Teach Me Tuesdays: Aprons, Part Of The American Housewife's Heart & Home

It's Teach Me Tuesday ( well actually it's 11:00 p.m. Monday night. I'm posting this tonight because we have a busy day tomorrow). This week I'm talking about the history and the beauty of aprons.

There is something so beautiful, warm, cozy and quite comforting when a woman wears an apron. I have so many fond memories of seeing both my Mother and my Grandmother in aprons. As a child, I can remember going to my Grandma Vera's house on a Sunday evening for dinner, throwing my arms around her to give her a hug and seeing her wearing her favorite apron with the front pockets. It made me feel like everything was going to be alright!


Every Thanksgiving, Christmas and Easter my Mama would wear her special red and white lace apron while she prepared the holiday meals and Christmas cookies with me.

Below is a picture of me at a Julia Child recipe swap party that I hosted!

Now that I am grown and have my own household, I wear aprons too!

Below is a picture of me at our home when we were living in Florida. This was before a ladies tea that I was hosting.

When I first got married I started a little apron collection of my own. I have a beautiful pink floral apron I wear when I have ladies over for tea. A bright yellow and black bumble bee apron I wear for fun and many more.

Here I am with a friend last year when we were taking cake decorating classes!

My favorite bumble bee apron is in the picture below.

Fun History Facts About Aprons

In the 1930's and 1940's all ladies of the home wore aprons. Most of them grandmothers and mothers. Aprons were worn while cooking, cleaning, when a guest would come to the home and to serve dinner at the table.

In the early 1700's and maybe even earlier, it is said that women wore these kinds of aprons as a protective fabric. Women during this time didn't have "wash-n-wear" fabric. Without the use of aprons women would be forced to constantly washing their beautiful dresses. This would cause damage to the dresses and wear them out quickly.

The main purpose for wearing aprons was to protect the ladies beautiful dresses and garments worn beneath. Aprons were made well enough that they could be washed and worn a few times throughout the week.

Aprons were worn and used by housewives, school teachers, merchants and sometimes by secretaries.

Another beautiful trait of aprons was that they could be decorated. Many aprons wore decorated seasonally or sometimes fashioned with ribbons, buttons and lace. This made the aprons personal and gave them character and charm.

In the 1950's aprons were quite the fashion for housewives everywhere! The color of an apron could be used as a distinguishable item.

Throughout history Stonemasons wore white aprons, Barbers wore checked aprons, gardeners wore blue while servants and maids wore long, white aprons with the upper half pinned to the dress.

Whatever the use may be, aprons come in many different colors and textures of fabric. Aprons are fun and practical, a must for all Domestic Divas! :)

Do you have a special apron that you love to wear? If you are interested in making an apron for you to wear and start your own traditions with, here is a lovely quick sewing pattern I found on a blog called A Feathered Nest.

http://projectsforyournest.blogspot.com/2008/04/quick-easy-apron.html

An apron makes a perfect hostess or shower gift!

Before I go, I will leave you with this beautiful poem about aprons!

Grandma's Apron

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 men-folk 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.

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.

(Author Unknown)


Because it is Teach Me Tuesdays, please link-up and share any facts, stories, recipes, crafts, home remedies you might have... We are all ears!!!!




Blessings,
Sarah