Vintage Aprons

20's and 30's embroidered aprons and cover-ups

I adore aprons.  I'm always wearing them because I am an inherently messy cook. I never stop the pinch of this and splash of that, and frequently wipe my hands on my poor apron, mimicking the women before me. There is nothing better for keeping your clothes clean, and honestly, there is something about the very act of tying one about your waist that gives you a feeling of domestic capability. Just give me an apron and let me loose!

 I guess it started way back when my Great-granny would tie a half-apron up under my armpits and stand me on a chair to help cook. Hers were the first aprons I owned. All of them either black or red and adorned with embroidery. She passed away when I was twelve years old, and it meant losing a soul mate.

Some of my favorite to wear

 I remember being at her house after the funeral. The will had been read and family was going about loading up the things that had been left to them. My Grandma Tommy found me standing in the kitchen, still unable to comprehend the finality of it all. She handed me a trash bag, and said, "Take things you want." She is gone now and I wish I could tell her how that saved me.

I love this high waist one with three bows, but the simple green one is beautiful too. Just look at the delicate handmade lace and the row of teeny green rickrack at the bottom

The aqua one is fun with it's French beret pattern, and it is a real "pinny" apron. The big pockets are made separate to hold lots of clothespins.

Dear Reader, it had to have been divine help that made me choose the way I did, because I would not go back and change a thing all these years later. I put in the drawer-full of her aprons, the cast iron skillet and graniteware coffeepot that always had the pride of place on the stove. I put in handmade potholders, trivets, pastry cutters with painted handles and so much more. I found a closet with a box of her vintage hats, a flag with 48 stars, my grandfather's baby shoes, and her boxes of 1930's Christmas ornaments. Other people got Victorian tables carved with deer and dogs, original paintings, hand-blown lamps. But I knew then and still know, I got the treasures. And I use it all, keeping Granny here beside me, right down to wearing her aprons.

These are definitely "company" aprons. The cloth is so sheer and diaphanous that any stain would go straight through.The two on the right were birthday gifts from the sweet girl who was not yet my daughter-in-law. The third from the left is made of handkerchiefs with the pockets sewn out of folded ones.

As I got older I collected aprons at farm auctions. This was long before people were interested in any sort of old kitchen memorabilia. I could get boxes for a dollar, filled with recipe books, cooking tools, potholders, vintage tablecloths, and aprons galore. No, this was not just after Noah got off the ark! It was the 80's, people. Everyone was more interested in stonewashed denim and Swatch watches, not the good, old stuff. Their loss, my gain ;)

This row has aprons from both sides of my great-grannies.

This apron and the white polka dot above are some I got when my granny passed. I love how she used stitching and rickrack to make the simple patterns her own.

I'm an indiscriminate lover. I see equal beauty in the finely made just-for-company aprons as I do the ones that are faded away and patched together. In fact, those hold a special place in my heart. When I put on an apron I can't help but think of the woman who wore it before me. I have aprons from all eras. 

Early 1900's

Did my hand-embroidered ones from the 1920's get worn by a young woman who debated cropping her hair into the shocking bob that was all the rage? What about the modest depression era cover-ups? What type of meals did that lady make to get her family through the hardships of the time? What did she make in that apron that was a special treat, one that required great sacrifice for her to present to her loved ones, a salve against so much uncertainty? 

I love the little one on the right, but the center one is extra special. My Grandma Beeman crocheted it for me!

Then there are the ones from the 1940's. Men had come back from the war and there was much marrying and starting of families. These woman tied an apron about their waist and enjoyed an abundance that the prior generations of women had only dreamt of. 

The red, white and blue is my 4th of July apron!

If these aprons could talk. If they could mention a meal frequently cooked, or offer a recipe for that special something that only the prior owner could make just so. The aprons are silent and yet they hold so much in their quietness. A whole century of women, doing the best they could with what they had. Tying on their aprons, they used love and a woman's touch to help create the world we live in.