By Ann
Last Saturday I took an apron-making workshop at the living history site that is familiar to all of you. We were making 1920s period aprons, and made the simplest pattern available, the “Melinda.” I knew from previous experience with a Melinda apron that the standard one-size-fits-all pattern which has a one-piece yoke going around the neck, would be too long from the shoulders to the waist for me, so, with the help of the woman leading the workshop, I shortened the yoke. The first step in making the apron is to bind the inside edge of the yoke and attach it to the body of the apron. As soon as I started to pin the yoke to the body, I realized that the finished apron would never go over my head. Oooops! After much laughter and all sorts of suggestions from my fellow seamstresses, some of which I found totally incomprehensible, I decided that the simplest Plan B was to convert the yoke to ties. Hence the “Modified Melinda” below:
As you can see, it really is simple! I do plan to add pockets, but that will come after the next step in the process. Now that I have a lovely new apron, all I need is the dress to go with it. I found a lovely blue tone-on-tone at Joann’s when I bought the apron fabric, but I can’t buy the fabric for the dress until I alter the pattern to fit me. I found the pattern I want to use – it’s a 1920s pattern – and although it is labeled as medium, it is HUGE. I tried altering it myself, but it is definitely not a one-person job, so I plan to bring the pattern to the forthcoming holiday extravaganza and get some help from Marty before proceeding. (You have been forewarned, Marty!) And this time I plan to make a muslin before proceeding with the real fabric. The dress I have now, for which Marty and I altered the pattern, is still a bit looser than I would like across the shoulders, so I hope to do a bit better the second time around.