Category: The Maria Wrap apron

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Meet the Maven Maker – Maria Thomas

We get so many amazing Maven Makes sent to us that we want to share even more indepth versions of your makes and story with our community. 

First up we’ve got Maria, a long-time friend of Mrs M and of course, the Maria Apron’s namesake. Maria Thomas is an exhibiting textile artist and lecturer and we bonded on the school run over our love of denim, a love of stitch and a loathing of cooking the tea.

Maria’s work focuses on rehousing everyday objects that have a specific association or meaning to her.  Notions of motherhood, shopping lists, food wrappers and graphic packaging – offering assistance to domestic chores – are carefully sourced, cut out and stitched before being absorbed into the fabric by patchwork and quilting techniques.  Shaping memories and experiences into her own visual language Maria’s work is a response to the events of her daily life.

Maria in her studio wearing her Apron

Do you find yourself reaching for the Maria Wrap a lot? 
Yes. I have two finished aprons that I use a lot, and several half done, waiting for their moment!  The first one I made in a dark-denim chambray fabric, this is my mucky one that I wear for my dye and print classes. The other, I have made in the MM large indigo polka dot fabric and I wear it to give talks or when I’m teaching a less messy workshop like hand embroidery. I love that it’s effortless to wear, its large pockets and there’s no straps to tie.

Maria Exhibiting at The Knitting & Stitching Show

How many have you made so far?

I’ve made around 15 aprons, some to wear and some as part of my textile art.

The Maria Apron was named after you! Why do you think that is?

Mrs M and I met on our local school run, gravitating towards each other through a joint love of fashion & textiles. We spent many a tea time musing over clothing design and avoiding the fish fingers.  So when she announced that the apron was going to be one of her pattern collection I couldn’t have been more enthusiastic and  offered to toile and test the pattern in its early stages, which I did with pleasure.

Any tips for a first-time Maria Apron maker?

Use a mid weight natural fabric like Chambray or  linen. Always wash your fabric first to avoid shrinkage and defiantly toile the pattern in your size first. An old duvet cover is perfect for this, if you haven’t got any calico.

‘Seven Sisters’

How have you personalised your Maven Pattern?

I have edged the straps and hem of my aprons in a self-made bias binding.  Sometimes I appliqué a spoon or denim pocket taken from a pair of jeans to them instead of the original pocket.  I’ve also used the apron pattern in various ways to create  ‘Seven Sisters’, a piece of work inspired by my grandmothers and their sisters, who all wore aprons at one time or another.

No Aprons here, just cheesy grins!

Many thanks to Maria for being our first Maven Maker, and for being a constant source of inspiration and joy!

You can follow Maria on instagram HERE

SHOP THE MARIA APRON PATTERN
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The Patch Pocket Tutorial

We had a couple of requests for a photo tutorial for the patch pockets on The Maria Apron. So here it is!

The same principles will apply to the pockets for our Wendy Smock Top too. Wendy just has a little gathering at the base of each pocket, do that first and then follow below!MAVEN PATTERNS_MARIA APRON MAVEN PATTERNS_PATCH POCKET TUTORIAL

 

 KEY | RS(U): right side of pocket (up) | WS(U): wrong side of pocket (up) | S/A: seam allowance

You’ll need your Pocket Bag Former pattern piece. To work this really needs to be in card (a cereal box will do the job perfectly). If you need help here’s my tutorial

MAVEN PATTERNS_PATCH POCKET TUTORIAL

We are going to start at the ironing board: Everything above FOLD 2 is actually the facing of the pocket (a grown-on facing). The corner of the pocket bag will be ‘bagged out’ with the grown on facing so the raw edges will be concealed inside of it. Don’t freak out at the term ‘bag(ged) out’ it just means sewing your fabric with right sides together and then turning through so the RS is facing to the outside and all the stitching and seam allowances are enclosed on the inside.

Make fold 1 | Start with the RS of the pocket bag facing downwards and press the top edge 1cm to the WS – use the notches as a guide.

