my vintage pillow case apron!

 

While digging through my bag of assorted fabrics this morning I came accross a pair of vintage pillow cases my mother in law had passed on to me a couple of years ago. Although they were in perfect condition, no soils, stains, or funny smells, I hadn't been able to use them as pillow cases because they were huge, and I had no pillows which fit. So I had thrown them in with the rest of my fabric collection with the thought that one day I could cut them into scraps for a quilt.

But this morning, when I pulled one of them up and flattened it out to admire, I noticed the lovely scalloped edges, and the sweet little buttons. And I realized suddenly that it was large enough to be sewn into an apron. 

 

To my excitement, I saw that two of the buttons would fit perfectly in the middle, and would give the apron a look similar to overalls (and what's more country than overalls?) I quickly laid an existing apron which fit me well over the pillow case and traced along the edges with a pencil, leaving room to fold over and sew. I cut along the line through both sides of the pillow case so that the top would overlap and be closed by the buttons; this also provided a nice thickness. I located a spool of pink thread and got out my needle pillow, and set to work doing a running stitch along any open sides.

  

  

Once the apron was sewn, I added the neck and waist straps. Taking two odd strips of fabric, I tied them with a knot in the middle to form a shabby bow, which I sewed to the top left corner for a little girlie detail.

I love how it turned out! And it was so simple. The whole process took about an hour. It feels great to make something simple, pretty, and recycle vintage fabric all at once. 

I have a second identical pillow case and I wonder....would one of you sweethearts like to be my apron twin? 

Leave a comment here, telling me about your favorite kind of Birthday Cake, and I'll pick a winner tomorrow, on my birthday!

The winner will get the twin to this pillow case, and will have the opportunity to make a vintage pillow case apron for themselves. All I ask in return is that they share a couple pictures of whatever they turn the pillow case into...quilt, baby blanket, napkins, or indeed, an apron...in a blog post so we all can see!

Looking forward to reading about your favorite birthday cake!

Thank you all for your kind, heartfelt notes yesterday. It really makes a world of difference when you feel the warmth and comeraderie of other people. There are still a few questions which remain unanswered, and still moments of panic or tears, but mostly, there is the strong conviction that love conquers all, that friendship has the power to heal a hurting heart, and that troubles shared are troubles lessened. So thank you, thank you, thank you so much.

XOXO country girl