Upcycled apron from the airing cupboard (aka the pillowcase pinny)

Last month I promised a tutorial for germ warfare aprons, but things have moved on since then...

Recently I found some busily-patterned old pillowcases, and was wondering what to do with them when I realised that the pillow case dimensions might be just right for a child's apron. It worked! I do like a nice upcycle, so here's the new tutorial for an apron from a pillowcase (though of course it would work with non-pillow fabrics as well).

You will need:

one pillowcase

thread

sewing machine

ruler and pencil (or washable fabric marker)

scissors

(I used a housewife pillowcase with a folded-over section - if yours doesn't have this you will also need some ribbon or other fabric for the ties and neckband).

Let's get started:

Turn your pillow case inside out...

and carefully cut away the folded-over rectangle of fabric at the open end.

First: the neck-band and apron strings

(it's good to get the fiddly bits done at the start)

On the cut-out rectangle of fabric, mark three 4cm wide strips, starting at the long hemmed edge.

Here's a close-up of the strips, marked and ready to cut.

Ready to start sewing!

The strip which already has one hemmed edge is going to be the neck band.

Fold and press a 1cm hem on the other long side, then fold and press again to form a double hem.

Stitch along the folded edge.

The two strips without hems will be the waist ties (the proverbial apron strings, I think).

Fold and press a 1cm hem on one short end of each.

The press both in half lengthways, fold in the long raw edges to the centre and press again.

Fold again lengthways to enclose the raw edges, and topstitch along the open edge to form the ties.

(They will still be unfinished on one end - this is where they will attach to the apron later).

Neck band and ties finished - hooray!

Cutting out the apron

Fold the pillow case in half lengthways.

Mark a point 11cm from the fold on one of the short edges - this will be the top of the apron.

Mark another point 28cm from the top edge on the side-seams of the pillowcase.

Join these two pints with a smooth curve - this is the stitching line.

Draw a cutting line 1cm outside the stitching line and cut along this through all four layers of fabric.

Cut off the top seam 1cm from the edge.

Unfold (it's starting to look like an apron...)

Attaching the ties and neck-band

Fold back the upper layer of fabric to separate the top halves of the apron - now you are looking at the right sides of the fabric on the inside of the pillowcase.

Pin the neck band in place, aligning its raw edges with the top of the apron.

(The neck band needs to be placed 1cm in from the sides to allow a seam allowance when the two layers are joined together - see the photo above).

Baste neck band to apron and pin to make sure it doesn't get caught in the seam allowances later on.

Pin the waist ties in place - raw edges against the side seams - 1cm below the edge of the fabric
(again, so they don't get caught in the seam allowances).

Sewing it all together:

Pin the two layers together, sandwiching the waist ties and neck-band inside the pillowcase, between the right sides of the fabric.

Now stitch all the way around the edges of the body of the apron, leaving a 10cm gap in the lower edge for turning.

Leave a 1cm seam allowance all the way around - even on the side seams which are already stitched. You need to sew inside the original seams in order to catch the waist ties in the new seam allowance.

When you come to sew over the waist ties and the neck-band, backstitch and sew over them again to secure them really well.

Close-up of the lower edge with pins in place to remind me to leave a gap.

(The edges look a bit uneven here so I trimmed them before stitching).

Trim the corners and clip the curves to help it all lie flat when turned.

Turn and press:

Turn through the gap in the lower edge, and press very well all the way around - it's worth doing this from both sides if you're wanting the apron to be reversible.

Press the lower edges under by 1cm at the turning gap, and pin this closed.

Now topstitch all the way around the body of the apron.

Hurrah! All done...

My apron looks as though it's posing for the camera here...

... and here's the more demure version on the reverse.

It didn't take long to make, and it's good to see old pillowcases rehabilitated and brought out from the airing cupboard! 

Let me know if you make one (or two, or three...)

Best (sewing) of 2010

I do love a good list, and New Year's Eve seems like the perfect excuse for a round-up of the year's creations.

In springtime I was nesting, waiting for baby to arrive. I discovered on-line patterns, and made endless tiny dresses and bloomers while my bump was growing bigger and bigger. Perhaps I should have paid more heed to the size of the bump, as some of the dresses were already small when runciblegirl was born. (No matter, I have a plan...)

In the summer, with babe in arms (literally), I flirted with bags, bunting and baby bootees - quick and simple projects which could be squeezed in between feeds.

The Taxi Tote: an Anne Marie Horner pattern made in a variety of Cath Kidston prints

 In the autumn I was searching for the Sugar City Village Frock, and was so delighted to find it that I had to start writing runcibledays in order to share the excitement! Autumn was also make-do-and-mend season, possibly because I had just discovered Oliver+S, whose reassuringly expensive patterns had to lead to cuts elsewhere in the sewing budget...

The Sugar City Village Smock in a Liberty print corduroy

Winter has been an oliver+s bonanza - working on the principle that those lovely patterns really can become economically viable on a cost-per-use basis - alternating with the ongoing search for the perfect bib.

Could this be it?

(Have there been any disasters? well yes, a few... let's agree never to speak again of the scratchy linen pyjama trousers, or the self-drafted jersey skirt with the disastrously wonky hemline).



