I was pleased to receive my vintage embroidered panel in the mail the other day, but it needed some tweaks.
Firstly, it was dirty and smelled of vintage. (You know that smell...that thrift store smell) So I washed it by hand in Woolite, pleased to see the water murk up, but the piece was still quite ecru in color, and I needed it to be closer to white, so I let it soak in a mostly-water-with-a-little-tiny-bit-o'-bleach in it, which brightened it remarkably. Another rinse in water with a little vinegar, then another wash in Woolite, and it was looking pretty good.
The construction of the apron was easy - just gathered the top edge of the panel onto a tape, and I wanted to try out "the dip" that Hallie was talking about on her blog, but I didn't like the result.
"The dip" makes the sides of the apron longer than the middle, and I think now, after doing it, it is meant for very broad aprons, so that they will appear to hang straight when tied onto the full skirt. In my case, my apron is quite narrow, and the dip was causing the sides to hang inward instead of straight, whereas I would prefer it to splay out nicely over the skirt. So unpick it (carefully) I did, and re-cut the top to be straight, then stitched it to a new waist tape. It hangs much more nicely now - a note for future aprons!
Firstly, it was dirty and smelled of vintage. (You know that smell...that thrift store smell) So I washed it by hand in Woolite, pleased to see the water murk up, but the piece was still quite ecru in color, and I needed it to be closer to white, so I let it soak in a mostly-water-with-a-little-tiny-bit-o'-bleach in it, which brightened it remarkably. Another rinse in water with a little vinegar, then another wash in Woolite, and it was looking pretty good.
The construction of the apron was easy - just gathered the top edge of the panel onto a tape, and I wanted to try out "the dip" that Hallie was talking about on her blog, but I didn't like the result.
"The dip" makes the sides of the apron longer than the middle, and I think now, after doing it, it is meant for very broad aprons, so that they will appear to hang straight when tied onto the full skirt. In my case, my apron is quite narrow, and the dip was causing the sides to hang inward instead of straight, whereas I would prefer it to splay out nicely over the skirt. So unpick it (carefully) I did, and re-cut the top to be straight, then stitched it to a new waist tape. It hangs much more nicely now - a note for future aprons!
