Heather Bailey apron

May I start with my apologies.  I cannot figure out how to get these pictures to rotate.  They are saved on my computer up right, but every time I upload them, no matter what I do, they are back sideways.  Help!

But, I did finally finish the Heather Bailey apron I was making for my sister-in-law for Christmas. When I showed it to my husband and told what it was for he seemed quite impressed, followed by a, "Wow you are really ahead of the game this year."  That's when I had to break it to him that this was her gift for last year and I am actually really behind the game.  As far as the pattern goes I think it turned out well and is really cute, but I don't like how the halter and waist ties are added in.  The ruffle flounce at the bottom was added on and not part of the pattern because I ran into some fabric issues as my sister-in-law bought the fabric before I found a pattern.  I also top stitched everything because I think it looks more professional, but it is not called for in the pattern.  Overall it gets a B+ in my books.  Now if you could just tilt your head to the right you will see what I am talking about.

Apron View D Complete

I just put on the finishing touches 10 minutes ago, decided not to clean my kitchen for the photo shoot, and now see that I tied my back ribbons very unevenly. Looks like something frozen is for dinner.

Apron E : it's finished

So here it is - my finished apron. I love the way it turned out. I am working on another one in green gingham for a class that I am teaching at church so I will post pics of that by the end of the month.

Finishing up Apron E : Steps 13-16

First tackle the tie (piece 9). Make a 5/8" narrow hem just like before on the two long edges and the pointed edge (leave small flat edge alone)
This can get a bit tricky around the point so you may need to either clip out some excess fabric or tuck some of it in while sewing.

This is what it should look like for both ties:


Now attach the ties to the waistband.
Fold the two ties - wrong sides together - in half along foldline. Match the symbols of the waistband to the symbols of the tie (or just line them up with the end)
Pin in place. The ties will be pointing towards the inside of the apron at this time.
Fold the waistband right sides together so that it is now covering the ties. Pin in place.

Stitch just to the outside of the front of the apron's sewn edge.

Trim the seam allowance down.
Flip and press.

The pattern suggests slipstitching the back edge down at this point. Instead I just edgestitched all the way around the waistband so that it matched all of the narrow hemming on the rest of the apron.


Final pics coming tomorrow.

Apron View D: Steps 29-31

In my book there is a much easier way to do step 29. Instead of covering Band 6 entirely with interfacing and then measuring and turning in your 5/8 inch seam allowance, I like to trim off 5/8 inch from the interfacing on the edge that I will be turning in. Then I adhere my interfacing to the fabric. I now have the perfect edge to turn my fabric from. The fabric naturally eases in the fullness as you press over the edge as it is now just a single layer.

1. trim interfacing 2. adhere interfacing to wrong side of fabric

3. turn in seam allowance along interfacing edge

Now you are ready to pin the Band facings to the bands on front, making sure that your straps are out of the way. I sometimes pin my straps several times just to make sure they are in the clear of that side seam.

1. Pin

2. Sew 3. Flip 4. Slipstitch

Apron E : Steps 9-12 the waistband

Next thing I did was make a 5/8" narrow hem up both sides of the apron - including the front and flounce. You do it the exact same way as the bottom of the flounce except without the curves. It does get a little tricky at the seam between the flounce and front just to warn you.

Here is how the back looks now:

This is what your apron should look like now:

Attach your fusible interfacing to piece 16 and press up 5/8" on the long side of the waistband without the notches (I kept it pinned because the interfacing makes it come unfolded)

Then pin right sides together so that the notched edge is at the top. The edges will hang off a bit on both sides. Stitch at 5/8". The back of your apron should now look like this:

Press the stitched seam upwards towards the waistband. The front should now look like this:

Apron View D: Step 25

Pinning Band 6 to the front of your apron can be a little tricky as the two pieces curve in the opposite direction. The simple solution is to clip your apron front before you start pinning. I clipped every inch and a half or so all along the side edge, going only as far as the staystitching from step 24. I was then able to easily pin and sew Band 6 on, flip it, and press.

