aprons up!

making kids' aprons has been my outlet and excuse for fabric-buying for the past couple of years and although they sell well when i bring them to craft fairs, i've rarely offered them through my shop, primarily because it's such a pain in the hiney to photograph them for the listings.
last week, however, i planned ahead -- knowing that i would be seeing my neice over the weekend, i whipped up three new aprons, in three adorable prints that i bought over the last month, with the hopes that i could convince her to model them for me.

haha -- her idea of modeling sure has changed in the two years since i last had her do this for me. this was then:


gah! i can't stand the cuteness! (and there are more here.)
and here's what modeling means now:



look at that sass! ha -- adorable. she's awesome.
here are a few of the other shots and the other aprons:




cuteness! i love them. i love her.




hey lookie - there's our house! we live up on the third floor -- my studio is the window all the way to the right.

the three styles of aprons are up in the etsy shop (here) and they're available sewn-to-order in a variety of sizes (2T, 3 -4 years, 5 -7 years, and 8 - 10 years) check them out and if you happen to know someone with a little one who loves to bake or play dress up, please send them the info; thanks!

put it all on the plate, i can take it!

why do i do this to myself?
on thursday, i was thinking and feeling okay in terms of my preparation for artstar. and then on friday, i walked into my local fabric shop just to pick up one thing that i needed, found myself wandering the stacks of calicos, and walked out of there with ten yards of fabric and the intention to turn it all into kids' aprons.


what? i wasn't planning on making more aprons! i so didnt need to do that! but i did.... and now the fabric is all washed and dried and ironed and cut. so i guess i'm sewing more aprons. and creating my displays. and making business cards. and framing unfinished cross-stitch pieces. and making more kits. sleep? who needs it; i love this stuff!

but when you're tied... or: aprons, the soft launch

(of course it doesn't really make sense -- but sometimes i just can't get over and past a smiths reference - even if it doesnt really work, it just gets stuck in my head and i need to use it. sorry.)



remember months ago when i started making the kids' aprons? (you can read here, if you want to get caught up on the full story.) i made them as a commission for my friend cori's wedding. i made 32 of them for the 32 children who were in the wedding. before we move on to the aprons, let me just say that the photos i have seen of that wedding are AMAZING. amazing. i sometimes just go back to look at them at random times because they are just that good. you should see for yourself. oh my goodness. amazing. click here. and here.

so -- as i was making the aprons for that project, i developed a pattern and a method that i really like and that makes it easy and fun to make more of these aprons. for cori's project i made a whole bunch of extra aprons in all different patterns, colors and prints so that i could pick and choose which ones i liked best as a collection for her order. some of the girls' aprons tagged and ready to go:



and this was the scene inside my studio during that time:




i'm telling you, i made A LOT of aprons! the extras i took with me to my summer craft fairs and i still have some left over -- i just listed them in my shop, though -- on sale -- check 'em out: here.
the challenge in listing these things is having access to kids to model the aprons. i attempted a photoshoot with my niece and nephew a few weeks ago but as luck would have it, the only time i had them in a good mood and ready and willing to pose for me was when they had just gotten back from a day at the beach. so they were all grubby and wearing beach clothes. oh well.





and then they started making grass beards and i knew the photoshoot opportunity was over...



whereas the first round of aprons were made in all different colors and patterns in only one or two sizes, i've now reworked my size charts and patterns to be able to offer them in sizes 2T, 3-4 years, 5 -7 , 8-10 and 12 - 14. i'm gonna be listing the aprons as a set color/print but with the ability for one to order it in any of those sizes. the first of these is up:


these are mega difficult to photograph without a wee model!


i love love love love this print. i fell in love with the fabric a few weeks ago when i first saw it and then when i went to get it and to pick out a coordinating fabric for the other side, i was super pleased to see that it matches perfectly with my favourite-color-of-the-moment. and look at how that pink rickrack goes with it!



i put it on my dressform to be able to show the shape better. i know i'm tiny, but this is a size 3 -4 year old apron -- it's gonna look a lot different/better on an actual 3 -4 year old than it does on my shape.


so -- now that i've got the patterns developed and set i'll be doing more of these -- offering more prints/styles.
here is the listing for the first official style, available in my bigcartel shop.

twice apron a time

(i already used the title "once apron a time")


whew! it's been a whirlwind couple of weeks!
the latest is that i've just returned from a quick up-and-back trip to nyc to drop off a very special commission. my friend cori is getting married on saturday and instead of the traditional bridal party, she's having a whole bunch of kids (32 of them!!!) walk down the aisle as her procession. later in the celebration, they're gonna be decorating their own cupcakes and cori thought it might be a fun thing to give them all aprons that they could wear to protect their pretty white outfits and then take home with them as part of a little thank you gift for each child. she approached me with the idea and asked if i'd be interested in making the aprons. well i'd never made aprons before (just these smocks) but i was so psyched about her idea and about the challenge and the thrill that i happily jumped in. it took some experimenting and a lot of fabric, but i'd say i'm pretty darned pleased with the results.
here are some of them set up for photos the day before i drove them to nyc; first the boys':




(the backs:)

and the girls':




this was one of my favourites:

i especially love the pink rickrack with the brown polka-dotted fabric.
they are all reversible -- here are front and back shots of one of them:



a little pile of girls' aprons all tagged and ready to go:



there is one wee baby (just a year old), and i made a smock-y style "apron" for her. isabella's apron:



(love it? i got the pattern here!)

i wish i had taken better photos, but i was just way too busy to fuss over them last week. (and the sun and rain have been so unpredictable and fickle these weeks!) i'm pretty sure there'll be some good shots of the children wearing the aprons this weekend, though -- so i'll be sure to post them if/when i get them.
i'd also like to do a tutorial post on these aprons; i did so much research and took the time to make the patterns for different ages/sizes that i feel like i should share. i'm hoping that i'll get around to that within the next month.
i also need to do an artstar recap post! but now i'm frantically working to get ready for renegade brooklyn this weekend... it'll all come together... deep breaths...
cori --- good luck and congrats and thanks and enjoy this weekend! xoxo-k

kimberly jean, apron queen

i finally finished every last apron that i had in the works.
i've been working on these for weeks, between other projects, and had lots of different batches going on all at the same time.
some were merely cut out and waiting to be sewn, others were partially sewn and needing to be topstitched, others needed straps sewn for them, and then there were a few that were ALmost complete but needed finishing.
and now, they are all complete.
and i counted them -(which i hadnt done until now -- i was afraid)-- 55 done.
wow!

more apron strings

i finished a whole lotta little boys aprons and now i'm working on a big batch for the girls.
soon i'll be able to show off the whole finished project....oooooh, i'm looking forward to that! they're coming along beautifully, cori!

apron preview

(more soon!)