Queen Bee Apron!

 I know I haven't posted in a long time, but that doesn't mean I haven't been crafting away. After making tons of projects for Christmas, including a quilt(!), I've gotten back to apron work. This is an entirely new concept for me--not really a specific character, but an abstract idea of "Queen Bee." The owner of this apron wisely suggested thick stripes, so I actually pieced the fabric together using French seams. She also liked the sash on the Phoenix apron, which really did add some royal flair to this bee, with a nice rich purple. It wraps around the back and actually ties on the hip. I used the same purple for the straps and to line the inside of the matching oven mitts.

 The crown applique on the chest is lined in the back with black to give it a little definition against the yellow stripe. I debated putting a black stripe on top, but that made the apron's bottom stripe yellow and for whatever reason, it needed a black stripe on the bottom to "ground" it. My OCD demanded this be so. There are two pockets on the skirt that are camoflauged. The sash itself can be functional for carrying items, or drying hands on since the entire thing is 100% cotton and machine washable, and although super cute, is allowed to get messy.

 Oven Mitts! These things are fantastic. They are lined on the palm side with "Insul-Bright", which is a batting that has a shiny layer in it that reflects heat, and have regular cotton batting on both sides, making them heat resistant, and I'll be honest, really cozy. I plan on wearing mine around the house to keep my poorly circulated fingers warm. These mitts were pieced together black and yellow and quilted along the stripes, and then lined with matching purple.

Here's my original sketch ideas. I thought wings on the back would be cool, although not particularly practical. I'm such a good artist, no?...

The Purple Tuxedo Chef Apron

This is the first apron I've done with a faux tuxedo style. The colors were selected via a custom request and I think the finished product is really fun! The apron has a lapel with a flower, as well as a faux shirt front with buttons and a faux vest, also with a matching button. All of this is topped off with a large comical green bow tie. The neckstraps and waist ties are green to contrast with the purple. The "jacket" has tails that hang loosely in the back, which I really love. Since this apron has a clownish appearance, I put a picture of my other clownish apron below, which I am calling "the Court-Jester." That one is just for the ladies :-) (and don't make fun of my pajamas...I couldn't put the project down and it was late and that is really how my hair looks most of the time!)

Link and Princess Zelda

These are my last two brand new designs for a while. I have been asked to make Link and Zelda aprons more than any other character, so I'm glad to finally have them completed. Zelda is made using 100% cotton, a gold polyester fabric, purple satin, and a sheer chiffon that has a color fade in it of both blue and purple. I used this because the decorative element on Zelda's dress fades/changes color a bit and I wanted to create that effect.  I had to leave out a lot of the detail on her dress for practicality, but I tried to keep the general look of it and of course the tri-force. This apron is machine washable, warm, on the delicate cycle. There is a pocket behind the hanging decorative element. It is hidden, but is accessible through the gap between the belt and the top of hanging piece in case you want to hide away any rupees.

 I put this apron on the floor because the chef style men's aprons just don't look right on my petite hour glass lady mannequin. Link was harder to give a distinct look since his usual garb is pretty simple. I copied the general idea, but put a tri-force on his pouch to set this apart from Robin Hood or Peter Pan. The belt, straps, and pouch (which is lined) are all made from suede and have a leathery look. The gold is polyester and the top is made from 100% cotton. I put an additional piece of suede by each appliqued buckle to give the illusion of a functional belt, with the flaps hanging out a bit. The green fabric is twill, which is a light canvas like material. This apron needs to be cold washed and line dried.

Apron Orders

Hello, just a quick post to say that I'm currently not taking any more custom orders. I'm going to be working on Halloween costumes and then creating all sorts of random things with the insanely large stash of fabric I've accumulated over the years. I've been dying to carve out some time to use it up, and to do some cross-stitch and crochet and other things like making more kilts or kids' viking hats...I wanna learn how to make rugs, and do some more quilting...and you get the idea. I'll be putting some of these projects up on Etsy, but won't be doing much custom stuff for people in the mean time. I will be posting more tutorials and pictures of different projects here though because I love to share what I'm doing and any cool tricks I learn along the way. Crafting is only as hard as you make it, so I try to make it as easy as possible!