1. Clip
2. Pin
3. Flip and Press

To serge or not to serge?

I know, it's a nice problem to have. I owe it all to my handsome husband who surprised me with my sewing machine and serger for a college graduation gift. Many years later I am still known at the shop where he bought them as, "oh, you're the one who's cute hubbie came in and bought them for you. You know he asked so many questions he wanted to get just the right one." I know, he's a nice husband to have.

I love my serger. It's quick, clean, awesome. So one might ask why then did I spend my evening waiting for said hubbie to come home at the ironing board measuring, folding and pressing a narrow hem? (click here for a great picture tutorial by Kelli on making a narrow hem)
As you can see in the picture I did use my serger on some parts, in particular parts that are 1. not seen and 2. not in a high friction area. The flounce and sides of the apron simply lay flat on your body, but the neck and waist ties will be pulled, knotted, bowed, and adjusted over and over again. I fear the interlocking thread would not hold up over time with such abrasion, while the narrow hem has the raw edge neatly tucked inside for optimum durability. And besides, I think it looks nicer. Got to have a little apron pride.

Cheaper Apron Pattern

Good news. I was at Joanne Fabrics the other day and noticed that they have made a see n' sew version of the apron pattern we are working on this month - B5125.


After closer inspection I realized that it is exactly the same - with only two apron options instead of four. So if you missed the sale you can always get the pattern for $2.99.

So now there are no excuses to not whip up one of these cute aprons.

Don't forget to enter our giveaway. Click here for the giveaway post.

Apron View D : Steps 17-22 and understitching

Attaching the flounce is exactly the same from view D to E, but after that we go our separate ways. With view D we have our V cut collar line that is made by cutting a small piece of fabric with interfacing fused on to match the same lines, sewing them right sides together and then flipping the interfacing over to create a seamless look on the front of your apron. The instructions describe this pretty well as long as you under stand what UNDERSTITCHING is.

Understitching attaches the raw edge to the layers of interfacing. In the photo above you will see that the main body of my apron in out to the left, while the interfacing is under the presser foot to the left with the raw edges laying on top. Simply sew a straight line down the middle of the raw edge to attach the two. Note: No stitching will appear on the front, main body of the apron.
Images below show the front and back view of the apron after the understitching is complete. Any questions?

And don't forget to enter this month's give away! It's just one post away (below)!

Apron View E : Steps 6-9 (the flounce) stay stitching and a narrow hem

Now that the pocket it attached to the front piece it is time to tackle the flouce (pretty little ruffle on the bottom of the apron).

First I staystitched the upper edge of the flounce.

Staystitching - Sew a stitch line just inside (1/8") of the normal seam allowance. Since a normal seam allowance is usually 5/8" from the raw edge, then the staystitch line is usually 1/2" from the raw edge. This stitch is usually called for on curved or bias cut edges and will give extra reinforcement to prevent it from becoming stretched or distorted.

Then I made a 5/8" narrow hem on the bottom edge of the flounce. If you have a serger then you don't have to do a narrow hem. Just serg and turn under. But I think the narrow hem looks really sharp. And get use to it because you will be doing a lot of it on this apron.

Narrow Hem - A hemming method where you fold the raw edge at 5/8" and press. Open and fold again so that raw edge is along crease. Press. Fold again on the crease and stitch.

This can be a little confusing so here are the step by step pics:

1- Press up 5/8" from raw edge

Ease in fullness if necessary.


2- Open and press raw edge into the crease previously formed . The fold will now be half as wide.

3- Fold and Press one more time along crease line. You will no longer be able to see the raw edge.

4- Stitch just inside of the hem - about 1/4" from edge. Here is how the finished hem should look.

Lastly, simply attach the top edge of the flounce to the bottom edge of the front panel (which has the pocket on it) with a 5/8" seam. You will need to clip the flounce edge so that it will curve correctly. Only stitch to within 3/8" of both outside edges.

The flounce is attached!

