One day not too long ago I was struggling with the boys over some minor details which come up when a lot of people live in a small shack in the woods. Details like the value of picking one’s dirty clothes up off of the living room floor when company has been spotted driving up the mountain. The boys were unusually stubborn that particular day. Rather than fight with them over their household responsibilities I picked up the dirty clothes myself and crammed them into the washing machine. I ran some soapy water in the sink to get a start on the dishes before the company arrived.
Now usually I am not one to hold a grudge over small disagreements like laundry on the living room floor. This one settled in my brain though, and I felt compelled to mull over it for several days. It was the outright insubordination which offended me the most. After I figured that out I went in search of solutions.
About the same time I was in the process of Spring Cleaning. I was having a great deal of trouble motivating myself to wash the walls in the kitchen and mop the back porch where the cats live (blessedly with a doggie door so they don’t need litter boxes).
Well, the more I worried about these twin dilemmas the more I felt the need to discuss them with the queen of solutions, my momma Darthulia. As I suspected she had the perfect solution. Darthulia told me I needed a uniform or costume which would reassure myself and others of my intention and status in the home. She claimed it would remind me of my duties, inspire me to greater levels of cleanliness (which as a hillbilly I sorely need), and reaffirm my authority in the home.
Darthulia then went on to describe the homemaker’s uniform to me in detail. “Imagine the modern archetype of the housewife.” She began. “Think Donna Reed, or Beaver Cleaver’s mom. They wore full skirts, and stockings, and heels when they vacuumed. But you knew they were doing housework because they had their aprons on. A string of beads graced the necks of their classic shirtwaist dresses, and a lacy bibbed apron proclaimed their role as matriarch in charge of household management.”
I only have a fleeting memory of Donna Reed. I sort of wish she came on television regularly so I could take notes but she doesn’t in my area so I am stuck looking for other heroines-of-the-home to model myself after. Most of what momma said made sense to me though. That very day, I put on a full skirt, stockings, sensibly low high heeled shoes, and a string of pearly white beads. Then I sat down at my sewing machine and ran up a couple of bibbed aprons, decorated with lace and ribbons.
I made up the pattern as I went along using a small rectangle for the first bib and a heart shape for the second bib. Then I stitched lace around the edges of the bib and attatched it to a simple tie with a full apron skirt gathered to the waist. I made them short waisted so they would fit my maternal figure a bit better, and voila, I was set. I put the first apron on, a creamy white or ecru, and looked in the mirror to admire my handiwork. I expected to see myself staring back at me, probably looking a little silly in this frilly piece of confection designed to protect my clothing.
Boy howdy, was I in for a surprise. In the mirror I saw a vision of the homemaker I have always strived to become staring back at me. Her cheery face glistened in the sunshine. Her hair tied up neatly in bun looked authoritative, and compassionate all at the same time. The apron covered several figure flaws and accentuated the fertile curves of the woman I saw in the mirror. This woman had purpose. She had status. She had clout. I stood there, contemplating the wonder of the homemaker that shone through my image in the mirror. “This is who I want to be” I told myself. “This is the Keeper of the home, with a capital ‘K’. ”
I wear my aprons every day now. I have made more, in different colors and configurations so as to be pleasing to my senses. I have come to believe they are a like lacy bits of lingerie, only worn on the outside, and a quite a bit more respectable. When I put on my aprons the children mind me better, wandering visitors immediately know my role as a stay at home mom. Door to door religious missionaries assume I am a virtuous woman and cheerfully move on to the next house. Fred thinks I look cute as a button, and neighbor children hug me more often.
I like my aprons. They have changed my life, raising my standards, inspiring me to greater feats of home making skill, and making me more effective as a parent. Whoever thought that a dollars worth of fabric and lace could effect so many changes on one woman and one family? Since my success with aprons I have become a true believer. I am now called to spread the word among my fellow housewives. Join the crusade by sharing your love of aprons with friends, family and internet buddies around the world. Together we will change the face of the House Wife, the world over.
