a stitch of a different kind

No, I'm still not back on the knitting yet. So now you can see why I am having such trouble getting through that huge stash of yarn. Today my craft ADD is taking us to the land of sewing. Specifically, sewing an apron in which to cook cupcakes and other Rather Nice Things.

A little while back I found this old sewing book in a groovy bookstore in Newtown:

It was aimed at teachers of primary school age girls to help with their lessons and published in 1913, so there are some doozies of pattern instructions in there. The following is a perfect example. Here you see a delightful illustration of some nice and proper young ladies' undergarments, introduced as "The Drawers".

But the page I like best is this one:

You've got to love that matching mob cap and the demure, ladylike stirring action (dab, dab - is it done yet?)! Unfortunately the book didn't have the pattern sheets when I bought it - only the instructions - and there are no clues in it as to whether they were originally included and have just been lost. And so the search for the perfect apron pattern continues...