by Texas Homesteader ~

My baby sister has recently been bitten hard by the ‘green’ bug. Oh she’s been environmentally-aware all her life, but now all of a sudden she’s taking it to the next level. These days she’s even making her own homemade yogurt and cottage cheese.

And although she’s always enjoyed hanging a few things on the line, she’s transitioning into hanging more & more clean laundry under that blue Texas sky to dry. Not only does she love the savings, but she’s discovered there’s really no substitute for that amazing aroma of sunshine on clean laundry!

When she had a birthday recently I put on my thinking cap. Y’all know we like to make homemade gifts whenever possible, but what would she like. Hummm… I KNOW! I’ll make her a clothespin apron!

First off let me say this gift is truly a labor of love.

I.  Hate.  To.  Sew! 

But if I’m going to make this gift myself I’ve gotta get out the mammoth sewing machine & get to it. I hope she understands exactly how much a part of me this gift is! Apparently I love her.

A LOT!  LOL

Looking For Used Fabric

Now I know I could have gone to the fabric store & picked up the fabric that I needed, but I prefer not to buy new if at all possible. It’s just an environmental preference for me.

Luckily I found the perfect fabric at our local thrift store. This cute country red & white checkered pattern will be perfect.

Finding A Tie Material

But I wonder what I’ll use for the tie. Ribbon didn’t seem heavy enough & I’m not about to sew a tie from scratch. (see sewing hatred statement above) I decided on braided cotton cord. Let’s see how this goes…

Putting The Apron Together

So I cut a piece of fabric that measured approximately 17″ by 21″.  You can make yours larger or smaller, I just eyeballed it and this is the size I decided on. Then I folded the top just a bit and then folded it over again & sewed along the seam to make about a 1″ casing for my apron. This will be where the tie will go though.

When the casing was done I folded the bottom up to make a single 6.5-inch deep pocket. I had already hemmed it so I sewed each side of the pocket to attach them to the back. Now I have a pocket that’s folded at the bottom, open at the top with both right & left sides attached.

I decided to run a stitch down the middle so I could divide it into two smaller pockets. Each pocket ended up measuring about 6.5″ deep and 10.5″ wide.

Creating A Boxed Bottom

Then I stood back to see what I thought. Humm… Not bad. But I really want a more boxy bottom to the apron.

I decided to use the same method as when I’m making my denim baskets using repurposed denim from old jean legs. So I turned the pocket inside out and laid it out flat. I measured 1.5″ from the corner and drew a line evenly across. Then I pinned it and sewed a straight line across to make a triangle.

I only boxed the outside edge of the pocket, then I did the same thing to the other side so both pockets would be boxed. Then when I turn the pockets right-side out again the bottoms of my pockets now form a boxed bottom.

I love it!  That’ll make the pockets a little more airy which will make it a little easier for her to fetch the clothespins.

Then I used that cotton cording for my tie. I measured off way more than I needed & threaded it through the casing. I purposely made the tie much longer than needed because if it were my apron I’d want to criss-cross it behind my back & tie it in front. Personally I think having the tie in front would just make it more comfortable to use.

So although I left a super-long tie, my sister can cut it as short as she likes. Because you can cut it shorter, but you can’t make it longer ya know! I’d rather leave it longer than needed so she can make it work best for her.

I asked RancherMan to singe the ends of the cord to keep them from fraying. Then we tied a knot in each end. To reinforce the casing I hand-sewed the edge of the casing where the tie would come out to make sure it was tightly tacked.

Adding Vintage Clothespins

Finally I wanted to include some vintage clothespins. So I contacted our local antique store & asked if they had any vintage clothespins. Of course they hooked me up! Gotta love living in a small town.

So there ya go. For only the price of a little cloth, some cotton cord and a handful of vintage pins, I have a gift that I know my sister will love. And a gift straight from the heart is always well received!

~TxH~

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