Blessings,
–Maggie (The original Hillbilly Housewife)
I too enjoy dressing as a true homemaker, which for me is the little house on the prairie style. I’m more comfortable with myself as well. I use to live in jeans only, now give me a comfy prairie style outfit and I’m happy.
All of this sounds very good, but if my husband came home, found me in heels, a dress, and an apron, he would promptly call a psychiatrist, and get me admitted to the local mental hospital. He would also question our son seriously about what he had done to finally drive mom crazy. All in all, I think it would be best if I just stuck to my jeans and shorts, and depended on my sometimes commanding voice. The neighborhood kids would still not hug me, but my son would sure be surprised.
LOL Mine would do the same thing =)
I am a true believer in the ritual of wearing an apron!
When I’m ready for housework (most of the day!)I feel naked without it!
I live in the suburbs and visitors are often surprised to see me in an apron. “Oh, are you baking”.
Hey , aprons are not just for baking anymore!
My apron puts me in work mode no matter what the task. My kids know I mean business and I’m on task when they see me in an apron. It’s a visual warning to them that hey, “you may need to pitch in at any minute”.
I made myself a canning apron, and I love wearing it! My experience has been the same as Maggie’s: when I dress like a housewife, I am prouder to be one. To me, it is difficult to feel honorable as a housewife in today’s society when you have chosen not to leave the home so that you can raise your own kids. But, when I wear my apron I have a sense of peace and pride about being a mom.
now i know why my daughter in law started wearing an apron this year!
shes the one who sent me the link to this site.
my mother ALWAYS wore her apron, and on occasions she finished cooking and put on her “dressy” apron.
I love aprons. I seldom wear them though, because they accentuate
the wrong curves! (make me look pregnant). I guess the best ones
for my figure are the chefs aprons. I’ll just have to make one and
dress it up!
When I was entrusted with the care of my great grandmothers aprons, I saw an opportunity to start a new family tradition. There are 4 of them, and myself and 3 young daughters each claimed a favorite. Now on special occasions and holidays we all wear them and talk about family heritage, recipes handed down etc… Not only are we sharing what I hope will become fond childhood memories, we are honoring generations past. And it’s hard to lose patience with a sweet darling wearing an heirloom probably 75 years old. Now I’m wearing my ‘everyday’ aprons, well, every day. Maybe in 75 years from now, little girls will be picking out which of my aprons they like the best. Maybe I’ll sew a little message on the inside of the hem…
Why do you have to have the blue stripe running down the left side of your posting? It makes it very hard to read what you had to say about the Apron Evangelist. I realy enjoyed the comments because the stripe didn’t run through them. I love apron’s and have many patterns but haven’t made any yet,LOL. I should do that, soon.
This article is so inspiring and I love it. I am going to give this a try as I have gotten out of the habit of wearing aprons on a regular basis. Thank you for sharing with us.
What a great article. This is what I enjoyed about the previous HBHW website. First the situation and then the solution and one that doesn’t cost a ton of money. I wear and make aprons all the time. I never thought of it as a uniform, but it does signify that it is time to get busy and get some work done. I love making the aprons and it helps kick start the day when I put on a pressed (not always) and clean apron. Also helps protect my clothes from stains and spots. There is a website called Tipnut.com that has free patterns for aprons.
I love this article – it’s been one of my favorites for years. (c: I collect aprons, both vintage and new and love wearing them. I have “an apron for all seasons” and trade them out for upcoming holidays and such. I also have my laundry apron with the nice deep pockets for stashing lots of clothespins, my gardening apron that’s extra thick and has nice wide pockets all along the front for my garden utensils and my cleaning apron that gives lots of all-over coverage. Miss Maggie’s articles are always great, I miss “seeing” her here at HBHW.
someone wouldn’t happen to have a pattern for an apron?
I love the newsletter. I have a special folder for the newsletters and keep every one.
I wear my aprons when cooking and especially when baking. I have flour, cocoa powder,etc. all over the front. My husband tells me I really “get into” my work. Never thought to wear them when doing other household chores. I have made several for myself, daughter and daughter-in-law. Never thought to make them frilly and lacy. Will try that next. Thanks again for the newsletter. I have shared it with all my family.
