apron

I've seen pinafore dresses in this style and thought it would make a great apron if I used PVC fabric.

John Lewis have some lovely designs at £15/m but I found some on a market for £5/m which I thought was good until I saw some at Dunelm Mill for £2.50/m! Grace is a bit small to be playing with paint and messy things but Rose is about right. This is a bit of a prototype, after I made it I tweaked the pattern a bit because the shoulders don't lay as well as they could. Also I think as an apron the arm and neck holes should be lower so it can easily go over other clothes.

It is a really simple shape and should be easy to pull on. I traced round a dress to get the general shape of the front then sketched out the back pieces. As it is not hemmed I only needed to add seam allowance at the shoulders and sides. This meant that when I was cutting the pieces out I had to remember to cut the other edges really neatly and not do my normal hack job.

Working with PVC has some challenges. You can't pin it because it leaves big holes and you can't get redo a seam for the same reason. I traced the pattern on to the fabric to avoid pining and for the seams I pinned in the seam allowance. I was worried that it would stick to the foot but it machined really easily.

To get the seams to lay flat, I top stitched on each side. I think the result looks really nice, especially with the handmade label. I might put bias tape around the edges of version two, once I'm sure I have the shape right. It'll be more work, this was supper quick to make, but it will look more finished. Or I am tempted to cut it out with my pinking shears.