Sewing Aprons

I love sewing aprons!! They are cute & pretty not to mention very functional.

I of course especially love the retro, kitschy look of vintage style aprons. Sometimes I think ladies of the yester years had much more fun dressing up in the kitchen with pretty aprons lol!

Here is the latest one I made for our local sewing group apron swap. I had so much fun making this beauty :)

I used this amazing print by Jennifer Paganelli from her Circa collection. Love the green & how saturated the colors are.

 The half circle skirt actually makes this apron looks like a dress! And I am also in love with the pocket :)

Here is another apron I finished yesterday. It is a child's apron. I made up a pattern as I made it and am loving the result. This is actually a test sample for a special tutorial that I will announce and share with all of you next month!

Now, I'm thinking to make some aprons for sale. Perhaps if there are enough interest I just might. I am after all trying to gear my sew & sell items towards offering ready to ship instead of custom. Mainly because with a baby in tow, custom order is giving me a lot of stress.... wait time is getting longer and longer, so I think it is unfair for my customers.

The time will come, Insha Allah, there is a way for this mama. Till later, stay beautiful my friends! :)

Handmade Gifts

A lot to write but not enough courage...I will find it soon.

Just some pictures then of handmade gifts for my gily-girlfriends. Babes, you know who you are hope you like it. Am making a few more for another 3 of you (jangan marah k..I kan selow melow...lol).

Kitchen Diva Apron

Retro Sleepmask

Love you girls to bits! Thank you for being my friends - Ezza, Nirah, Angah, Nadiah, Sya, Yasmin *hugs*

Apron for Aisha and A Manly Pouch

These are projects finished two weeks ago but I forgot to blog about.

Aisha wanted an apron. So I cooked one up using scaled down version of my apron tutorial and added one huge, grinning pocket :D

Do you notice how girly the apron is? I used the cheapest materials here, some pink gingham and polycotton blend vintage roses print. But....this apron is actually meant for Aisha's art class in school!! LOL, I got carried away with my girly-ness and forgot it's supposed to be an art apron. Oh well, I bet Aisha will be the one with the girliest art apron in class then :P

The girls danced on the sofa during the photoshoot as if they are little chefs.

I love Hanan's expression here :D


And Hanan wanted to put it on too. It looks like a dress on her lol..I need to make another apron just for her, a teeny, tiny one.

And after that, hubby wanted a small pouch to put all his manly stuffs (dunno what they are hehe)...So I offered a few prints in man color in my stash, which of course is very limited. He refused all of them, too girly he said. Sigh...

Then he returned to the room with an old folder (usually we get for free when we attend Government's courses :P) made from thick poly+webbing mix (I dunno what material this is) and asked me to recycle it and made the pouch. And then he printed his name on iron on transfer paper and transferred it onto my cotton tape. I attached a D-ring for him to attach his office keychain etc.

So this is the result, made with love. Manly eh?

Tutorial : Simple Ruffled Apron

Fabric : Barefoot Roses and Darla by Tanya Whelan, Grand Revival Designs

I consider this simple because I did not make pockets and was able to finish this in an hour. The result is cute and it jazz up a bit the basic full apron pattern. Here's how I make my new ruffled apron :

1. Start with the basic pattern for the body. Use the measurement above and draft. I drafted mine directly on the fabric. Just fold the fabric, right side together and draw the shape using your ruler and fabric marker/chalk on the wrong side. Of course you can also draft it on paper first if you want.

Cut along the drawn line, 1 piece from main fabric. Then take the cut main fabric and pin it to lining fabric as a guide to cut the lining piece.

REMEMBER: This pattern is cut ON FOLD. This means the long side (25" here) lies on folded side of the fabric.

2. Next, cut the ruffle fabric. Cut 1 piece using the measurement above from contrasting fabric. No lining is needed for ruffle.

Now, cut the ties pieces :

Neck = 2 pieces Main Body fabric 2.5" x 20"

2 pieces Ruffle fabric 2.5 " x 20"

Waist = 2 pieces Main Body fabric 2.5" x 24"

2 pieces Ruffle fabric 2.5 " x 24"

3. Take the neck ties main and ruffle fabric, right side together. Stitch 1/4" on both long sides to create a long tube. Turn the tube right side out. Do the same with waist ties. You will have four tubes.

Turning tubes can be a nightmare. Here's how I do it :

Press all four ties. Fold in short end of each ties and press.

4. Now, top stitch the ties using narrow 1/8" stitch, enclosing the raw edge of the short edge of each ties.

5. Place the main body piece and the lining fabric right side together. Sew ¼" seam on all sides except the bottom. Leave two inches gaps as shown above to insert the ties later. Turn the main body piece inside out and press well.

6. Insert the ties at the neck and waist openings. Next, topstitch the body piece edges (at neckline, armsyche and sides), securing the ties. You can also backstitch at the ties to strengthen the seam.

7. Make the ruffle. Fold 1/2 " of the two short ends and press. Then fold the ruffle in half along the long edge, wrong side together and press again. This will make double thickness, no lining ruffle. Stitch 1/8" the two folded in short edges to close the sides.

8. Use your preferred technique of gathering for the ruffle (either use a ruffler foot, manually using two rows of basting stitch or by adjusting the tension of your sewing machine). Align to make sure the gathered ruffle piece is the same length with the body piece.

9. Flip the ruffle and align the raw edges on the right side of the body piece as shown. Pin the ruffle in place. Stitch the ruffle to the body piece. Trim and finish the seam either with zig zag stitch or serger. Press the seam towards upper body piece.

10. Top stitch the body to the ruffle and you're done!

Enjoy your new apron! J