As I write this, I am wearing an apron after cooking an awesome pot of short ribs. it’s smelling so good. Nothing puts me in the mood for cooking as my apron. Thanks for the reminder. I will now help my boys with the dishes since we will work faster and they will realise that mom isn’t a bully. They will know that as the Keeper of the home, mom is just giving skills to prevent an early marriage due to the need for a maid. LOL. On a serious note, thank you for putting it in persepective. The reason why we stay at home. God bless you.
I am a single gal living in an apartment, but I love wearing my apron. It’s just a mental reminder that I’m in work mode, and am Queen of the Castle (to use a Seinfeldism). Seriously, aprons aren’t just for baking anymore, and they have saved my clothes while cooking on more than one occasion.
I just returned home from vacation and am reading the apron comments. I work as a teacher and a number of us wear aprons to have all the supplies we needed (dry erase markers, pens, pencils, erasers, sticky note pads, etc.) For my birthday, my momma bought me a frog covered apron (she’s been collecting frogs for me since a bad relationship 30 years ago- kiss a frog before you find your prince}. I love wearing my grandmother-in-law’s aprons that she used to wear. She has some that are on a plastic band that goes around your waist. Very simple with pockets and can pull right off. It’s nice to read the newsletter!
Thanks so much for writing and sharing this article about Apron Evangelism, I found it inspiring! I love to wear 100% lined cotton skirts, which are so very comfortable and don’t need a slip. I also like cotton pants or jeans and also shorts.
While reading this article, it occurred to me that wearing an apron with pants would make the entire outfit appear more feminine, and that a shorter apron would have the same effect on a shorts outfit. Even if I did not wear heals, I could get the same “feeling” by wearing pretty sandals.
I have several aprons in the linen closet which I have never worn. Now, I realize that I can easily sew some lace around the edges (and around the pockets) and they will look wonderful! I also love the idea of seasonal aprons!
I am a single apartment-dweller, but love to put on my apron over a circle skirt whenever guests come over, or sometimes just for myself. It feels like dressing up and playing house- houseplay, rather than housework.
I would LOVE to wear aprons. As I sit here, feeding the 14 mo old twins, you got me thinking. My uniform, such as it is, is a tee and shorts or jeans. Shorts did allow me to already get goat doo on my thigh. Somebody had icky paws and I did not see it when I sat on the milk stand. I have cow doo on my shin…..beast flicked her tail when I let her out, tossing mud and poo all over. I think a *real* apron would be useful when I tranfer the hens to their new digs today. They will NOT be pleased to be moved. Maybe an apron would have saved my tee from the splashing when I poured milk into the pot to make cheese today. Or the flour from the pizza crusts I have rising. As a single mom, I have nobody here to call the men with the I-LOVE-ME coats. But I wonder how the townsfolk will react……..I can see this working for me. A pretty apron for housework. One with POCKETS to collect eggs. One of Kevlar for the milking of beasts. Well….at least waterproof! Thanks for the inspiration on a same old, same old day!
This is just delightful. I’ve been hunting for an apron pattern for my daughter’s ballet costume, her ballet school is doing the Wizard of Oz and my daughter is Aunt Emily. One website linked to another, as they do, and here I am! I love aprons. My favourite belonged to my grandmother and I have wonderful memories of her wearing it. Nan was in her 80s and wore her aprons every day; she baked, cleaned, gardened and collected the eggs wearing her bright floral aprons. Remembering her now I feel the wonderful warmth of her love, her inspirational homemaking and her scrumptious baking. I’m definitely going to start wearing my aprons with greater style and appreciation. Thanks.
Julie..you left a message on July 9th looking for Apron Patterns. Go to:
…. TipNut.com and type in aprons, you will find a bunch, all free. If you scroll all the way down there will be more aprons to click onto. Good luck..
~ Cheryl
Hi,
I love that idea, I only own 1 apron , Hey have you thought about selling yours???? I would buy one for sure!!