Pick a pocket

I have a bad habit of losing my cell phone in my apron pockets. And yes, I do already have a few aprons, but they serve completely different purposes (i.e. keeping the dirt off while gardening, some place to dry my hands while cooking, and as a splinter barrier while crafting). So, in order to have a place to store and lose my cell phone in this lovely lemon apron I am going to fore go the ribbon bow and add the pocket from pattern E in the contrasting fabric.

By the way, for the first time ever I have lost my cell phone charger, so please don't call me, I can't answer. Happy cell phone hunting.

Apron View E : Steps 1-5 (the pocket)

After cutting out your fabric the first step is to make the pocket. I hate making pockets, I think they are much more complicated than they need to be. So, I am going to show you how I simplified the pocket procedure.

First I cut out two (instead of the designated one) pocket pieces.

Sew both pieces together at a 5/8" seam allowance with right sides together - leave an opening in one side about 2" wide so that you can turn it right side out.


Trim seam allowance and clip notches out of the corners so that it will bend smoothly once turned.

Turn pocket right side out and press. (Press opening closed so that it matches up with the other seam edges)

Position pocket on front piece of apron. The pattern has markings for this - I, however, decided that I wanted the fabric design to match up so I positioned it a bit higher and more upright than the pattern suggested.

Pin in place.

Edge stitch around the two sides and bottom of the pocket.

Press and it is done. (Much easier than the way the instructions suggest)

I guessed wrong

Because of the huge arch in the flounce you will need to purchase a yard of the separate contrasting fabric or live, learn, and make do as I did and piece your flounce together like this:

1. Cut out what you can so you know what you need.

2. Allowing for a 5/8inch overlap, pin and cut the added fabric.

3. Pin in place and sew pieces together using a 5/8 inch seam allowance.

4. Press seam open.

Together at last, together forever. After pressing you can hardly tell it was pieced together. I really lucked out with the fabric design.

If you want enough fabric to make all your straps and flounce in the contrasting fabric you will need about a yard and a half. Then only buy 1 yard of the main body fabric.

I also bought my fabric

As Rian said I got to spend a bit of time with her in Utah. It was wonderful to take some time to focus on our plans for this blog. I am so excited for some of the new stuff coming up in the next few months.

Here is the fabric that I decided to use. It is actually some fabric from my stash that I bought during BeeSquare Fabric's closeout sale. I decided to go the simpler route and do the half apron - view E. I am hoping that the apron goes smoothly as I would love to whip a few of these out for future wedding shower gifts.

Here is a pic of the fabric I bought. I decided to just do all in one fabric.

Fabric

Just before Kelli left for home we were able to sneak in a fabric shopping trip. It's funny to see some of our similarities through sewing and in this case how we both run our hands across the length of a bolt of fabric we like just to take a moment and imagine all the possibilities. It is so hard to see her go knowing it has been so long since the last time I saw her (I think its been 20 months or more) and that it maybe, but hopefully not, that long til I see her again. At least we have this blog to keep us connected.

Here is what I came home with:

I have decided on pattern D and will do the main body of the apron in the lemons and the flounce (bottom skirt portion) in the polka dot. I just made a guess at how much fabric for the contrasting flounce, so stay tuned to see if I guessed right. Happy bolt braising.

August is for Aprons, Skill level= Beginner

We have been busy in our absence. After a canoe trip through Yellow Stone Kelli is now in Utah visiting me. I, on the other hand, have been held up indoors custom fitting my jeans, redecorating my kids' room, and renovating a bathroom. All this is to say we have slacked in blogging, but are combining forces to start a new and improved presserfoot.com. Just this morning we brainstormed with the fabulous and famous Kelly King Anderson, founder and fairy godmother of Start Up Princess. Over the next few days, weeks, and months there will be some great changes to this site. We are so excited to share them with you...but you'll just have to keep checking in.

Now, on to the project of the month! It's aprons in August. The pattern is Butterick 4945 and Kelli and I will be walking you through the process with all of our tips and tricks. Happy pattern purchasing!