Half-Apron Love and the "Use-it-all" Pattern

Slap on a half-apron and even the most mundane house chores become fabulously exciting! What's that, time to cook dinner? Yippee!

You just can't diss the half apron. The popularity of this apron style through the past century has been documented in magazines, television, movies, and it has become an iconic symbol for the American Housewife. And it is one of the simplest sewing projects to stitch together, made with about one yard of fabric, perfect for adding trimmings or personal touches.

Look honey, I found time in between laundry and dinner to whip up a fresh apron!

 

Yes, it's true that most half-apron patterns only use about one yard of fabric, but the "use-it-all" apron pattern employs every single thread  in making an apron with no waste (minus a few seam trimmings). These simple half aprons include a band, two ties, and sometimes a pocket or two. Many times women who were stitching up their own aprons (often to pinch a few pennies) would add little bits of saved trim or fabric scraps as a way to add interest or to personalize the apron.

The half-apron was so popular that it would most probably be your first sewing project in school around 1950. Here are just a few examples of the one yard apron project from learn-to-sew books and school texts from about 1950.

From left to right, The New Encyclopedia of Modern Sewing published in 1950, Singer Sewing Book published1949,

and Junior Homemaking published 1958.

Take a closer look at the 1950 version of this project and notice the fabric is a 36" x 36" square. In 1950 the standard width for most yardgoods was between 30" - 36" inches wide, which explains why the cutting diagram looks like a 36" square. In fact, all three of the apron projects pictured above use 35" - 36" wide fabric.

 

Since our modern day100% cotton fabrics are manufactured in 45" widths, these patterns are a a bit obsolete (if you're trying to use one yard with no wasted fabric, that is). So, what to do if you want to stitch up your own half-apron? You can follow my tutorial! Click here to get the Miss Sews-it-all tutorial for the one yard "Use-it-all" apron. It's the perfect apron pattern to add a bit o' trim, ribbon, or anything else.

 

 

These days you don't HAVE to wear an apron while doing housework, but sometimes it can be fun to tie one on for the heck of it. So go forth, stitch up your own personalized apron, and have fun wearing it - no matter what you're doing!