Hi all
A few weeks ago, well more like a month, I saw a post on my Facebook feed for upcycling denim jeans. The post gave a link to a free tutorial for making a denim apron. Always keen to reuse, repurpose and recycle, I thought I’d give it a go.
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| The ruffle around the base of the apron |
This post is my review of that tutorial. It was designed by Carissa Bonham for CreativeGreenLiving.com and is called the Farm Girl Apron Tutorial. I'll leave a link to it further down in this post.
In theory, turning some old jeans into something new and practical sounds like a great idea. In practice, it should also be a good thing to do. I was hoping for a useful, repurposed apron. What I got was frustration and annoyance.
The link in the Facebook feed sends you to a blog post. Nothing wrong with that, I use Facebook to link to my blog all the time. My issue with this particular blog was the tutorial isn’t all on the same page. You have to continually “click here” to be taken to a new page. Every time you reach a new step.
It got tiresome and old. Real quick. The first page tells you she has a downloadable pattern you can buy, the second is just supplies. You’re on to page 3 before you start the tutorial, and even then, it's only to tell you to cut the legs of the jeans off.
In a bad mood before I started, I should have known this wasn’t going to end well.Now, I know clicking on to new pages earns revenue for the writer. But still, did it have to be so often?
Anyway, I ventured on. It’s a relatively straight forward project. Cut the legs off your jeans so you’re left with the top section. Use the bottom part of the legs to make the bib, so you can keep the original hem. Grab some contrasting fabric for the ruffle and straps and hey presto!
You have an apron.
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| Cutting the legs off my boot cut jeans |
My first issue came from the jeans. I was using boot cut which meant the legs were too wide. Even after I’d chopped them down a bit. The denim was obviously a little heavier than the jeans the designer used. They had an unsightly sag at the top of the bib.
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| Saggy Bibs - not a good look! |
In an attempt to reduce weight at the top of the bib, instead of having a straight edge, I curved it a little bit. It didn’t help. Although the sag reduced slightly, it’s still there for all to see. Right where you don’t want any sagging.
So much so, I had to move the straps from the edge of the bib to the middle of each side, just to hold the bib up! And it still sagged!
The second peeve, was the binding used to make the bib straps and to bind the edges. Instructed to cut these at a width of 1 inch, I did so.
If you’ve ever made your own bias binding, or any binding, you’ll know how fiddly it can be to fold over the edges and press them down with your iron. Especially, if like me, you don’t have a bias binding maker. The thing is, you need to fold the long edges inwards to stop them fraying.
So there I was, folding the edges inwards, holding them down with my fingers, and pressing with my iron. And yes, that was mostly my fingers getting pressed and not the binding.
Attaching the binding to the bib was my next turn-the-air-blue moment. Well, more like thirty moments if I’m honest. It took way too long. The strip of fabric was just way too thin to be able to manipulate it around the bib.
Trust me, if you want to have a go at making your own jeans apron, make sure to cut the binding at 1.5 inches wide. That extra half an inch will give you enough fabric to turn under ¼ inch on the front and back… a lot easier! And a lot less painful! If you do want to have a go at the project, click here for the link.
Having finished the project, putting the hassle to one side, I can’t in all honesty say I enjoyed the process. I don’t even like the finished item.
Even with the straps at the top moved in closer to the center, it still sags. I think it needs thicker straps to hold the weight of the denim better.
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| Grandma, My Singer 27 Treadle from 1912 - Sewing Denim! |
In fact, the only thing I am really pleased with on this project, was the way Grandma simply flew through the denim like a knife through butter. Even when she was sewing through the thick parts where the leg seam meets the waistband. She didn’t bat an eyelid! Bless her!
Bye for now
Olly
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