This is my submission to Tie One On . The theme for May and June was “the pocket” and since this apron started with the pocket fabric (and it is certainly the pocket that makes it cute) I decided to submit it.
 
I had meant to have this ready for my party last weekend (since it goes with my party dress) but I ended up too busy and never got around to it. My dress is going to double as my Hallowe’en costume this year though and I thought I’d probably want an apron if I’m going to be working in it - it just seems appropriate.
 
The apron is just plain white muslin and the pocket is a batik I saw in the quilt shop in May. It was just so lovely and delicate looking and, since I had just read about tie one on and the latest theme, I immediately envisioned it as a dainty little pocket against a white apron.  The lace was a finishing touch. I added the coloured waistband and tie tips (though you can’t see those in this picture) when I was doing the cutting out.

This is the gown (and under-things though you can’t see them) than I made for myself for this year’s tea party. I’ll put up a post for the under-things as soon as I’m finished the embroidery on my stays; right now they look a little too ‘half finished’ to be shownoff.
 
The fabric for my gown was ordered from Moda Fabrics and is a light weight seersucker with thin yarn dyed stripes. The seersucker turned out to be a good choice as it hides a lot of little puckers that showed up while I was sewing. Being so light weight meant that it flowed beautifully when I was outside and was very comfortable to wear.

Since I wanted my gown to fit over Regency under-things (chemise, stays and petticoat) I had to get those finished first and put them all on for each fitting. They are not the most comfortable things to be machine sewing in (especially since I have to crawl under the table to plug in my iron) but the result was a bodice that fitted really well .
 
I wanted something I could do up myself so I modified the pattern to make a cross over bodice front and removed the button overlap in the back. I added the voile ruffle to hide any little bits of my under-things that peeked out beyond my neckline and because I think it looks nice and delicate.
 
I also added small gussets to the underarms for some added comfort and mobility.  They were pretty easy to set in but flat felling the seams was a bit daunting and I’m not sure they are done quite right; there are no raw edges showing on my dress however, except for the inner edge of the skirt placket which is just too skinny to do anything about.

My gown closes with two covered buttons and hand sewn button holes in the front.  I have to say I was very pleased with myself for getting the placket in exactly the right place in the front skirt piece and working out the pleats to accommodate the extra fabric I had added in for ‘designer’s comfort’.
 
The picnic was also the debut event for my Mesh Triangle shawl and I think it performed very well.  Katy got some lovely pictures of it catching the wind and the sun really brings out the colours.