Semper fidelis

Semper fidelis is Latin for "Always Faithful" and it is the motto for the U.S. Marine Corps.  I had happened upon some Marine dress shirts, not knowing any thing personal about them, I decided to make an apron from them.  An apron in the wonderful magazine "Altered Couture"  (Feb, Mar, Apr 2010 edition page 17) a designer used men's dress shirts for an apron.  Actually the sleeves. This inspired me to make two aprons based off that idea. I took both long sleeves off of 2 shirts and a set of short sleeves off of one shirt.  The short sleeves became the pockets.  I had two neckties that I cut in half and used them for the apron ties.  A little yellow ribbon sewed on to show support for the troops.   Both aprons are for purchase - email me at rfthreads@yahoo.com if interested.

 You gotta love a Marine in uniform!

Fashion Apron Making and Memories

Hello everyone! The fashion show is over and it was a success - more of that event coming soon.  Today, I just wanted to sew.  I have been wanting to make aprons from on-their-way-out skirts or dresses.  Working at Ruth's Room, I see lots of material in the ready-made garments that are out-of-date or may have a stain, or something else that would keep it from not being worn as a garment- so instead of tossing it in the trash we volunteers like to get creative and repurpose it. For example - This little girl's dress has a ink stain on the front by the flower - love the colors of the pattern and love the embellishment - lets turn it into an apron....

 A Basic Girl's Jumper Dress - this one was a size 8.

Dismantle the dress-  I cut around the zipper to remove it - and save it for future use - continuing cutting all the way down the back of dress. I cut the bodice from the skirt. Using something round for a guide, I rounded the corners of the back of dress, now the apron sides. 

 

Pocket -  I  placed the bodice as flat as possible and cut a eye-ball straight line from the edge of arm hole down to raw edge of bodice. I folded over a seam allowance straightening up the pocket as it was ironed. Using the neckline of bodice to become the opening of pocket - I sewed on red rick-rack, tucking the ends under the edge. Then place the pocket on the apron where you want it. I put this one slightly over the ribbon flower to cover up the stain. Pin down. I sewed the rick-rack and the pocket down together, tucking the rick-rack ends over the edge and miter the corners.  

 

Embellishments - At the corner of pocket I sewed on three fabric flowers made with some of the back bodice material with button centers on top of a small pink crocheted doily.

Hem- I folded over twice for a hem at the back and the rounded edge of apron hem.  I sewed on more red rick-rack on lower apron edge.

Waist band and Ties -  I used the rest of the back bodice sides to make the waist band. These two pieces were about three inches wide and about ten inches long. With a 1/4" seam I joined the two together and ironed in half length-wise. Then I attached the waist band to apron, matching centers and finishing the seam with a zig-zag stitch.  I ran out of material from the dress for the ties, so I purchased some red broadcloth.  I cut two 3" wide strips the whole length of the material. Fold in half and stitched. Turn right side out. Sewed it to the edge of waist band. I slowly top-stitched the lower and upper part of the waistband. Tie it on and Enjoy!

My darling daughter as my model.

With cute aprons like this one, we need to bring them back in style! Aprons are so amazing and hold a lot of memories for many. I remember Grandma cutting kindling for her wood cook stove to make pancakes for breakfast with Huckleberries in the batter - yum - wearing an apron.  What is your favorite memory....

A Lurker On My Own Blog

This picture is part of the decorations for our church's Valentine Dinner - decorated by yours truly and her P.A. - Cindi.

A Lurker On My Own Blog

Whew! I have been just going and going..... that I haven't had the time to put out a post - And I miss it. 

Currently I am working on a fashion show with my partner-in-crime, Cindi, for Ruth's Room where I am the director of. This fashion show is being called "Get Your Glam On!"   It's emphasis being on wearing clothes in a new way by getting your clothes from thrift stores, vintage shops, or consignment shops and wearing them with a modern twist.  This can be accomplished by many ways - altering, dyeing it another color, layering, wear it as another type of clothing - like a button up or zip up dress could become a lightweight jacket and these are just a few suggestions.  (Ruth's Room is a ministry that gives away clothes to anyone who needs them.)  At Ruth's Room's blog you can see some of the preperation we have been going through to get this show going.

This idea for a fashion show came up over a year ago and then it was like, "Let's just do this!"

I knew it was going to be hard work, but boy has it ever.  It has some real fun moments and I get really excited and then the butterflies kick in.  We have just a little over a week to go, with more fittings and rehearsals to do, then get the stage all set for the show.   We have six teenaged girls who are the models - Mollie, Makala, Callie, Evelyn, Genesis and Lexi - and each one has about six outfit changes.  It is a lot of work for them as well and they all have been such good sports!

So for now until March 6th has come and gone, when I get the chance I will stop by and read what is going on with you. 

Uh oh, I feel the butterflies coming....