Sail Away Apron {Knock off of Anthro, HMS Lollipop}

I saved the best for last... and the hardest too! I now know what this apron is 30 bucks ha! While it is pretty straightforward it is a fairly detail oriented apron, cuts on the bias, lining up stripes etc. I am hoping with a tutorial I will take the hardest parts out of it :) And it did take me a while to figure everything out and then a little while longer to get the pattern right. (Hence the slight delay in post, please forgive my tardiness hee hee) I must say I do LOVE how it turned out though:

I wish I had been able to get a picture of it ON because the length is actually perfect on a living breathing person :) I also love my new necklace inspired by this apron. 

I got THIS gorgeous set of measuring spoons from Anthropologie a while back.

I actually caught my husband using them the other day and warned him that he may want to stick with the plastic ones because if the anthro ones broke I would be super bummed. Then I thought how silly to waste something so pretty in a drawer. Since I am an avid baker I thought it would be cute to string it on some cute thread and make a necklace. First I tried the tablespoon but that was too big, and pretty heavy. 

I might even downsize to the 1/2 a tsp :) In any event what is fun about this particular tutorial is there is a pattern for the top of the apron (found HERE) but you also get to stretch those sewing skills and follow a long to make your own tiered bottom of the apron. Shall we sail away? 

Top of the Mornin' to yah!

and go print the Razzelberry Apron pattern here. You deserve something pretty!

Razzelberry Apron

This particular apron is great because it is so versatile. This pattern is the bread and butter of aprons ha! 

This is going to be my everyday apron. It is much more sensible then the other aprons. Easy on easy off. 

What is great is it is a cinch to make! If you like you can add embellishments to make it a bit more frilly like the Sparkly and Bright apron

Charlie Brown Apron

(With the internet being awful the pictures aren't loading correctly) I am hoping it will magically heal itself over night ha!

I am sooo in love with this apron!! I don't know if it is because midway through I literally thought I would be doing a post about how sometimes things just turn out horrible or what, thats probably it because while I was saying it was my fav my hubby said it was "cute" but not his fav :) I totally was ironing the chevron's thinking this is going to be awful. Which, when you have stayed up until midnight working on something is not the most fun thought. But oh my goodness I love how it turned out. 

I love the unique neckline. 

But what I really love is the chevrons on the skirt. While I didn't have the energy to make them perfect I think they turned out pretty cute and really make the apron. I learned how to make these in college but there is an excellent tutorial HERE (on an amazing blog). 

Throw in the big brown waistband and I'm in heaven :) Now if only I had added pockets.

If you don't do the embellishments (or sew on ready made ones) this apron is incredible easy and quick to make!

Flower Petals Apron

This particular apron did not end up the way I expected, or really wanted it to end up. I only had very stiff tulle on hand. Do NOT use extra stiff tulle, it does not lay or gather nicely. I am determined to unpick it and replace it with some nice soft tulle once I find some. I think it would look lovely with the right tulle. As is I LOVE the fabric combinations on this one. The fabric is from Chirpy Designs.

It is a really easy apron to make and I think it would look so great with several layers of light tulle under it. {Once again you are going to need to make some ties.} I love the bright pink contrast

For the waistband I used the same waistband pattern that I used for the "Taking Notes Skirt" which you can find HERE.  I love the high waist look, if you do to then click on the Tell Me More and find out how to make it!

Sandalwood Apron

Well, the holidays are over and it is time to move on.

I took several pictures of our tree this year and this was my favorite. It is odd packing the christmas decor away without knowing where in the world we will be living next year when we unpack it. Have you packed your tree away yet? The one good thing about this is now I get to start thinking about SPRING!!! I had this wonderful season on the brain when I was organizing my fabrics this weekend. I have been saving and saving and saving the last little bit of my Amy Butler Sandalwood fabric. I love it so much I just couldn't ever use it (um, am I the only crazy one like that). But, after folding and putting away the fun fabric I realized I didn't have all that many options left (the 15 yards is down to 7, this is NOT a hint for ANYONE to send fabric, just a heads up on the status of the "experiment").  I plunged in and used it and LOVE how it turned out:

I am not going to lie I kind wish I had just bit the bullet and made it a skirt ha! Can I just say how much I love box pleats? They looks so clean and crisp and as my mom might say "smart".  What I think is funny about "half aprons" though is that, to me, they are made for chefs who do not splatter and splash on themselves but rather want something to wipe their hands on. I am generally more of a splatter and splash girl so I think this will probably end up being a "hostess" apron :)

What I am really excited about with this tutorial is that I am going to walk you through creating your own pattern. No enabling today :) I promise it is so easy and when you are done you will have the fabulous feeling of creating something beautiful from nothing. This is such an easy apron that I would totally suggest making it for a girlfriends night out activity or Enrichment night. Especially because they can be made to fit each person so perfectly.
Shall we jump in?

Sparkly & Bright

After WEEKS of trying I finally was able to get Mediafire to upload the Pottery Barn PJ's pattern!!! Woo hoo!! You can find it HERE. I also fixed the link to it in the tutorial. This is wonderful as I have received over 35 emails about it... yeah that many ha! I would say 95% of them were so sweet though so thats great! Happy JimJam making!

For the first apron in Apron Week I really wanted to make one of my own designing. I wanted something to wear while prepping for our New Years party so I wanted it to be on the glamorous side, without going over board... after all it is going to get cake mix splattered on it :) I also had been mooning over some lace one of my lovely readers Hillary sent me and thought I should break down and use it. Thus was born the Sparkly and Bright apron:

It is your basic halter apron with a touch of romance at the collar:

I like the layer look that the HMS Lollipop offered so I used that then added the lace to give it some *omf*. I really love how it turned out and think it would look gorgeous over a pretty party dress, I was in jeans an and a shirt and it still looked pretty cute!

My one regret would be that I didn't make the waist tie long enough. I thought for sure it was but if you try and tie a bow it gets all bunched and tiny, so I have to stick with a knot.

The pattern for this apron will be available when I post the tutorial on my Shabby Apple knock off of their Carmel Apple Pie apron. I will also add the few extra steps for adding the lace and making the bottom have layers during that tutorial. I hope your New Years was full of sparkles and fun and that 2011 is full of happiness and blessings! 

Apron Week Preview

I am so thrilled about this up coming week and a chance to share Apron Week with you lovely readers

Please grab a button to the right if you get a chance ;) I have five apron's that I will be sharing with you (six if someone wouldn't mind sending me a photo of a "smoacked" apron which has been requested but I haven't been able to find an example of). I wanted to show you the inpiration for the five so you can check them out and get those cerative juices flowing! Also if this gives you the hankering to just buy an apron there are links to all the aprons shown below. AND as an added bonus Anthropologie is having a sale on several of their aprons including the one I own and love which can be found HERE. Speaking of Anthropolige I will be showing how to make the much requested

HMS Lollipop:

The classic/ standard halter apron. You can go soooo many directions with this and according to Shabby Apple can be worn when you are super preggers :)

    Carmel Apple Pie

The super flouncy and oh so feminine retro flouncy half apron

The ever elegant high waisted and box pleated half apron inspired by Automic Aprons on Etsy.

The pillowcase dress apron (which I think is SUPER cute) inspired by Sugar Pie Chic Aprons

To kick it all off I will be sharing an apron of my own design that is inspired by the glam of New Years (think lots of lace ha!) Please leave a comment if there is anything else you would like to see OR if you can find me a smocked apron to knockoff. Get ready to be glamourous in the kitchen!