On July 27th I will be a vendor at the Asbury Fresh Market in Asbury Park NJ. It’s been a loooong time since I have done a show, I was just pregnant for the last one, and I am trying to sort out what I need.
As in most cases when dealing with me, there is a long list to go along with this project. This is not my fault as my mother is the queen of having a list for everything. It was either inherited or just beaten into me over the years so again not my fault. I have been trying to whittle down the list slowly instead of cramming which is my usual custom. Cramming has become harder to do when there is a tiny child to take care of.
One thing I have never had at shows is an apron. Somewhere to carry change and the credit card reader. I have just shoved everything into my pockets which doesn’t work well at all. So while looking around my house to see what I already had I realized the aprons I had were for cooking, were enormous on me and didn’t have pockets. I did find a Home Depot apron that I acquired somewhere along the line but it didn’t exactly fit with my brand.
As a template though it would work. It is a simple design that I could use as a starting point using something from my fabric stash. I forget how large the stash has become. I tend to find things I like along the way but usually I’m not sure what to do with them. But it is times like these that I can go to the fabric stash and come up with something.
What I found was a vintage table cloth that I have had so long I have no idea where it came from.
I couldn’t have went to the store to buy something to fit better. White clean background, leaf print, natural looking linen? Yes please! I might have felt bad about cutting it up but there was already a hole in it and a stain. So I chose a square that had the right amount of leafy print and empty white space. I used the Home Depot apron to see what needed to be adjusted and cut the square out. Since this would be put to work I thought I should line it to give it more strength. Also in my stash is an old white sheet that has been cut up over the years with just enough fabric left for the size square I needed.
I put the two layers together and made a hem all the way around since this fabric definitely would have unraveled. In the pic below you can see I have pinned the hem on the left side (that goes all the way around). The top is pinned to become the loop where the sash will go through. I could have just sew on some kind of string to use to tie the apron on but I couldn’t find anything I really liked. I figured having a loop, I could change it out if I wanted.
After the hems and the loop was done, I folded the front up and sewed the sides to form one big pocket. In order to be more organized I sewed a seam up the middle of the pocket to create two pockets. I just had to remember not to sew all the way up through the loop or the sash couldn’t then go through.
For a quick sash, I took the top band of the cut up sheet and folded it in half. After sewing it closed and trimming the extra strings it looks like something I meant to make instead of some scrap. You can also see the tiny flowers that are throughout the tablecloth that I love.
So here is my new vendor apron for my upcoming show. I can’t wait to use it!!
And one last shot so you can see the inside with its lining.
Feel free to come visit me and my new apron at the Asbury Fresh Market on the 27th.
