Apron Sets

My old college roommate is an awesome girl.  You know, the kind who dragged you to frat parties, who plotted revenge on your ex-boyfriend when you broke up, who took you to the doctor’s when you had scarlet fever, and was generally your best friend.  My roommate is exactly that kind of girl.  It’s been a few years since college, and we’re not as close as we used to be (a big part of this is that she lives in another state now) but still good friends.  She’s been married for over a year now, and recently closed on a beautiful house with her husband, which has provided me with the impetus for my next project.

My roommate has always been into creative activities like knitting (she’s part of the reason I am so obsessed with knitting; we had so many late-night knitting parties on campus) sewing, cooking and gardening.  And, while her husband may not knit, he does cook and do other fun things with her.  So, I’ve made up a matching “his and hers” apron set for them as a housewarming gift (let’s face it, who does not need a cute flippy apron for their new house?).  I bought the fabric for both aprons at Hancock Fabrics and found both patterns online, for free!

Vintage Apron

The Vintage Apron is double-sided with hand-made bias tape (I’ve become hand-made bias tape obsessed lately; it’s really easy to make from fun stripy fabrics, and looks funky) and detachable ties. 

The pattern, which I found here, was easy to understand with very thorough directions and pattern pieces (very home printer-friendly).  I would only alter it by sewing the button holes before applying the bias tape; I had some trouble maneuvering my machine with the added thickness.  You could also eliminate the button holes and use grommets instead.

Garden Apron

The Garden Apron is also double-sided (the pattern does not call for this, but as I was using a lighter weight fabric than it recommends, and I thought the resulting garment would be cleaner and more durable) with the same bias tape that I made for the Vintage Apron.  I love that it has a bunch of different sized pockets suitable for gardening, kitchen, craft or sewing tools (it seems pretty versitile). 

The pattern, found here, has sewn-in ties (if you made the ties longer you could make them detachable like the Vintage Apron as well) and sectioned pockets as well (I sewed the dividers with two lines of stitching for durability).  This pattern was not as clearly explained as the Vintage Apron pattern, for example, you need to measure and cut each piece as not pattern pieces are provided.  However, the author has provided lot of photos illustrating each step.

I was very happy with the finished result from each pattern; I might even make another Vintage Apron because it’s so cute!