Mindful Mending: Repairing a Vintage Cotton Apron

What is it with the 1950’s and poodles?

For some reason, poodles seem to be the decade-defining embellishment in our collective cultural memory of the post-war, pre-hippie decade. However, I have never before handled a genuine mid-century garment adorned with the famous silhouette of a well-groomed poodle.

In a jumble of aprons my grandmother had acquired over the years, I found just such a treasure: a home-sewn cotton apron with a repeating red and blue poodle design. Closer inspection revealed the apron had sustained some minor damage in its previous life. The most obvious issue was a small L-shaped tear in center near the waistband.

Repairing the Damage

I have sewn garments with a sewing machine here and there since I was a teenager, but had not to this point done much hand-sewing. I sought some advice. I consulted a vintage sewing guide and endeavored to fix the tear in the worn but serviceable cotton. A bit of blue polka-dot on white cotton from my stash seemed perfect for the job and provided a backing for my attempt at darning the tear. (This was also my first attempt at using a thimble for a sewing project, but that’s topic for a whole ‘nother post.) I didn’t check the clock to see how long the fix took, but it wasn’t a terribly burdensome amount of time, and I like to think the apron’s original maker would approve of the repair.

I tire of the disposability and “single-use” which underpins so much of our twenty-first century existence. It was refreshing to bring new life to a charming, one-of-a-kind item.

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