Can I choose a single favourite item from 2010? Maybe not just one, but I can pick my top three.

In third place, representing all those little dresses (and with a nod to the o+s obsession) is the bubble dress, made for Christmas in beautifully soft patterned corduroy. And there's a matching bib - hooray!

Oliver+s bubble dress in a Valori Wells corduroy

In second place, a lovely upcycle. I wondered about the camper van set here, but settled on the vroom shorts - so simple to make, and so loved by their owner.

Vroom! - the upcycled cycle shorts

And in first place, my surprise favourite of the year: son#1's cub blanket - almost not a sewing project at all, it's a square of fleece with a hem around the edge and some cub badges sewn on. When I sat down to make it, I thought it would have an outing once a year at a cub sleepover and then languish in the bottom of a drawer. I was so wrong! He uses it every night, and it's a joy to see him snuggled up with blanket and book at bedtime. Once again: so simple, so loved...

Should there be a moral in there somewhere?

Happy New Year!

Germ warfare - reversible aprons to keep the bugs at bay

This fabric caught my eye in the shop and seemed to be saying 'make me into something for the boys...'. It's so rare to find fabulous prints for boys that I was at the checkout before I'd actually thought about what that 'something' should be. Luckily, the lady at the counter had a suggestion: she had used this fabric to make an apron for her brother-in-law. Once that idea had been planted, it was clearly the only thing to do with these multicoloured bugs...

They were very simple to construct: both are reversible with red on one side and blue on the other, so all the seams are enclosed and there was no fiddly finishing. The waist and neck bands fasten with press-on snaps, mostly because I'm trying to foster independence in my boys, and snaps are easier than ties for small fingers. The photo below shows a glimpse of the reverse on each apron.

I used the alternate colours for the waist and neck bands - but the boys weren't very so keen - they felt each side should have just one colour.
At least I'll know for next time!

ps: there aren't any photos of the work in progress - I was too focussed on the end product. But I'm thinking of making another in the new year so could put some photos and instructions together then if anyone would like tutorial - leave a comment to let me know if you would be interested!

Update Feb 11: tutorial (for something very similar) now in place

I say potato and you say...

One of the (unexpected) joys of this blog is looking at the 'stats' page and finding out who has been visiting me at runcibledays. I love looking at the map and knowing that someone in Portugal - or Chile, or Reunion, or Mexico - has been interested enough to read about my goings-on in England. And I love reading blogs from around the world and getting glimpses into other people's lives.

Every now and then I come across a word or a turn of phrase which reminds me that English is not quite the same language all around the world. When I lived in Queensland I soon learned that 'crook' can describe health rather than morality,  that 'thongs' can be footwear rather than lingerie, and why Australians are so entertained by talk of 'rooting' for a team. There was a whole thread on the O+S flickr group recently about alternative words for crossness on different continents. Even in the relatively contained world of sewing, there's always confusion to be found in the pants / trousers / bloomers situation.

And so, on to exhibit A: the Oliver + S Music Box Jumper...

Front view of the apple jumper 

and the back - with poppers (or maybe snaps?)

Isn't it lovely? I nearly missed this pattern altogether because when I hear 'jumper' I think 'woolly'. Apparently not in America (though I'm ready to be corrected on this one!). Anyway, this is a gorgeously simple little dress, which I'd probably have called a pinafore. The bodice is lined, and with french seams to finish the skirt the whole construction is a delight.

Music box jumper - the inside view.

I'm already making another - in a smaller print this time, hoping it will prove more pleat-friendly.

Thank you for looking, wherever you are!

Rag doll ruminations

I haven't had much time for sewing over the past few weeks, but have had plenty of opportunity (usually during nocturnal feeds) to plan future projects.

But first, a project from the past...

These lovely 'itty bitty dresses', from an online pattern by Made by Rae were made just before runciblegirl was born. I have such good memories of sewing these last spring, with my huge bump, using up tiny scraps of fabric. As it turned out, she wasn't very itty bitty herself, and had grown out of both within two weeks. It was a bit like making dolls' clothes, and perhaps that's what they should become.

So, I'm thinking about making a rag doll - but just how ragged should she be? She'll need to be robust enough to withstand both love and washing, probably lots of both. And I'd like to use some existing fabrics, rather than buying anything new. Maybe old clothes which have a bit of history already?

Now that I'm flirting with toy-making, I'm feeling a more urgent need to make something for the runcibleboys before they are too grown-up. Maybe bears? Sock monkeys? Those little stripey monsters? Or an owl? The rag doll might just have to wait...

Back to the itty bitty dresses,for a moment...

I think of this one as a flower-pot dress, though on closer observation I realise there aren't actually any flower pots there. This is the original pattern, minus the piping (must have been feeling a bit cowardly that day), with snaps at the shoulders to secure the ties.













And this one has been pared down even further into a little pinafore with snaps at the shoulders.




It's a very satisfying little pattern, with a self-lined bodice, and french seams in the skirt, so it finishes itself beautifully. I've read since that it's easy to enlarge by setting your printer to a larger size, so I'll be trying that next summer, and hoping for more than two weeks of use next time!