I remember always seeing my grandma Martha with something in her hands. If she wasn't baking or cooking, she was tatting, embroidering or crocheting. Today I have her cedar chest full of all the lovely linens she created. They are priceless heirlooms and I treasure each one! Several of her aprons are shown below, but also be sure to visit our
Gingham Museum where you will find many more aprons!
Grandma always wore an apron and often it was a gingham apron. She had sewn and embroidered each one. As I sat at the kitchen table watching grandma knead bread dough or slice apples for apple kuchen, those gingham aprons always seemed so cheerful and bright.
Now, more than 30 years after my grandma's death, she is still teaching me through those aprons. The first apron below was made on 1/8" lavender gingham. The stitches are all X's and half X's (diagonal lines). The repeating triangles create a zig-zag design. In between the rows of triangles, diagonal lines in the white squares create a simple design.
The black apron is also 1/4" checked gingham. The lace stitch adorns the hem, with small rows of the same stitch on the pocket and the pleats at the waistband.
The turquoise apron, one of my Grandma's favorites, was stitched in yellow pearl cotton on 1/4" gingham. Here my Grandma added rick-rack in narrow and medium widths to create a very pretty decoration. The rick-rack is attached with a simple diagonal running stitch between each "valley" in the rick-rack. On each peak of the medium rick-rack, she stitched a tiny running stitch that appears like a little dot on each point of the rick-rack.
The ankle length navy blue apron is truly unique! I believe it belonged to my Great-Grandmother. She lived with my Grandma during the last years of her life, and I'm sure had taught my Grandma to embroider. This apron is sewn on very coarse 1/8" checked cotton gigham. It is stitched with what appears to be kitchen string! People used what they had on hand. My Great-Grandparents came to the US from Germany. My Grandfather worked as a laborer and money was scarce, especially during the Depression. You learned to make do with what you had. Even under difficult circumstances, my Great-Grandma took time to decorate her apron - what an inspiration she is to me!
Apron Patterns I have found two Simplicity patterns designed for gingham aprons. Pattern #8720 for adults & #8916 for children. They include both half and full length aprons in each. If you want a straight, over the neck "modern" apron, Simplicity #9361 is a Learn to Sew pattern that is easy to make. Check pattern books for Simplicity, Butterick and McCall's at a fabric store. Pattern availability changes all the time, but I've noticed some companies now have sections in their pattern books for "Vintage Clothing." Check there, and under "crafts" to possibly find more apron patterns.
If you are looking for
books with various types of projects, visit
www.pegasusor.com and click on "Chicken Scratch." They have several good books, and a free lesson online. You will need to use the "Store Finder" listed on their website to locate a store near you that carries their books, or call one of the stores and ask them to mail the books to you. I am sorry, but we do not carry any gingham embroidery books.
I hope this will inspire you to try your hand at Gingham Embroidery. I am always looking for patterns and more information on this type of embroidery. I'd love to hear from you! Please
contact us.
