The Apron used to be a common thing. Every woman wore one around the house. However, as women headed out to the workplace they hung up their aprons and over time, we forgot they existed. They’ve become a lost tool.
There used to be a whole section of aprons in the Sears and Roebuck’s catalog. McCall’s put out new patterns yearly. Now they’re a novelty item to buy men that like to grill things.
Don’t get me wrong, aprons are still used in restaurants and bars as part of a uniform. In fact, that’s where I discovered how useful they can be.
Grandma’s Apron
Those uniform apron’s are not the same as Grandma’s, though. Grandma wore her apron in the kitchen to keep her clothes from getting covered in food stuff. I do the same, especially when I’m baking… ya, I’m a hot mess.
She also used it in the garden to gather food or eggs from the chicken coop. She wore it while cleaning house, both to keep her clothes clean and also to collect out of place items to put back into place. I tend to use a laundry basket because pockets are too small for the crap my family leaves laying around.
How I use Aprons
I also use baskets in the garden and I don’t have chickens but do you want to know what else I use aprons for?
Gardening and crafting (both the creative and the magical)
Why? Pockets.
I love the pockets.
An apron without pockets is just useless, IMHO.
I am notorious for putting something down and then forgetting where I put it. It doesn’t matter if its a pen, a lighter, pruning shears or a pair of scissors. I absolutely will loose it. But if I’m wearing my apron, it’s in my pocket.
You can keep your ritual robes, I have my apron.
Where I got my aprons.
The Renaissance Man is a restaurant manager. He’s worked at several chain restaurants over the years. There was one in particular that required their employees to wear an apron. Each employee was given a number of aprons when they were hired and they were expected to take it home and wash them after each shift. Except that often times they didn’t. They’d leave their apron in the break room and come back next shift asking for a new one.
I kind of get it. Not everyone has a washer and dryer at home. Laundromats cost money and time.
Needless to say, every month there’d be a half a dozen dirty aprons stuck in lockers or hanging from the coat racks. No one would claim them and the laundry service wouldn’t clean them so they were destined for the trash. Except, we’re the kind of people that has a hard time throwing away perfectly good, gently used items.
So those aprons ended up here where I’ve washed, dried, ironed and stored the extra’s for later use. I kept a few for myself. He left that job a few years ago and I’ve since mastered the cricut machine and went a little crazy.
My girls went ga-ga over the results and the Princess suggest I put them on Etsy. So I did.
Here’s the Princess modeling the Kitchen Witch version. You can find that here.
Here’s a few other designs I’ve come up with. I wear my Green Witch apron when I’m tinkering in the garden, collecting herbs and seeds or repotting plants.
I wear my Village Witch apron when the family gets together just to remind them who they’re dealing with. All those boys can get a little unruly!
I love this saying! Cast, Curse and Cavort. It’s like the Witch’s version of Live, Laugh, Love. I usually don this apron when I’m working a spell. It’s part of my ritual that gets me into the whole casting vibe.
I’ve come to the conclusion that I need one more design for my crafting apron.
What other things would you use an apron for? Leave your suggestions below!
