Sewing the Tessuti Apron

I've wanted to sew an apron for a while and came across the free Tessuti Apron pattern here. It was exactly what I was looking for, a cross-back apron with a square neckline. I decided to make it using this gorgeous pear print cotton twill fabric that I found at my favourite online fabric shop, DIY or Dye.

I did look up whether the Tessuti Apron pattern would be suitable for a larger body like mine - it comes in a 'one-size-fits-all' pattern which is never really true. I did find fatter sewists saying they needed to adjust the pattern to lengthen the straps and widen the skirt section. I decided to make it as it came as I had a friend in mind who I could gift it to if it didn't fit me well.

Above: Attaching the pocket

Above: needle break! The folded layers of pocket in the heavy fabric were too much for a normal needle. I switched to a denim needle for the rest of the project.

Above: halfway point. I still had the neckline to face and hem, and the straps to hem.

Below: completed back view

Below: The pattern suggests sewing a label to the pocket, which stumped me till I remembered I had some ribbon that stated "made with love" which was perfect, especially as I intended to gift it.

The fit: as you can see, it definitely doesn't fit a larger body comfortably. I do intend to make this pattern for myself, but will definitely add around 4 inches to the straps and maybe a couple of inches to the skirt portion.

Reflection:

I really enjoyed making the Tessuti Apron. The instructions were very well written with clear illustrations throughout that made it easy to work out how to proceed. I felt that I was able to achieve a crisp, neat finish and it looks very effective. I did send it to my friend for her birthday and she is delighted with it - result!

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