when I was around eight years old, so if you’re looking for a beginning project, here’s the scoop: Grandma had me use tiny gingham so I could just follow the lines, and the “pattern” consists of a big rectangle with a casing at the top and a hem at the bottom and a self-fabric drawstring. It’s definitely one-size-fits-all, because I can still wear it today!  Someday I’d like to a-la-mode it a bit with a pocket and some embroidery. . . so many ideas, so little time . . . ♥