If you are looking to try an easy enough pattern for this Japanese style cross-over back apron, Hey June has a free Allspice Apron pattern available to print out in a couple of formats (pieces of paper you tape together or you can have it printed in one piece at a print shop).
Pocket detail, I do love pockets but may have made this a bit too wide. You will see what I mean in the actions shots below.
The sewing instructions call for either a fold over edge or bias tape and they suggest doing a slight gathering under the arm so it isn’t too floppy. This is the same sort of thing I did with the Verity Hope Smock I made for Heather and it did help the underarm lay a bit nicer.
Since I made this apron double sided, the underarm finishing includes a small length of elastic sewn inside in the curve then top stitched at the edge and a quarter inch in. I think I could have just done a slight gathering stitch in the seam allowance instead, or a bit less tension in the elastic.
I didn’t have quite enough fabric to make the entire apron double sided so I left the lining hem short and finished the curved outer hem with a couple rows of stitching that got slightly gathered to ease the curve when folded over. If you don’t know what I mean, I can link a video.
And here it is on. I don’t find it particularly flattering, a bit frumpy to be honest. And you can see the wide pocket causes some sort of odd stiffness in the skirt.
You can see the elastic gathers in the waist curve here.
I chose the largest size because I wasn’t sure how it would fit. I think I could have gotten away with a mid size, there were actually quite a few choices.
And a progress shot, since we all love sewing p_rn, haha.
Oh, and the seam allowance is ENORMOUS, really excessive for my habits. I’m not sure I loved how the shoulder seams aligned either. But all in all, I would recommend this pattern for intermediate sewing or a brave beginner. It’s a lot of fabric, lots of pinning, a lot of thread. Go with the bias finished seams.