I love wearing my apron too! I definately do more work with a better attitude when I put it on first thing in the morning. I always have a pocket to put in little bits I pick up on the floor. I always have something to dry my hands on when I am cooking or doing dishes. They wash up fast & easy too. My grandmother made me 5 aprons that are just perfect for my homeschooling life.
Just wanted to say thanks for reminding me why I wear my apron!! Actually my daughter thought I wasn’t feeling well the other day when I didn’t put it on in the morning. Amazing how one gets in a habit and others notice when you do something different.
I have only 3 aprons, a friend gave me a lovely apron panel that I need to make up soon. I really like the idea of having seasonal aprons and cleaning ones too.
Both my son and daughter will be working in the kitchen more with me now, so I think I will make them each their own special one for Christmas!
God Bless, and thanks for sharing!
I got this email forward today and thought of you…
I don’t think our kids know what an apron is.
The principal use of Grandma’s apron was to protect the dress underneath,because she only had a few,it was easier to wash aprons than dresses and they used less material, but along with that, it served as a potholder for removing hot pans from the oven.
It was wonderful for drying children’s tears, and on occasion was even used for cleaning out dirty ears..
From the chicken coop, The apron was used for carrying eggs, fussy chicks, and sometimes half-hatched eggs to be finished in the warming oven.
When company came, those aprons were ideal hiding places for shy kids.
And when the weather was cold grandma wrapped it around her arms.
Those big old aprons wiped many a perspiring brow, bent over the hot wood stove..
Chips and kindling wood were brought into the kitchen in that apron.
From the garden, it carried all sorts of vegetables.
After the peas had been shelled, it carried out the hulls.
In the fall, the apron was used to bring in apples that had fallen from the trees.
When unexpected company drove up the road, it was surprising how much furniture that old apron could dust in a matter of seconds.
When dinner was ready, Grandma walked out onto the porch, waved her apron, and the menfolks knew it was time to come In from the fields to dinner.
It will be a long time before someone invents something that will replace that ‘old-time apron’ that served so many purposes.
Send this to those who would know (and love) the story about Grandma’s aprons.
REMEMBER:
Grandma used to set her hot baked apple pies on the window sill to cool.
Her granddaughters set theirs on the window sill to thaw.
They would go crazy now trying to figure out how many germs were on that apron. I never caught anything from an apron but LOVE.
You brought back so many memories. My mother always wore a bibbed aporn. I have seen her carry just about everything in the tail of her aporn. Probably had tears wiped away with it also, Thanks for reminding me.
I love the apon! I have my cottons for cooking as well as denim/ linen for outdoor use. I found another site of free apron patterns & thought ya’ll would enjoy!
I love that idea, I only own 1 apron , Hey have you thought about selling yours???? I would buy one for sure!!
This is a great story. I have a bunch of aprons but rarely wear them. I need motivation like this to make me wear them. Thank you!
I had a green-striped apron (my first!) As a thirteen year old teenager, I have recently graduated (thanks to Amma) to a black and white, hot pink edged apron, with a bow held in place on the front with a faux-diamond and metal buckle. My new sheek apron is always present tied about my waist while I’m cooking. I get a few weird looks when my friends come over, that is until I hand them the “guest” apron(my motto: you wanna eat, you betta cook! No, I’m not that hard, haha they just like cooking with me). They always go home wanting an apron of their own, and I try to make a new recipe whenever they come over, so they can take it home and make it for their families. A tried and true fave: homemade enchiladas( and when I say homemade, I mean the whole shabang!)
I first came across this blog about a year ago, maybe a little longer. I was making myself several aprons at the time, and I thoroughly enjoyed the blog you posted. In fact, I posted a link to it from my blog, so I hope to send traffic your way. SSHDiva.blogspot.com (posted under June 19th, 2010)
It is such a blessing to share and receive wisdom, and the truth in your message about your homemaker uniform made me realize that my job is of value. It seems to get lost between the wiping up spills, the ending of fights, the tackling of mt. washmore, the cooking, the cleaning, the repeating the next day- that EVERYTHING I do to bless my family is of value. In today’s society in the US it seems so undervalued to be “just” a housewife. We shape the next generation. We are the helpmeets that God intended us to be. I’m proud to sport my aprons!