MAVEN PATTERNS_PATCH POCKET TUTORIAL

Make fold 2 | Still with RS facing down, at the next set of notches fold down again to the WS of the pocket and press in FOLD 2, creating the facing for the top of the pocket. Fold 2 is 2.3cm from FOLD 1. Why such a random number I hear thee ask? Because, a little later, we will topstitch 2cm down from the top edge of the pocket (this will stop the facing poking out during wear), which leaves a 3mm allowance to catch the stitching on. Clever stuff.

MAVEN PATTERNS_PATCH POCKET TUTORIAL

Turn facing to RS | Turn the pocket bag over so RSU is facing you.

At FOLD 2, flip the facing over from the back of the pocket to the front, and pin through the facing and S/A.

MAVEN PATTERNS_PATCH POCKET TUTORIAL

Stitch | At each pocket corner, take a 1cm S/A and stitch through the facing.

Trim each corner to reduce bulk and give a little press.

MAVEN PATTERNS_PATCH POCKET TUTORIAL

Turn corner | Turn those corners out to the right side now. Poke out the corners gently so they are nice and square (I use my small scissors, but be careful!) and press again. There you go, a bagged out corner!

MAVEN PATTERNS_PATCH POCKET TUTORIAL

Pressing the curve | Grab the pocket former and slide it underneath your pocket facing and then use it as a template to press a 1cm S/A around your pocket. Remove template.

Oh look, a delightfully smooth curve and 2 matching pockets. Hurrah! Now is a good time to check they are in fact the same size and shape. They are? Jolly good – on we go.

MAVEN PATTERNS_PATCH POCKET TUTORIAL

Topstitch and pocket placement | Topstitch across the top of the pockets 2cm down from the top edge to hold the facing in place.

Pin the pocket on your apron. Remember the pocket marker dots sit 5mm INSIDE the finished pocket edge (an industry trick so the marks don’t show on the finished garment).

TIP | You can use a fabric marker pen or chalk to mark a line 5mm above the dots which is where the top edge of your patch pocket sits and mark a line 5mm on the outside of the dots for the outside edge of the pockets. Check you are happy with the position of the pockets and then tack them in place.

MAVEN PATTERNS_PATCH POCKET TUTORIAL

Stitch into place | The pockets will be edgestitched onto your garment, but as this is a functional garment that will hopefully get a lot of wear, the pockets will benefit from a little reinforcement. This should help to give many years of joy and use from your apron.

Reinforce corners with a triangle | Start at point 1, stitch up to point 2, pivot your garment 90º and stitch across 3 stitches to point 3 (doesn’t matter how many stitches, but keep them the same number on all of your corners). Pivot again and stitch back to point 1 completing the reinforcement triangle. Then just continue to edgestitch the pocket bag all the way around and finish with a triangle again on the other side.

Voila! You’ve mastered the art of the patch pocket.

Get creative | Don’t forget you can have some fun with your patch pockets to make the most of your fabric’s design. Stripes can run in different directions – a good plan if you don’t want to match them to the apron body but don’t want to look like you didn’t think about it. That’s why ready-to-wear check shirts usually have pockets cut on the bias – it avoids stripe matching. Or you could pick a favourite part of a print and give it pride of place on your pocket. If you do get creative, remember that patterns or stripes on pockets are usually cut to pair each other!

MAVEN PATTERNS_PATCH POCKET TUTORIAL

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Lengthen or Shorten a Sewing Pattern Tutorial

How To Adjust the Length on a Sewing Pattern

This is just about the easiest pattern alteration to do!

You’ve probably noticed, many patterns have horizontal length adjustment lines marked on them to show where to alter the length. I don’t do that on all of my patterns, I prefer a cleaner look. It’s so easy to get in a muddle with too many lines everywhere and so simple to mark any length adjustments only if you need them. This straight forward tutorial will show you how simple it is to lengthen or shorten a sewing pattern, to help achieve a great fit.

TOOLS

  • Your pattern (or copy of your pattern if you don’t want to alter your original)
  • ruler
  • pencil
  • tape
  • paper

Things to be aware of

  • If you are unsure of how much length to add/reduce or even if you need to adjust the length, make a toile first. The silhouette and ease in a garment can make a difference to how long it should be.
  • If you are doing lots of alterations to your pattern, do any length adjustments first.
  • Keep the grainline or “place to fold line” IN A STRAIGHT LINE, do not allow them to stagger.
  • The Chain Effect: when altering one pattern piece, also alter the corresponding pattern piece in the same way and remember to check they still fit together after your alteration. It is very annoying to end up with the front skirt longer than your back skirt!
  • A toile is always your friend if you’ve done lots of (any) alterations!

