The Making of Alice w/Oil Cloth Part #1

For this project I started by making the apron straps.  Straps are easy.  Figure out your length and cut out a rectangle double the width (plus seam allowance) that you want the finished strap to be.  Fold it over and sew it closed on one end and down the side.  The final step is to turn it inside out.  The trick I use for this is that I always have a dowel rod handy.  You can also use knitting needles or a long crochet hook or even a pencil.  Anything long and skinny that fits in the tube!

Next I made the pockets.  These apron pockets are oil cloth on the outside and lined with cotton.  They are made like the straps and turned out through a small gap I leave in the bottom with a dowel rod.  This gap is closed when the pockets are sewn onto the skirt.

I also completed the bib.  The white part was made of oil cloth backed with cotton and the blue is made entirely of cotton.  I sewed the white bib directly on to the blue one.  I usually sew the white bib onto just one layer of the blue bib to avoid seams in the back, but because of the weight of the oil cloth, I sewed this bib through both layers to make it more sturdy.  The apron straps (which are made of cotton so that they will tie easily) were sewn into the white bib to create a "pinafore" illusion.  This apron is well on its way to completion so there will be more photos to come, including my attempts at making a ruffle with oil cloth!

I am new at sewing with oil cloth and was surprised at how flexible it is.  I am curious how it will "gather" for the skirt.  Its ability to simply be wiped clean intrigues me and makes it ideal for a very practical apron.  It feels like a more flexible tablecloth vinyl, and it is flannel backed.  Because of the flannel backing, I intend to line the back of the white skirt to keep it from being "clingy" on top of the blue skirt.