Nursery Versery Apron

When I saw that Rachel was having a Nursery Versery contest, I really wanted to play along. I was an early holdout from buying the new Heather Ross fabric line, but after a few weeks of shuffling prints in and out of my online shopping cart, I finally took the plunge. Once I saw them in person, I was so glad that I did. This collection is just so sweet, and I think the grey prints are toned down enough that I can get away with using them on something for me. My girls were hoping I'd make a project for them first -- Bunny loves the little piggies, Bear loves the spider, and Mouse and the mice were made for each other, of course -- but after much thought, I decided to use the fabric to make myself a patchwork apron to wear around the house.

For my pattern, I used the basic instructions for the apron in Suzuko Koseki's Patchwork Style. This is such a pretty book -- I love poring over the pictures again and again. Unfortunately, the library's going to want their copy back soon, so I'm trying to make my favorite projects before it's due. This apron caught my eye the first time I saw it. I've always loved the ease of half-aprons, and this one has a great row of quilted pockets that will hold anything I could possibly want to carry around with me.

The main body of the apron is made out of grey linen. I used a bunch of my favorite scraps to construct the long quilted pocket, including pieces of all four Nursery Versery prints. It was a nice change to do a little improvisational scrap placement. I really should do more of these kinds of projects.

The quilted pocket is lined with Dancing Meadow in yellow from the Beauty Is You collection. It's actually divided into five different pockets of varying sizes, and the quilting makes it super comfortable to wear. I made the ties a little differently than the pattern suggested, folding the long piece of linen in on itself rather than giving it a backing. Thinner straps are easier for me to tie, and the linen made them sturdy enough to hold up the apron without any trouble.

The apron is lined in a yellow Bouquet print from Flea Market Fancy. For a touch of whimsy, I sewed in part of the Nursery Versery selvage strip for a "label." I love the way it looks against the lining fabric, and that little spider is so very cute.

This was a project that just made me happy from start to finish. I love my new apron, and I know it's going to get a lot of use. Now I have to see what else I can make out of that book before I have to pay overdue fines. My husband always jokes that our family is funding the city's library development program with our constant late fees...

Linking up to the Nursery Versery Contest at Stitched in Color. Go check out the other entries. I promise, you'll find cuteness galore!