Well I completed my embroidered bird and decided to turn it into an apron. I have never made an apron before, so after studying some apron making videos on You Tube, I thought "what the heck, I can do this" and got busy making my first apron. It's not perfect, and I made a ton of mistakes, but you live and you learn.
Lesson # 1 was that I really shouldn't try to make things out of my head lol. I should have followed a pattern, but I decided to just wing it and make it up as I went along. I think I do better when I have a pattern to follow though.
So here is the bird and the teacup, finished in all its glory. I was going to use beads for the center of the flowers, but remembered I had bought some pretty colored sequins for a card project, so I decided to use them in the center instead. I love the way the light catches the sequins, and it brings the embroidery to life.
Picking out the fabric and colors for the apron was easy. I used a beautiful pink floral fabric by Cath Kidston for the main focus, and some green polka dot fabric for the co-ordinating edging. I also decided to try my hand at using bias tape - another first for me, and I chose a bright green that went well with everything else I had chosen.
Adding the bias tape wasn't too difficult. I think I might have needed to loosen up the bias tape a little as I rounded the corners of the apron, it felt a little tight. I guess that will be Lesson # 2 for me..lol. I am thinking about making some hot pads and finishing them with bias tape, so that will be a smaller projects for me to work on and I will get used to using the bias tape.
Lesson # 3 was a difficult one for me. It had to do with the pocket. When I embroidered the bird and teapot onto the fabric, I used a backing to give it more support. When I wanted to turn the embroidered piece into a pocket on the apron, I didn't want you to be able to see the stitches on the inside of the pocket, so I gave it another backing so it would look nicely finished. Well adding on the bias tape along the top wasn't bad, but attaching the pocket to the apron was a nightmare lol. Because of all the thickness from the layers in the pocket and the bias tape, it was hard to turn in the seams and sew through them all. I fussed with it a bunch, unpicked and cursed a lot, but finally managed to get it attached. Lesson # 3 learned and duly noted - do not use so many layers hahaha.
Lesson # 4 is that I need to learn how to take professional photos when shooting photos of my work. I wasn't quite sure how to photograph the apron so you can see it properly. So here is the best shot of my apron that I could come up with for now.
Overall I can't complain too much about my first attempt at an apron. I know there are several mistakes and I have learned from them, and hope to put my knowledge to good use if I ever decide to make another apron lol.
I am already working on something new, which I will be sharing with you shortly. So tune back in soon for more updates. I will also have more info about my new Etsy shop I will be opening, where I will be making and selling handmade goods. I will also be making some new christmas cards sometime in the near future so I will be adding those to my card shop.
Have a great week everyone - adios for now :-)
