Miss K's Apron--2nd Finish of the 2nd Quarter Finish-A-Long (FAL) 2018

Embroidered K

 After completing the selvage tote, it was time to get the embroidery on the grands' aprons. I decided to start with Miss K's first.

I saw Jenny Doane, from Missouri Star Quilt Company, demonstrating the apron technique that I used to make this one on a Fons and Porter program. Instead of a pocket, she used 2 1/2" strips to make a cute ruffle accent. I used 2 1/2" strips for the tie too. I had the strips from a strip exchange. Click here for a link to a tutorial of Jenny making an apron from a tea towel.

K with bling

This project has been waiting for the embroidery for a couple years. I am not confident with my embroidery skills. . .especially, when I'm stitching directly on the item. I have such a time positioning the design on the garment so that when the embroidery is stitched, it looks centered.  This was a good project to practice center the design.

The initial K is 2 1/2" wide by 3 1/2" high. It would be a great design for applique which I might save for another project.  I incorporated some tips from a friend about centering the design and after much trepidation, I began. Stitching the K went smoother than I had imagined.  Miss K loves bling. I have some crystals so embellishing the initial was my next step.

Hearts weren't it

I have a variety of crystal sizes. When I purchased them more than five years ago, I thought that I would use the largest crystals most often. Actually, I've found the smaller crystals worked best for my previous projects.

For this special project, I pulled out the largest crystals and started. I had envisioned using a variety of crystal sizes to fill the space. It was easier to place the larger crystals and then fill in with the smaller crystals so that was what I did. The crystals look yellow; but, they are clear. I love how the light pink embroidery sets off the sparkle.

Ribbon samples for auditioning

After I finished adding the bling, thought about adding more crystals in a heart design. I cut a couple paper hearts; but decided the hearts weren't it. I also decided that although the crystal K was terrific, it needed a little more something.

Auditioning flowers at the top of the ruffle

I was at a sewing and craft fair and saw ribbon that was pulled into a flower and thought that might add just enough pizazz to the apron for Miss K.

I bought some ribbon in colors and widths that I thought might work. I came home and played. How the ribbon works is that there is a heavy cord on one edge of the ribbon. You pull both ends of the cord and you get a flower. I used an 18 inch piece of ribbon for the fuller flower centers and a 12 inch piece of ribbon for the less full flower outer petals.

As I was purchasing, I thought that the purple centered ribbon would work best. I decided that the purple didn't work well with the rest of the apron. The light flower with the silver edge was too light; but, I thought the two ribbon combination flowers worked best.

I just knew I was going to put three flowers at the top of the ruffle. It looked blah. So I tried spacing the flowers in the body of the apron.

The results were also blah. So I tried two down the center and decided that this option would make Miss K the happiest. Yes, the flowers are impractical on an apron; but, totally important for someone who likes ruffles, bling and as many accents as possible!

Finished apron

This is my 2nd finish for the quarter and goal number number 2 on my second quarter Finish-A-Long list. (I used half a yard of fabric from my stash. So I now have used a net of 7 1/2  yards of fabric from my stash and 42 1/2 yards more to go to meet my goal of using 50 yards from my stash in 2018!)

I'm saving it for Miss K's 6th birthday in a couple weeks. (I can't believe that she is almost 6! Where does the time go?) I hope that she is going to love it!