Victory with ‘The Victor’ pattern

Introducing a key member of the Tinker and Fix testing team – Liz is one of our oldest and best’est friends.  Helpfully, she’s ridiculously talented at growing, making and mending.

Unlike us, she’s got qualifications and years of experience under her belt.  As well as being a professional gardener (so she casts her professional eye on all the gardening kit we choose) she is the most talented sewer, knitter and maker.  Trained as a conservator, having worked at Hampton Court Palace, she knows her stuff. Trust us. Well, the actual point is to trust her.

So we set her the challenge of making a ‘Victor’ apron with the same fabric that we use on our ‘Frank’ tool roll. It’s a relatively heavy fabric (10oz) and it’s waxed cotton so it’s not the simplest of fabric to sew with. 

The end result, as shown by Liz, is both epic and flawed.  The fit is great – it’s easily wearable and comfy.  Comparing it to the Carhartt apron (which we’re used to wearing) it’s a bit longer in the body (obviously you could adjust this if you want) – but I quite liked this extra length in and around the garden and greenhouse.  To be honest, getting into it is a bit of a faff until you get the knack (but that may just be my own ineptitude).

The main issue is the fabric to be honest – being waxed cotton means that whilst dirt brushes off easily it is a magnet for attracting fluff (tbh our main issue is dog hair).  But that’s certainly not the fault of the pattern – the point is that you need to choose what you’ll be using the apron for and choose the best fit fabric.   

Further feedback on the pattern:

1. The pockets were a bit of a challenge – it takes a little fiddling to get three of them looking perfectly straight given they are so prominent and important to the design.
2. The straps also require a bit of thought – Liz took several reads of the instructions to be able to get her head around how to thread them through the hardware in the right way. So if you are a beginner – don’t be put off by this – but just know this is a challenge and give yourself the time to get it right.

Fancy the challenge? Grab your apron pattern here.

Enjoy! Lou