An Apronista's Musings on Aprons

I am not only a Frugalista but and Apronista as well. I love to wear aprons and wear them all the time when cooking, canning and crafting. My Grandmother, who I called Mamie, used to make aprons that completely covered me up and had large pockets. I so wish we had kept the pattern but I am afraid it is lost. One of the reasons I like to look at vintage apron sites is my hidden desire to find Mamie's pattern. The picture of the pattern below looks like the right one and the other picture is an apron called a cobblers apron. I do not have the pattern but found the image online. I am going to keep hunting Ebay till I find Simplicity Pattern 6809 in an extra large!  If you have it you could be my new best friend!

I found  this great essay on apron called The History of Aprons but could not find the author's name. It is worth sharing with you.

The History of APRONS
I don't think our kids know what an apron is.
The principal use of Grandma's apron was to protect the dress underneath, because she only had a few, it was easier to wash aprons than dresses and they used less material, but along with that, it served as a potholder for removing hot pans from the oven.
It was wonderful for drying children's tears, and on occasion was even used for cleaning out dirty ears.
Tissues were always available in the apron pocket for tears or runny noses.
From the chicken coop, the apron was used for carrying eggs, fussy chicks, and sometimes half-hatched eggs to be finished in the warming oven.
When company came, those aprons were ideal hiding places for shy kids.
And when the weather was cold, grandma wrapped it around her arms.
Those big old aprons wiped many a perspiring brow, bent over the hot wood stove.
Chips and kindling wood were brought into the kitchen in that apron.
From the garden, it carried all sorts of vegetables. After the peas had been shelled, it carried out the hulls.
In the fall, the apron was used to bring in apples that had fallen from the trees.
When unexpected company drove up the road, it was surprising how much furniture that old apron could dust in a matter of seconds.
When dinner was ready, Grandma walked out onto the porch, waved her apron, and the men knew it was time to come in from the fields to dinner.
It will be a long time before someone invents something that will replace that 'old-time apron' that served so many purposes.
REMEMBER:
Grandma used to set her hot baked apple pies on the windowsill to cool. Her granddaughters set theirs on the window sill to thaw.
They would go crazy now trying to figure out how many germs were on that apron.
I don't think I ever caught anything from an apron.
But Love !!

When I was in High School I worked in a Stationary Store. The women wore smocks to keep clean. I had a Japanese smock that was popular at the time (early 70's). Yesterday I found out it is called a Mama San or Kappogi. Time to get out the sewing machine and make one. The reason I liked it was again it completely covered my clothing. It would make a great garden smock I think it needs to come back in style. If only I loved to sew I would make up a bunch and sell them. Hmmm maybe I had better change that thought.

Angry Chicken is a fun site with aprons and fabric decorations.
Turkey Feathers  showed many homemade garments in cluding aprons.
My Byrd House has a wide variety of really cool aprons.
Tipnut  had a great article on 52 apron patterns which helped me find the pattern I was looking for.
Chest of Books  had an interesting article on Victorian aprons and lots of links to other apron related material.
Not Quite June Cleaver  is a fun and retro site worth looking at.
Apronista  is another fun site with aprons and apron related items.
Apron Goddess  is colorful, varied and had a recipe for artichoke, parmasean, sourdough stuffing that looked really good.
Reformed Farmers Wife  made her own pattern. I liked the pattern because it is a generous size and does not tie.
Everything Your Momma Made  offers a lengthy list of apron sites.
Rodrigvitz Style has a collection of fabulous bright cheerful aprons made from oilcloth see below.

Please share any great apron sites you find and if you happen to have Simplicity pattern 6809 in large/xlarge I would be interested in hearing from you! Of course if you were going to send me something for the holiday that I would really love and use all the time, a hint would be an apron!

Please check out the Amazon ad on the left hand column for my recommended Apron books.  You just might find an interesting gift for that friend that has everything.