Sewing project progress: Steph's purple toile apron part III

Or, "The point at which Phoebe decides to pretty much throw out the pattern instructions and do what she thinks is best!"

First Shana commented on my last progress report to suggest a double layer of fabric over the top part of the apron to make it stronger and more protective. That was a good suggestion, as I noticed that my apron is made that way as well. Thanks, Shana! I didn't have enough of the purple toile to make that second layer, but I did have a decent-sized scrap of white linen left over from morethings5*'s chitin costume that he wore for hazliya* 's fabulous deer spirit photo shoot. Waste not, want not, right? So, with Bernie's help measuring, cutting, and putting things in place, I cut that to match the trapezoidal top part of my apron piece, unpinned the folded-over edge, slid the linen underneath that edge, and then repinned it all around.

But I have noticed a problem with my pattern piece-- as Bernie pointed out, it's really short. An apron should come about from the chest to just around the knees. This one, despite my double-checking that I got the measurements right, only would hit at about the thighs. So we decided it needed to be extended. We took the largest piece of purple toile I had left, made sure it would match up across the top of that trapezoid, and cut another rectangle to make for a chest piece to go on the top. That we also lined with the linen, tucking it beneath the folded-under edges all around.

This piece plus the main piece makes for a long enough apron. The ties will then go across the place where they meet. I know with the original design the slanted lines of the trapezoid were supposed to be to allow space for the arms, and I was worried that if the piece had extensions of fabric that weren't cinched in by the ties they would flap around while the wearer was trying to work, but I experimented with tying the piece on myself and walking around, and both Bernie and blendedchaitea* agreed that it seemed fine. So that's what I am going to go with.

To further reinforce things, and also to make the back look a little more polished, I took a long strip of the remaining scrap of purple toile, folded it in on itself to make it an inch wide, and laid it across the bottom of the linen. I folded the loose edge of the linen under, then pinned the strip across it. I figure I will sew that down just to the linen so it doesn't show through on the other side, but kind of finishes things up cleanly on the back side.

 

I am pretty much completely out of the purple toile now, so I hope I don't need it for anything else. With all of these changes, I don't know how useful the remaining sewing instructions on the pattern will be. I know I definitely have to move the ties, and since I'll have to attach the newly-improvised chest piece to the larger apron piece, I will want the ties to cover up that seam. So I may have to make up my own way of doing it there. But I think the piece will be better for these changes, and more useful to Steph.