Now, on to making some Maternity Smocks. need something to cover the ever-expanding belly, that I can wear after the pregnancy also.
OOH! does anyone have any “nursing” smock or aprons? Maybe I’ll have to create one!
I cannot sew, but I love aprons.I wear them often. mostly because I am a complete slop.A lot of my food lands on my boobs.So to keep my tops from getting all stained up Guess what? yep apron.maybe I need a lot of bibs Lol.
I really don’t wear an official “uniform”. I do, however, change out of my pj’s. When motherhood was new to me, it was normal for me to just wear pajamas (tshirt and soft pants, usually pj pants) all day long. It suited it’s purpose then, but now.. I find that even putting on jeans or capris or shorts on with my tshirts… I feel more inclined to do something. I still wear pj’s as “lounge wear”. I do wear an apron when I bake. Because I’m VERY messy and get flour all over the cabinets in my tiny kitchen as well as myself. So it’s a necessity to protect my clothes (I don’t want to have to change clothes every time I bake! That’s just extra clothes to wash! Nuh uh.) And I like pretty aprons. I like more modern patterns, but the old fashioned lacy ones are nice too.:) (I don’t like plain ones so much, but hey.. they serve their purpose!)
I too love aprons, and a big fan of The Donna Reed Show. I rent the seasons from netflicks….
I came across your newsletter when looking for patterns for aprons and thoroughly enjoyed it with all the comments. I have my grand-mothers aprons that my aunt gave me after grand-ma passed away and really enjoyed the post about grand-ma’s apron. It brought back memories from my childhood and watching my grandma do her house chores wearing an apron. I plan to make aprons for all the cooks in our family as Christmas gifts, personalizing each to their tastes and hobbies.
I really enjoyed this article and remember my dear mom always wearing an apron in the kitchen. I would love to start wearing one and was wondering if you have the pattern for the aprons you made yourself. They sound so pretty and I would like to try to makie them. TIA.
Bea in NJ
I also love aprons and wear them quite often. I have and old rolling pin that we cut a slice off of one side of the rolling part so it would lay flat against the wall, added some cup hooks along the front of the rolling pin and some picture hook hangers on the back where we sliced the piece off. I put this on the wall in my kitchen and hang my aprons on it. It looks very cute.
I decided to wear aprons one time. I decided just cutting out a couple of squares of fabric would not do. I went out and bought me a pattern, Simplicity I think it was. I figured I could reuse it so no big deal. They had two versions in it. One was cut with princess seams and used bias tape to finish the edges. No dress scrips for this apron! I bought the fabric for and and figured I might as well get the fabric for the other one while I was at it. I chose a bright cheerful yellow for the bias tape. Yes, I was still working outside the home in those days and could afford things like that.
I went home and cut out my new creation and started sewing on it right away. Once I had it to the point I could start finishing it up with the biased tape I decided to pin the ties on so I could see what it looked like. I put my head through a snug loop at the top and let the apron down in front of me and OH NO. I could not even tie the ties in back! I was not a small woman in those days, still not in these days mind you but just a sized 14-16 and the apron looked like I was trying to wear a child’s clothes. I looked back at the pattern and it did say one size fits all but it did not fit me! If I was willing to cut off the circulation it would have fit one thigh! I threw it and the rest of the stuff except for the biased tape into a bag that I could not find the heart to throw out. I kept thinking I’ll finish
it for a gift for this one or that one sometimes but can never find the bag when I think about it just when I’m looking for something else. The yellow biased tape however has taken on a life of it’s own. It has been used in craft projects. It has dressed last minute birthday packages and even tied together unruly computer cables. I still have a couple of packages in my sewing box.
I am thinking about aprons again lately. This time I think I’ll get my tape measure out first and tear off some squares I have measured very carefully!
