Achieving a Clean Finished Look

When I am sewing I love to have clean lines and a fully finished look.  In order to get my clean finished look on this crocheted and embroidered apron bib I used a small zigzag along the crocheted edge.  

Here are the steps I used to achieve the final look.

I cut out both the fashion fabric (the embroidered pillowcase) and the lining (plain white).  The darts were marked and stitched and then the 2 layers were placed right sides together.  I stitched the underarm seams using the edge of the presser foot as my seam allowance, approximately 1/4".

Next I turned the bib right side out and pressed the underarm seams.  I pinned the bib flat and used a short narrow zigzag to finish the top edge.  This is where the special edge finish starts to happen.  

Pictured here is the exact stitch length and width I used for the zigzag edge finish.

Once the full width of the bib top had been zigzagged I flipped the bib over to view the lining side.  The new stitching line followed the original stitching line of where the crocheted cotton had been attached to the pillowcase.  This is what the backside looked like.

 Now it is time to use my favorite pair of scissors.  They are a gingher bunt tip pocket scissor.  Excellent for using on the embroidered or crocheted linens I work with.  They will not catch or accidentally cut your embroidery!   I made my scissor purchase through Debra with Labours of Love Heirloom Sewing.  They are an online business that operates near Vancouver, BC,  Canada.  An worthy investment for the   the type of sewing I enjoy.  

These incredible scissors let you get in tight against your zigzag and not catch the crochet cotton.  I trimmed along the full front of the bib.

Once the selvage lining had been cut away you have a cleanly finished edge.  The lining side looks clean and crisp.  Your Front side looks clean and crisp. 

It is as easy and simple as that!  

Stay tuned for a post coming in the near future revealing the full Apron pictured here.  It was a custom ordered piece delivered to Saskatchewan, Canada.  

Thank you for sharing in my passions, 

Danine

Exhibit and Celebration of Heritage Aprons published in Apron.ology 2013

I am very excited to announce that I have been published!  Apron.ology has chosen 4 of my uniquely designed Heritage Aprons to be published in their 2013 volume.  You are invited to help celebrate.  

An exhibit of 20 Heritage Aprons designed by Danine Regenwetter of Avonlea’s Heritage Aprons will be held at the 

Lee Pavilion in the Citadel Theatre 

on Friday, February 8, 2013.  

 6:00-8:00 p.m.  

Edmonton, Alberta  Canada

I will be on hand to celebrate this most recent publication, lead a show and share of the Aprons on exhibit, and sign copies of the magazine.  The exhibit will include the 4 published Heritage Aprons.  The American magazine titled Apron.ology is published annually by the parent company Stampington & Company.  The release date is this Friday, February 1, 2013.  

The publications are giving strength and confidence to this unique form of art.  It also secures that the dream I am following, preserving memories and heritage with vintage linens, is being loved by the public.  Designing new with preserving old.  Vintage tablecloths, doilies, handkerchiefs, and even pillowcases are repurposed and redesigned into functional forms of art.  These Aprons are preserving the memories of one’s heritage.  Aprons can be purchased from display or custom designed with your linens to preserve your family’s heritage. 

Please plan to join the celebration.  Wine and cupcakes will be served.  Click here to RSVP your attendance and number of guests.  

Thank you for visiting, 

Danine

Building Tips for your "Fort in a Bag"

Building a Fort is pure fun and a great way to encourage imagination.  This post is written especially for Adults needing to kick start their imagination and keep pace with those kids.  I have compiled a list of tips that will help you create a unique Fort every time.  My most important tip, remember to get down to the child’s eye level and experience the Fort from the inside.  This is where the memories will be made.  It will be an amazing encouragement to your child in preserving a Heritage.  A Heritage that will be remembered and passed from them to the next generation.  

Your Fort in a Bag comes with the basic tools you need to get started.  Additional furniture is an option but not required.  By using the Clothesline included you can get height for your Fort.  Tie the two ends to a piece of furniture, chair, curtain rod, or my favorite, a door hinge.  Of course you are the judge of where the kids can or cannot attach their Fort and what is a safe location. Score 1 for the Fort in a Bag!  Furniture usage is optional.   

Other items for your infrastructure could include couches, chairs, table (card), bunk beds, or Rubbermaid totes.
Choose a building spot that is not in a high traffic location.  I guarantee you will be much more open to having the Fort up for a few days, or weeks, if it is not in the middle of the Kitchen.

Add your included bed sheets to the Clothesline.  There are ribbons sewn to all 4 corners of your sheet.  It cannot slip away on you!  The simple straight and easy tent uses 1 of your sheets draped over the Clothesline and anchored to low lying furniture at all 4 corners using your ties. 

