Bag Ladies for Finish it Up Friday

Hello, all!  I unintentionally took the same hiatus that Amanda took.  Mine was due to my health, work and slow internet.  I have been busy sewing.  Since she said it isn't done until you blog, I am blogging about my bag ladies.  This the one I made for my sister.

Sorry, if you read this immediately.  I hurried up and linked the post before it was done so I would make it before the deadline.

Anyway, I bought this fabric because I just couldn't resist it but I had no idea what I would do with it.  Then I was looking through a Connecting Threads catalog and saw a couple of what I call "Bag Ladies".  I thought that would be the perfect use for my fabric.  I texted my sister my idea and she said, "Yes, that would look great in my kitchen."  Smart alek!  But, I had enough fabric I thought I could do two.  So I did one for each of us.  The above picture is hers.

Here is mine:

 Very similar but mine uses 30s repro for the ruffle and the band.  Hers uses a fabric that is warmer but not as bright.  I put rick rack on mine and used a decorative stitch around hers.  I actually have buttons to add to mine because I liked what I put on hers.

If you look closely you can see my bag lady has blue bloomers.  That is where the bags are stored.  I just used a fat quarter of fabric for them.  I hemmed the short edge first.  That was another super exciting moment.  I got my rolled hem foot to work perfectly.

I know I did it and it is technically bragging, but I am still amazed.  They look like "store bought"!  The key, I learned, is to cut the corner of your fabric on a 1/4" diagonal and start it in the foot.  Worked like a charm.

So, I did that.  Sewed in some quarter inch elastic about an inch above the hem.  Gathered my apron at the waist and attached it to the "bloomers" about 5 to 6" from each side all the way across.  I CAREFULLY bunched it all together and sewed the seam of the bloomers down the back.  Added the waist band to the top with a little gathering. And a piece of ribbon, rickrack or fabric to hang it by.

In this picture you can see a little bit of the bloomers on Sharri's. 

I essentially used a fat quarter for each apron turned the opposite direction of the bloomers.  I started out with the full fat quarter but eventually cut about 4 inches off because I was adding the ruffle.

My sister was surprised and absolutely loved hers.  Mine looks so much better than the one I have been using for FIFTEEN years.  The elastic was all worn out in it.

That was my finish it up a couple of Fridays ago but I just managed to post about it.  Hope you enjoyed it.

Keep Stitchin'!