Welcome to My Red Cape. Long ago in another time my husband Jack and I lived in a little old red house. It was the stuff of dreams to us for the few years that we were there. I live there still a number of hours every day in imagination, with old dolls and paintings and fabrics and feather trees. I draw inspiration and happiness from the memories of that space in time and share some of it here with friends who remember how to step with Alice through the looking glass and take delight in whimsies and antiquities. ~Edyth O’Neill

Friday, March 13, 2015

Antique Doll Apron Pattern.

In dressing Antique dolls an apron is a pretty accessory to add.  So many have been lost in time it is hard to realize the tiny aprons were ubiquitous among dolls of the nineteenth century.   I have a small collection of these little textiles and have drawn patterns for a few of the most appealing shapes.  My favorites are always the calico ones with bibs, but other styles are also represented in my dolls' clothing.  Simple can be good.

This girl is so much more interesting with the contrast of her simple white apron on the indigo dress.

Another apron shape less often seen is obviously for toddlers to keep food off the front of their clothes, So maybe this should be classed as a bib.  Here is a large doll wearing this style of apron and then a doll size one but flared instead of straight.

 This 29 inch doll by Andreas Voit wears a child's apron 13 inches long at center front.


You can see how to cut this shape and then narrowly hem all edges.

How lucky it is to find these great old calicos!

The doll size example is 8 inches at center front.

But the fancy shaped little bib tops are the cream of the collection.
This parian Alice is just 10 inches tall and her apron is edged in incredibly tiny Van Dyke points.  For today's stitcher I would recommend a small scale but heavy lace in ecru color. 


As small and rewarding projects sew some of these aprons for your dolls.  Detailed patterns for four of these shapier ones are given in my new  Antique Doll Apron Pattern. Also included are two simpler shaped tab apron patterns with full instructions.



Edyth O'Neill's Antique Doll Apron Pattern, historically referenced, will soon be available to purchase as a downloadable pdf  from my Granddaughter's Etsy shop.  That link will be posted here.  Thank you for your interest, Edyth O'Neill

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