 

To increase the size of your Fort to a Fortress use one sheet per side.  Attach the sheet to your Clothesline with your included clothespins.  Remember to use your corner ties on the Clothesline for more strength and longevity.  Score 2 for the Fort in a Bag!  The sheets will not be continuously slipping away on you. 

Remember back to your days of building.  Books are great anchors and elastic bands will work to cover chairs with your sheets if you have run out of clothespins.  

Extra walls could probably be found in your Linen Closet.  However, chances are better that the Fort to last longer if you stay out of the Closet.  The sheets provided in this kit are especially for Fort building.  You will not be looking for these ones or having to rationalize with a 2 year old about dismantling his Fortress.  Score 3 and 4 for the Fort in a Bag! Your Linens stay in your Closet and there are no 2 year old meltdowns.

Consider creating an entrance and an exit for your Fort.  Once you get the little people and the Adult(s) in you may feel claustrophobic and be looking for a quick escape!  

Be sure to add a pillow and favorite Stuffies to the Fort.  It will make it a little more comfortable to sit on once you get in.
Bring snacks into the Fort if you plan to stay awhile.

Bring a few books into your newly built Fort.  Read a few stories and maybe inspire a non reader to become a reader.  Score 5 for the Fort in a Bag!  Your tent is helping to promote literacy.      

Create a special name for your Fort with your child.  Your Fort in a Bag comes with a temporary name until you can decide on a family one.  

Consider a flashlight as an additional gift with your Fort in a Bag.  This is now a bonus gift included with your Fort in a Bag purchased in 2013!  

Stay and share a few extra minutes with your child. Cherish the memories you have just created in your uniquely designed Fort.  Score 6 for the Fort in a Bag!  Your child has a new piece of Heritage they will remember and share with their children in the years to come.

Finally, your Fort in a Bag is Eco-Friendly.  The bed sheets chosen are always repurposed and many times they are vintage pieces. Score 7 for the Fort in a Bag! Thank you for considering my product.  You made the world a little greener today.  

Best of Luck on your Fort building Venture!  It will get easier each time you create, I promise.

Danine

1950's Replica Apron

A brown envelope showed up in the mail to me one day last summer.  

Inside the brown envelope was another brown envelope.  The second one, on the inside, was the inspiring one.  An original pattern envelope that was mailed in October of 1950.  

So far I have made an apron skirt following the exact step by step instructions of the Marian Martin Sew-Chart.  

The instructions even have the layout pattern for using a feed bag however it does specifically state that it will only work for a size small.  

I have completed the apron skirt and am still working on the bib.  

The skirt has been repurposed from a christening gown lining and the hankie was collected from a garage sale in New Brunswick, Canada.  

The binding along the pocket edge and the skirt hemline are not true vintage pieces however they hold the feel together.  

I have the fabrics set aside and will finish this piece in the near future.  Keep checking back for a follow up post showing the completed 1950's replica.  

Thanks for visiting, 

Danine

Vintage Softness

Vintage Softness

This is currently my favorite apron that I have created.  My inspiration came from a set of 4 matching handkerchiefs.

The handkerchiefs are so soft to touch.  The softness was going to be my focus.  This apron needed to have a soft overall finish instead of using starch to press out the crease lines of years of use.  Two of the 4 matching handkerchiefs have been damaged by simple use.  There are holes and worn threads in a couple of areas.  I have incorporated that into the design.

The first apron detail came from a very worn section of one of the hankies.  I decided to inlay a piece of crotched lace ribbon which had a very similar look to the original hankie.  After I stitched the lace over the damaged section I cut away the backside (the actual hankie itself) and added a strip of pink guilting cotton to give a soft color showing through.

Two of the four hankies were used in whole and then two were cut.  There was one hankie cut in half diagonally and the other was cut horizontally through the center.  I used a basting stitch creating a few gathers and stitched the sections to the bottom edge of what would be the center base hankie.  For the side hankies I actually used 2 which if there was no damage I could have used only 1.  These hankies were cut on the diagonal and the damaged section was added to my “one day I will use it’ pile.  

The underskirt and waistline sash came from leftover quilting fabric my mom used to make a quilt for me over 10 years ago.  I love that I can incorporate memories in to my creations.  For me this is the significance behind my designs.  So many have grandma’s doilies in the linen closet but what are we going to do with them?  

I am still searching for the perfect embellishments to complete my apron.  I do have a few vintage pink buttons that match perfectly.  It is just not enough yet.  I am going to do a feature on the left shoulder area and then again on the right side waist.  Maybe a few fabric roses from the green cotton will bring the balance of color up to the top of the apron.  I will post new pictures when I find that final touch.  

Thanks for visiting, 

Danine   

An Easter Heirloom Apron

I am so excited to turn this tablecloth into an apron.  Just a few weeks ago my sister-in-law passed this piece onto me.  There is a lot of research that I am still needing to do with it.  I was given a bag of family linens and instructed  “not to just sell them.”  There is sentimental value to these treasures and once I looked in the bag I could understand why.  

