Antique Petticoat Turned Apron

Eke!  Look at my most favorite score ever!  I've been so obsessed with this that I totally forgot to announce the winner of my July blog giveaway ~ sorry about that (scroll to the bottom of this post for details).

Deep breath.  Here is my antique petticoat!



Amazing pin tuck detail.  Gorgeous crochet.



Remember a while back when I was collecting hundreds of crocheted doilies for my big table runners order?  I bought a lot of 50 of them from eBay and the generous seller included, for free, this petticoat!

I've been admiring it and cooing over it for weeks now.  I did a little research and learned that the crochet is Irish Crochet and that it's very unusual to find it on a petticoat.

I knew from the get-go that I'd use it to make two aprons.  Before anyone has a heart attack at the thought of me cutting into this beauty, it has quite a few holes, some repair work, and rust stains that, despite my best efforts, just wouldn't budge!  Besides, I couldn't bear folding her up in a cupboard.

Using every inch possible of this petticoat, I transformed it into what I think is my prettiest apron ever!  I'm planning on wearing her at my show next week and after that, I'll sew her twin.



I created pockets using a couple of doilies, but when I pinned them to the skirt, decided they detracted too much from the pin tuck detailing.  For the waist band/ties, I used some new muslin that I bleached to better match the petticoat.



I carefully snipped some of the crocheted hem and placed it on the neck of the bib and some of the big banded crochet across the bust line.







Now to make one of you go "eke!"  Congratulations to Elizabeth of At Home With Elizabeth and Gary!  You are the winner of my July blog giveaway:



Elizabeth, please send me an email with your address so I can ship you these little pretties.

This month, I'm giving away Beth Howard's wonderful book:



If you haven't entered yet, click here for the rules.  Drawing is August 31st ~ good luck!