Making Some Christmas Aprons

During the first lockdown, I did quite a bit of sewing and made various things, including some aprons to wear at work when I'm sorting and pricing donations. They were easy to make, along with their matching drawstring bags, which make them easy to throw in the washing machine when I get home from work at the end of the day.

Whilst being furloughed for the month of November, it was on my list to make a few more, this time from my stash of Christmas fabrics, both to cheer myself up and to get into the Christmas spirit for when I return to work in December. It's a great use of the fabric, that I probably wouldn't otherwise use, and if they raise a smile at work, then it will have been well worth it.

I set about making them one afternoon the other week. I wasn't feeling the decorating and just wanted to do something different. I began by using one of the aprons I had previously made as a template. I changed the new aprons slightly, making them shorter (knee length) and not so wide, as they didn't need to go down past my knees or wrap half way around my back.  This used much less fabric, which was good, as some pieces of fabric that I wanted to use, weren't quite big enough to make them in the original size. I also didn't bother to make any pockets to put on the front, as in reality, I just don't use them.

I cut out 6 aprons in all, from six different fabrics and pinned the edges ready to sew, either by hand, or on my machine if I could get it working again. I also cut enough fabric to make a small matching drawstring bag for each of them. I was then going to order some cotton tape on eBay for the ties, neck strap and drawstrings, until I accidentally came across some cotton Christmas tape that I already had in my stash that was perfect for the job and needed using for something. 

It was a day or so before I got back to them and could progress, I had to try to get my sewing machine working again. It was a job I wasn't looking forward to, as I'd got quite frustrated with it the last time I'd tried to use it, whilst making a new quilt. After changing the thread and testing out the machine, I was pleased to find that it was working okay, so proceeded to sew the drawstring bags and then the aprons themselves. 

I then proceeded to cut the cotton tape to the right lengths and pin it to the aprons, ready to machine stitch on. Later that evening, whilst watching TV, I threaded the tape through the drawstring bags and then all I needed to do was to stitch the tapes onto the aprons and give them all an iron and they were all set to go. This last bit of stitching, I did in part on my machine, which subsequently stopped working and then the last few done by hand.  This took a bit longer, but I quite enjoy hand stitching.

They are by no means perfect, but will do the job and it was a very satisfying little project that at least is now completed, ready for when I return to work. Here's a few pictures of the finished aprons and bags: