Aprons-the workhorse of the home

Back in the fall, I had someone ask me to make an apron as a Christmas gift. Now, I love aprons and the purpose they serve but I was asked to make a reproduction vintage apron from the 1950's. Guess what? I had never sewn an apron before the request was made. I thought how much different from a purse could this be! lol...

Ok so I bought a pattern and all the supplies for a test apron. That one bombed on me but I found the mistakes and learned how to correct them on the real apron for the customer. I made this for her giftee:

This baby took more than 2 yards of fabric, tons of ironing and about 9 yards of 1/4 inch bias tape. I will never work with bias tape that small again on this scale.

But this pattern included several apron patterns and I decided I needed my own apron. I already own a few but they are blue and basic. I just wanted something that was tailored to me. I do own 2 of my grandmother's vintage aprons but they are too small for me.

Sigh.

I dug through my stash of fabrics and found the fabric shower curtain I bought at Goodwill back in the summer for $1.00. This was a thicker fabric, sturdier than cottons for quilting but totally washable. I bought it to make a few make-up bags with zippers. Those never materialized but I knew the fabric was going to come in handy. So I used one of the other apron designs in the package and made this fun and simple apron. I did use 1/4 inch bias tape but it was only for the edging, not for joining seams like in the first apron.

I love the little piggies and all the fun scenes in this fabric. Let me say that I wear this thing a whole lot around the house. It keeps me dry when I wash dishes. I am one of the last remaining folks who does not own an electric dishwasher.
Sigh.
Today I wore it to make yet another loaf of my homemade Rosemary-Parmesan focaccia bread to go with our dinner of pasta with sausage and vodka sauce. Yum! I simply love this apron. I hope to find another pretty shower curtain to make more aprons because I wash this one every couple of days. It would be nice to have a few more in different prints.