Terrified I would be imprisoned by a virulent strain of the Betty Draper Disease, I for months shied away from this project. Apron equaled apathy. Apron equaled anxiety. Apron equaled Anger. Apron equaled adultery.
The only Betty I wanted to be is Betty Friedan, but with the blonde bombshell body of TV Betty, of course.
Necessity got in the way. I love to cook, to play with culinary concepts of balance, precision, and chance. This evening, I’ll be working on the braising technique for a homemade veal Osso Buco. All this fun can get messy, though, and a mess always leads to cleaning.
I needed an apron to be effective. I needed an apron to do battle in the kitchen without reservations. I wanted to be armed.
By reshaping the significance of the apron, I no longer feared it. In my world, the apron would be armor. A rather colorful form of protection, yet a worthy and kitchen-capable one nonetheless. Most noteworthy element of its design? It’s my hand craft.
Etsy Labs’ Church of Craft (first Sunday of the month) provided the sewing machine and fabric remnants. In line with efforts to green the globe, the apron has also come to symbolize a dedication to my belief system. I’m a recycler! Not a drippy Draper!
The closeup doesn’t show it, but I’ll fess up. The stitching is slapdash at best, zig-zaggy drunk at worst. I used directions to get the basic format and dimensions of a typical apron, but from there I flew wildlike into the unknown. Improvising is a great quality, but patience and an ability to decipher directions would be a plus.
Seizing the moment, without judgment, is an intoxicating high. Armed with my apron and a the scent of an apple pie bubbly baking, I’ve crafted a high that never ceases to pleasure. If only Betty Draper were armed with this aroma.
7 Responses to “Armed and Aproned”
Looks good and *sounds* good to me :-) I have a couple of aprons, but rarely remember to wear them, which is a shame because I’ve ruined many tops from splattering sauces. They really are a necessity.
You’ve got me thinking…I wonder if I can do some sort of apron from old t-shirts? Now that I’m smitten by alabama stitch and am in love with knits I think this could be a good thing. Part of the reason I don’t wear aprons is because I don’t fing them comfortable and they’re usuall ill fitting around my boobs. A couple of layers of knit could be the key!!
I’m glad I got you thinking! You have the knack for sewing as your blog attests.
I too notice that the bodice is bulky. Actually, it hangs funny, which I think can be attributed to my chest size as well;-) Mine could certainly go for some decorative lace along the edges. What’s the sewing term for something that edges for decorative, not functional purposes? I need the words if I’m going to talk about this!
I hope you do use your old t-shirts and would dig seeing a pic of the results. Have you heard of Megan Nicolay and her book “Generation-T”?
I still can’t believe you threw this together in 1 night at Etsy labs.. very nice!
I’d call any sort of trim, decorative or functionsl, simply “trim”. You could get specific if you’d like and call it what it is – ric-rack, bias binding, lace, piping, etc.
That apron looks really good and cute! I’ve been meaning to make an apron but have yet to start working on it although ive got my pattern and fabric. Have a lovely weekend!
I am soooo jealous you go to Etsy Labs! Its another great reason to live near the NYC (or at least visit)! One day I will have to venture up to Brooklyn for the experience myself.
I love this apron, so cute! It has a vintage quality to it. I have a few aprons that I wear all the time. I am thinking Christmas presents.
Definitely share the links with me about your wedding (ugh, I love weddings). I did a slew of wedding posts around our anniversary (which was Sept 20). The wedding posts were semi slack since I was traveling at the time, plus I still get stressed just thinking about it.
It would be fun to gift aprons to family and friends for the holidays! In order to feel comfortable gifting them, though, I’d like the stitching to look presentable. I have trouble keeping a steady hand and getting the rhythm of the machine to work in my favor.
I looked up the trims that Beki mentioned, which may help your apron making:
ric rac-a narrow, zigzag braid or ribbon used as a trimming on clothing, linens, etc.
bias binding- a long narrow strip of material cut on the bias and used to form the edge of a hem or to bind the edges of a garment
Off to watch the season finale of Mad Men. Should be good! Wonder if Betty will be wearing an apron?