A Simple Pinafore

My creative process is pretty slow. Projects sit quietly on my sewing table for weeks--even months--as some part of my brain works on what they will become as I go about my daily activities. Since I'm only able to steal a few hours at most in the evenings to sew, implementing my ideas gets stretched out over a long period of time.

As frustrating as it is to have multiple unfinished projects lying around, I love the initial excitement of starting on a project. When I saw the Spring 2008 issue of Ottobre Design magazine on another blog, I was immediately drawn to the playful fabrics and designs. I knew right away that I wanted to make something from the magazine for my niece, who is two years old and already has developed her own sense of style.

However, the Ottobre pattern booklet was very different from the pre-printed tissue patterns I am used to. Even though I chose an easy pinafore, having to decipher the intricate maze of colored lines and letters in the pattern booklet intimidated me.

A lucky find of some new-to-me but not new fabric at SewGreen spurred me to get over my creative paralysis. The lovely combination of two linen and rayon blend fabrics--one a spring green and the other a delicate floral--seemed a perfect fit for what I wanted to make--something light and comfortable for my niece to wear through the Arizona summer.

The pinafore only had three pattern pieces, so the pattern tracing and cutting, fabric cutting, and sewing actually turned out to be relatively easy. Once the pinafore was constructed, I knew it needed something to jazz it up. But I wasn't crazy about the flower embellishment that the pattern suggested.

Another lucky intervention occurred--my designer friend Maya came over and saw the pinafore and suggested a vine design up the side. And immediately a potential design popped into my head. It is so nice to get direct inspiration from someone whose design skills I admire!

The final push to complete the pinafore came this past weekend, when I had a sewing lesson on my new machine. After learning to do a satiny zigzag stitch, I knew I wanted to try an appliqued design. My first sketch of a curvy, scrolled vine didn't look right, so I got out my ruler and sketched a more linear and angular design. The bird shapes took a few tries to get to the right size and level of simplicity. I haven't sketched anything in quite some time, so it was nice to loosen up those creative muscles as well for this project, and it's something I'll continue to do.

I'm glad that I stretched my sewing skills in this project by trying machine-sewn applique for the first time. I used Pellon lightweight double-sided fusible interfacing to adhere the applique designs to the pinafore. Unlike other fusible interfacing I've used, this interfacing allows the fabric to stay flexible rather than feeling stiff and plastic-y.

Sewing the tree and birds to the pinafore was a little tricky, especially the satiny zigzag stitch around the tree top. I warmed up by cutting out some of my scrap fabric into a bird shape and sewing it onto another scrap fabric with the zigzag stitch. The mama bird on the ground looking up at her baby birds in the tree (have they just learned to fly?) was actually my test sample for the zigzag stitch. When I had completed the tree, I thought that the other side of the pinafore needed something to balance it, so I decided to iron and sew my little experiment on the "ground".

This simple little pinafore took a few months from inception to completion, and I still don't know if it's done. I'd like to add embroidery as an embellishment--and it needs some shorts to go with it--but I think I'll just stop here.

But, really, how does one know when a project is done? For me it's when there are so many projects piling up that I just need to stop obssessing about one thing and move on! So, the pinafore is boxed up and on its way to the post office for my niece, who I hope will concoct a little story of her own about the appliqued birds.