The Tiger Apron with Claws

I am calling this apron "The Tiger." Technically it wasn't finished when I took these pictures because it is missing its belt buckle, but other than that, this is the finished product. I put the belt buckle on after I took the pictures. This apron features some super cool pockets with claws, which is why I love it very very much. I didn't even want to make it without incorporating claws on it, and the only place to logically do that was on the pockets. It is made from twill and canvas, and virtually all the details on it are appliqued. This project was time-consuming, but seeing the finished product was totally worth it. And now I can grill shish-kabobs without bringing along extra skewers.

Baby Peachy Princess Apron

 I'm a little bit too excited about this apron because it's adorable factor is sky high. This is for a 1 year old for Halloween, so it measures only 15" high from the top of the bib to the bottom of the skirt. The light blue and white apron it is hanging by is for a 4-5 year old girl. This one is just so cute! I want to see a toddling child wearing it!! I just don't have one handy at the moment :-)

This project has inspired me in such a way that I now want to make baby versions of all my aprons. It was so much fun!

Mommy Apron in Gingham and Strawberries

 I have finally finished the "mommy" version of the last apron I posted. This one was made using the same fabric but I changed the design a bit. I decided to go with a sweetheart neckline, and instead of bordering the skirt with a continuous ruffle, I added 3 rows of ruffles to the bottom only, alternating the patterns. Once again I used a solid red for accents to break up the patterns. This one used the black and white gingham for the main fabric instead of the strawberries used in the child's version, which I think lends itself well to a cute, but more adult, apron (as does the sweetheart neckline I think).

Here is the child's version posted earlier so you can see them as a set. I have the child's one on my adult mannequin, which is why it looks short with an almost empire waist :-)

Child's Strawberry and Gingham Apron

I made this apron for a little cousin of mine who is around the age of my daughter (don't you love my cardboard girl!). Her mother selected the fabric and for the most part gave me free reign to create.

Since this one was for a child, I made it a bit more cutesy, focusing on the strawberries fabric and using the black gingham for accents. I decided to add some solid red just to help break up the patterns a bit and add a pop of color to it.

The bib and skirt have ruffles around all three sides and the skirt pockets are sitting on top of red appliqued pieces to set them off some. The girl who is getting this apron should be able to wear it for a long time.   
I included a couple in progress shots as well as several finished ones. I had lots of fun making this apron because there weren't any "rules" like there are when trying to replicate icons or completing custom projects that are specifically laid out.

At first I was a little intimidated by the fabric, because it took me a while to figure out what I thought would look best with these colors and still be fun and girly/age appropriate.  All my worrying seems silly now because I'm really happy with the finished product. I just hope her Mommy likes it too!

Sexy Black Kitty Hostess Apron!

 Black Kitty has arrived!  This is my final custom project before my son is born.  This is definitely one of the more unique aprons I have made.  It is made of black patent leather vinyl with white fur trim and features a functional zipper on the bib that allows the wearer to decide just how much neckline they wish to show.  This is a hostess apron, meaning that it is flammable and not really recommended for direct kitchen work, although it wipes clean with a damp cloth.  The neckstraps and waist ties are made with 100% cotton black straps so that they are flexible enough to tie and will wear comfortably.  The apron does have two pockets on the skirt although they are hard to see in these pictures.  I found that glossy fabric is reeeally hard to photograph well.  The vinyl was pretty tricky to work with and adding fur and a zipper to such a tricky fabric was interesting to say the least, although I learned a few tricks along the way, such as using tissue paper between the presser foot and the fabric to help it glide through my machine (because I don't have a teflon foot--although now I'm thinking about buying one so that I can work more conveniently on this type of fabric in the future!).  I think this apron is sexy while still being wearable.  I included my original sketch below.

Peachy Princess, Newly Designed

I know I've already done a Peachy Princess design, but after doing Pretty as a Daisy, I got a request to do this one in the same style.  I had a great time making this one, mostly because I loved working with the pink fabric.  It was requested that I do the collar in the darker pink as well, which wouldn't have been my choice.  I realize now that I didn't fluff the skirt "poofs" on the hips evenly in my pictures, which annoys me, but I can't take more since I've already mailed it out!