Now I just need to do the research and find the stories that are attached to all the stains.  My pictures truly do not do it justice.  I opened up this square tablecloth with beautiful embroidery.  I am not sure if has been handmade by my mother-in-law or one of my husband’s grandmothers.  

The part that got me really excited after seeing the embroidered bouquet of flowers were all the stains!  There are bright pink ones, yellow ones, and blue ones.  At very first glance there was a randomness to the stains but then when I really paid attention there was a perfect pattern and explanation.  How many children were sitting around the table dying easter eggs when these splashes landed on the tablecloth?   

I can see where the bowls where sitting and what color had been in each bowl.  My heart starts beating faster when I see the linen and have so many questions.  How far back did the family dye easter eggs.  It is a tradition we do at out house.  I have decorated eggs at my husbands house for the the 15 years we have been together.  Are these stains from when he was a little boy or are they from his mom having decorated eggs when she was a young girl?  

The apron has yet to be created but there will be one out of this tablecloth.  It will be a piece that stays in the family.  

Do you have family traditions that can be traced by vintage linens?  I would love to hear your stories.  

Danine

Butterfly Beauty

This beautiful piece was a treasure my Auntie Ann found at a little antique shop in Ontario.  She told me that she found a wooden chest and opened it to explore.  It was filled with treasures.  That is if you are an apronologist I guess.  I certainly consider opening a chest of vintage aprons a successful treasure hunt.  

The piece is hand embroidered with the backside as neat and tidy looking as the front.  

For right now this piece is sitting on the sidelines waiting to be recreated.  The complete inspiration has not come out yet.  I will let the piece sit out in view for a while and one day the inspiration will come.  

This is the process I go through with nearly all my designs.  I find an antique linen I love and let it sit out where I can see it everyday.  It may sit there for months on its own or I may pair it with a piece of fabric that seems to match.  Then I will be in an antique market one day see a jar of vintage  buttons and the full vision of the finished apron will hit me.  It is then that I race home and can not wait for the boy’s bedtime so I can create the vision in my head.  These are late nights but the result in the morning is breathtaking, to me anyways.  

How do you get your inspirations?

Danine  

A Farmer’s Wife Apron

I would truly love to know the stories behind some of the pieces I collect.  This beautiful apron was found at an antique market and fell in love.  It is so simple and yet would have so many stories to share.  I can tell that it has been homemade and I envision a farmer’s wife to have worn it.  I see her out in the yard pinning up laundry to the line with pins coming from her pockets.  I see kids playing on the grass and pulling on the hemline.  I can also smell the fresh apple pie that she made this morning and just took out of the oven.  

The pink details are bias tape while all the other edges are finished with a double folded hem. 

This is the apron I have been choosing to wearing in my kitchen over the past 6 months.    

Thanks for visiting, 

Danine

Tea Party Hostess

Who would not want to be the Hostess of a quaint little Tea Party wearing this apron?  This apron represents everything feminine and dainty.  As a mother of 4 very young boys I enjoy escaping to my craft room and creating one of a kind masterpieces that I can wear and enjoy.  Looking pretty in one of these creations gives me the renewed energy to carry though my busy days.  I love sharing my passion with others and this is one way I have chosen to follow in doing just that.  My typical preferred look usually involves softer earth element colors with that worn vintage look.  Although I do stretch myself to create aprons of completely different styles.     

In this Apron, perfect to host a Tea Party, everything has been repurposed.  The apron base was once a skirt found at a local thrift shop, the cream overlay is a combination of 2 table napkins sewn together with a few pin tucks.  These napkins journeyed across the country from eastern Canada to the western prairies and were gifted from my Mother.  The pink ties are constructed from leftover quilting cotton my mom had made a quilt 10 years ago (a quilt for me that is used each day).  Vintage buttons were an amazing find at an antique sale just recently.

As much as I love wearing an apron around the house I wish it were acceptable to wear one anywhere my days took me.  It shows the true inner spirit of how I feel and I believe if you feel good and inspired then others can sense it and then they suddenly feel good too.  

I had gathered a few items to start this design that sat on my craft table for nearly 2 months before I had a chance to sit and work.  I did not have a clear vision of what the final apron would be, only that I liked the colors.  Once I sat down the ideas started flowing and I had a very hard time stopping to go to bed.  I stitched to the wee hours of the morning which is not in the schedule of having 4 little boys under age 6 very early each morning!  However, the energy gained from this creation worked to my advantage in facing those smiling faces just a few hours after I laid down.

The name for this apron was the baby girl name I did not have the chance to use.  With all the testosterone in our house I need every bit of girl, frill, daintiness and Grace I can find.     

Thanks for visiting

Danine