Here's my Tie One On yellow and white apron. I am so late with this and planned all along to use what I had on hand. I really thought I had a lot more yellow than I do, so there is some patching in the back, which I like a lot, actually. The yellow patterned vintage fabric is from someone (thank you, sorry I have forgotten who.) and then some yellow solids. Snaps in the back. Simple and easy.
Sadie needs a smock so I made this for her. My first thought was to make a smock for me inspired by these, but after a very bad first attempt (late night + no pattern + no muslin to experiment with = failure and depression.) I decided to just make this one. Same old shape and style as what I usually make for the girls. I like it, but need to try something new. . .
Then I read Sadie to sleep last night and there was my new smock design! The Flicka, Ricka and Dicka books, by Maj Lindman from the 1940s, are my new obsession (thankfully Sadie also digs them) and I am really geeking on their dresses and aprons. This style is perfect and fortunately there are a lot of drawings of them, so I do think I can sew one pretty easily.
These books are only available now as soft cover, which bums me out (unless you collect vintage children's books-yikes!!$$$) and the mom in these stories is fascinating to me. Very willowy, impossibly thin, 1940s elegant, always perfect. She has high heeled slippers in her bedroom and a perfect chignon in every illustration. It's so funny to me that this is what I notice the most when reading these right now, the mom. How does she look that good? She sure isn't carrying any extra baby weight from the 3 (!) girls. And where is dad? Yes, I know these are just stories, but I can't help thinking all this as I read them. I check out the kitchen and all the details, the girls' bedroom. Always so clean and tidy. Snip Snap and Snur are the boys version and we got two of these too, but I can't find them right now. Becasue my house is so clean! (ha.)
