Julie Andrews's Maria, the nun turned governess, is one of my all-time-favorite film characters. She comforts the frightened von Trapp children during a thunderstorm, expertly counsels the eldest daughter, lovesick Liesl, and runs as fast as the two adolescent boys, Friedrich and Kurt—all with unrelenting cheerfulness.
When she learns that the children don't have clothes to play in, and that the curtains in her bedroom are about to be replaced, the solution is obvious—she fashions the drapes into a set of seven romp-worthy garments. Unaccustomed to luxury, she gets what Captain von Trapp is too proud and rich to understand: Perfectly good fabric should not go to waste.
Taking a page from Maria's playbook, I looked through my overstuffed linen closet for some fabric to repurpose. I picked a couple of slightly worn but nicely patterned pillowcases that I had stopped using years ago. With a little trimming, I shaped one into the body of an apron, and used the second pillowcase to cut out a neck strap and strings. Then, I sewed them all together. Now I just need to find my recipe for crisp apple strudel.
Difficulty Level: 5
Construction time: 6 to 8 hours
You need basic sewing skills, but no fancy stitches are required.
Based on a project from runcibledays.blogspot.com.
Wendy Becktold is the former senior story editor at Sierra. Follow her on Twitter @wlbecktold.
More articles by this author
- Keywords:
- diy