Este artículo es muy bueno e interesante. Adiós!
I never thought about wearing an apron for homeshooling, but it would make sense. The pockets would hold all the dry erase markers I am forever looking for on the table covered with workbooks, and it would save trips into the kitchen to get a paper towel to wipe the dry erase markers off. Plus the red grading pen would be easy to locate… I love aprons – but rarely remember to wear one until halfway through the meal/recipe when I am starting to get splatters or flour on me. THEN I remember hey – wear an apron! I love the rolling pin apron hanger idea.
Loved this post, where is the donate link? lol
Yes we are still reading your article. Dec 2010
Wether your uniform is running shoes and jeans and a vest
or the 50′s uniform of Mrs.Cleaver, dressing for the job
makes us more focused.
Traditions are sometimes traditions because they are a list
of things to do that have the “bugs” worked out. LOL
I really enjoyed reading this. Now I just need to find a pattern. Thanks for sharing.
ROFL, sorry! Very funny, clever!
I am happy to have come across this article today. I just love aprons but I don’t actually know anyone that wears them but me.
I just bought my 7 year old daughter her first apron yesterday. The woman who sews them is making me one in the same print so we will have matching aprons. I know my little girl will love that.
I especially appreciate an apron when canning, grinding grains and cooking big holiday dinners but don’t really need a reason to wear one.
Having an apron to wear around the yard is as handy as it is in the kitchen. The pockets can hold seed packets, vegetables, chicken eggs, treats for the chickens and goats and all kinds of odds and ends I pick up in my backyard travels.
I am also having the seamstress (because I cannot sew) make my young adult daughters some aprons as well, she had such beautiful fabric and prints to choose from.
I know the older girls will most likely not be wearing them any time soon given that one is away at college and the other has just graduated from college and working alot.
I am hoping they “will grow into them” and appreciate them after they start families of their own and become homemakers themselves.
I love wearing my aprons and they keep me from getting grease stains on my shirts. I agree that my children mind a little better when I wear my aprons. At one time, I wore a dress during the day and did my housework & etc. My husband was shocked and asked a lot of questions but he did admit that he liked the way I looked when he came home everyday. The articles are great no matter how old they are. Thank you.
I received your link from my very crafty daughter, and read it and all the replies. I am making an apron for my daughter in law (her request) and one for the summer for her and hubby. Online there are great fotos and patterns, but I will try to make a pattern from my favorite pic.
My mother asks where she went wrong because I have (as she put it) and “apron fetish”. LOL Actually, I quite agree, wearing a nice apron just makes you feel different. I have a variety that I collected (a lot of vintage), but was afraid to wear those because they were old and fragile. I do love wearing them though and have a denim one for when I cut hair (pockets are deep and great for clips and scissors), ruffled ones for cleaning/cooking/baking.
I have since gifted half of my vintage collection to another apron-loving friend and have taken to making my own. Teaching myself to sew, I needed something fairly easy yet challenging enough to keep me moving forward. Hobby Lobby has patterns on sale for .99 sometimes, so last time I went and purchased some “vintage” styled aprons. My first was a heart-shaped bib apron.
I received your link from my very crafty daughter, and read it and all the replies. I am making an apron for my daughter in law (her request) and one for the summer for her and hubby. Online there are great fotos and patterns, but I will try to make a pattern from my favorite pic.
My first was a heart-shaped bib apron.
I throughly enjoyed this article. I only wear aprons in the kitchen, but I have to admit that I feel better about my occupation as Christian wife/mother/homemaker when I wear my apron. And yes, it does come with an authority, and an image that commands respect. I may go out of my way to find some aprons that I like (since my sewing machine is on the fritz). So that I can enjoy my position even more. And by the way I don’t live in the mountains (sometimes I wish I could), but I am still one in my heart, and I consider myself fortunate to be one.
I recently wrote a blog post about the nostalgia I feel toward aprons and how much I enjoy making, gifting, and wearing aprons. I’ve read quite a few of your blog posts and I love your thoughtfulness and varied point of view. Thanks for sharing!