I really like this basket apron idea from this sewing book I picked up at a local antiques mall. It is called Sewing Made Easy. I can't find an exact date of when it was published but it does say that the first edition was published in 1950 and has shown almost 200,000 women that the fine art of sewing is as valuable today as it was in their grandmothers' day. I love it when I find an old sewing book while shopping. I always look for them at Goodwill or any antique mall. Usually they are not very costly either.
I have one called The New Encyclopedia Of Modern Sewing from 1946. This one has several adorable aprons in it too along with several items for organizing your closet that I would like to try.
My oldest sewing book is from 1930 called Whites Schools of Costume Art by White Sewing Machine Company. Cleveland Ohio. It has several guides to drafting different patterns. These seem to be missing important information such as what part of the pattern goes with what measurement. But I may be able to figure some of it out with some trial and error. There is a pattern that says it is for a slip. There is only a few lines of explanation and a diagram. It tells how wide your fabric should be if you have 40 inch hips but I see nothing on the diagram that refers to these measurements. I may try a bit of fiddling with this maybe I can come up with a workable slip. Maybe this book was a guide that went along with some hands on classes. I feel like it came with a sewing machine because it has many references to special feet and attachments. But there is a lot of hand sewing in this book too.
Most of these old sewing books have very little in the way of directions. They seem to assume that everyone already knows how to put something together. I think I can handle figuring out an apron or a slip. And really I have no desire to draft a dress pattern from scratch I can get a lovely pattern for about $2.00 on sale at JoAnn's. Actually I have plenty of patterns I can play with. But I would also love to try making something from my old sewing books.
These are all great sewing books! Most aprons go together in the same way, so once you find a good set of directions you can use them to guide you with some of the other patterns. Good luck!
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