Step 1

HOW TO LENGTHEN OR SHORTEN A SEWING PATTERN TUTORIAL_MAVEN PATTERNS-01

Once you’ve made a toile, you’ll know how much and where you need to add or subtract length to your garment. You can just change the bodice length, or a skirt length or the sleeve, or all 3!

Draw an adjustment line horizontally across your pattern at a right angle to the grainline or to the “place to a fold line”

On a bodice: mark the line above the waist line but below a bust dart, and straight through any waist darts.

On a skirt (or skirt portion of a dress) below the hip line, but avoid any pocket details – no point making life complicated!

On a sleeve: half way along the underarm seam, unless it’s a fitted sleeve or has an elbow dart, then divide between two lines. (See “Good to Know” at the end)

Step 2

Lengthen a pattern

HOW TO LENGTHEN OR SHORTEN A SEWING PATTERN TUTORIAL_MAVEN PATTERNS-02

Cut along the adjustment lines and separate the pattern piece.

Place a piece of paper behind your pattern and tape the top portion of your pattern to it.

Extend the grain line. Draw a line parallel to the your adjustment line the amount you need to lengthen the pattern by. Tape the lower portion of your pattern to the new line, matching up the grainline. Re-draw the seam lines so that they match up again, these may need to be curved or may be straight depending on your pattern piece. It’s quite usual to need to blend the new lines together, adding a bit to one and taking a bit off the other.

Shorten a pattern

HOW TO LENGTHEN OR SHORTEN A SEWING PATTERN TUTORIAL_MAVEN PATTERNS-03

Cut along the adjustment lines.

Place a piece of paper behind your pattern and tape the top portion of your pattern to it. On your pattern, draw a line parallel to the adjustment line the amount the pattern is to be shortened. Overlapping your pattern pieces, tape the lower portion of the pattern to the new line, matching up the grainlines. Re-draw the the seam lines so they match up again, in the same way as lengthening a pattern.

Step 3

Check your pattern pieces still fit together before cutting out your garment. Toile again if you need to!

Good to Know

The Maria Apron: lengthen the straps

HOW TO LENGTHEN OR SHORTEN A SEWING PATTERN TUTORIAL_MAVEN PATTERNS-06

This is a great method to use if you need to alter the length of the straps of The Maria Apron too. Be sure to keep the grainline aligned as before, but you can just chop through the strap, spread the pattern the required amount and re-draw the edges with a straight line – all without changing the length of the angled edge that attaches to your apron! You will need to do exactly the same alteration to both the TOP and UNDER straps.

Changing the length by a larger amount

If you are lengthening or shortening a sewing pattern by a larger amount, you can spread the amount between 2 lines

HOW TO LENGTHEN OR SHORTEN A SEWING PATTERN TUTORIAL_MAVEN PATTERNS-05

On a bodice, for example, take the amount needed to lengthen and place half above the bust dart, and half below the dart, this will of course lower the bust dart a little, so be sure you want it lower!

On a skirt, especially a maxi skirt style, half could go through the skirt in two places, this will lengthen the skirt and keep the hem circumference the same as the original. Alternatively, use one adjustment line and extra length could be added straight to the bottom of the hem, but the hem circumference will get bigger.

For a fitted sleeve: Spread the amount between two lines one above and one below the elbow/elbow dart.

Now, do I always use this method for changing the length of every pattern?

I’m 5’2″ so it’s always shorten, shorten, shorten.

HOW TO LENGTHEN OR SHORTEN A SEWING PATTERN TUTORIAL_MAVEN PATTERNS-04

NOPE, I don’t! If it’s only a little bit, or a boxy shape I’ll just chop it off/add the extra on to the bottom of the pattern. That works just fine too in some cases.

I hope you found this pattern alteration tutorial useful, and now can confidently alter the length of your sewing patterns.

SHOP Sewing Patterns