Dogwood Denim Apron & A Giveaway!

Hey Everybody! How are you? I'm back in Calgary and starting to get settled in. This week has been a bit of a whirlwind with packing up, travelling, unpacking, and catching up on things at home. Anyway, the weather is starting to warm up so it's all good. 

I have a bit of a different post for you today, because I didn't actually make this apron, but I've sure had a blast using it. Ha! A few weeks ago, my friend Alina (from Dogwood Denim), asked me if I would like to try out one of her denim sewing aprons and review it on my blog. And you know me, it's hard to turn down anything denim. 😜

*Disclaimer: Alina did send me this apron for free, but as always, I promise to give you an honest review, all thoughts and opinions are my own.

First lets talk about the details. This sewing apron comes in 4 different colours, and I chose medium blue. I'm a sucker for a nice medium blue denim. This is a 12 oz, raw denim, and it's the perfect weight for an apron. The backing, and lining of the pockets, is made from an organic cotton twill, which helps keep the apron soft and not too heavy. 

The first thing I noticed about this apron when I pulled it out of the package, was it's precise construction, and secondly, it's sturdiness. And it has so many great pockets! The belt is adjustable and it has a heavy duty plastic buckle, which makes it easy to get on and off.

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I've had that little Frida button (it's by Mindy Lacefield) on my table for a long time, it just seemed right to add it to my apron. 

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As you can see, I have had no problem filling up the pockets with all my trusty tools. Alina told me that this apron was actually born when she was at one of the Fashion Incubator Boot Camps  she attends (essentially, she goes and works in a factory and learns the ins and outs of clothing construction and manufacturing). She needed a sturdy apron that would hold all her tools, and allow her to easily move around the factory. Alina created this design, and it wasn't too long before everyone in her camp wanted one, so she decided to start selling them on her website. 

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Anyway, I don't know about you guys, but my "sewing" room is set up so I have to move around quite a bit, from machine to table to ironing board and back again, and I'm constantly leaving my tools everywhere. This apron makes it so nice having everything right at my finger tips. When I first got it, I was worried that I might not use it, but honestly, it's so handy! And now that I've been wearing it while I sew, I'm not sure I'll be able to go back. 

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Here I am in action. Seriously, it's so nice to have everything in one place, and I always lose my rotary cutter or my seam gauge underneath fabric scraps or pattern pieces, so it's nice to have easy access to everything.

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In these photos, I'm wearing jeans, but often I sew in my pyjamas or leggings which don't have pockets, so this apron really helps me out then too. And if you look closely, you'll see it's getting some wear, as I've already dribbled coffee on it, so it saves my clothes too. 

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So I've talked a little bit about Alina and Dogwood Denim before, but I had a great phone conversation with Alina just before she sent me this apron, so I feel like I can share a little more about what she does now. Dogwood Denim was born out of Alina's love for jeans, and not being able to find a great fitting pair.  Not only has she had her own struggles finding nice jeans to fit her body, she's watched several of her friends go through the same thing. I think as sewists, we can all relate to that. Anyway, her goal is to make women a great fitting pair of jeans, out of high quality, sustainable (and possibly organic) denim, that will last. She is about to start taking orders for custom jeans, and she is hoping that once she has a good sample of women's bodies, that she'll be able to come up with a few great fitting styles that she can then make and sell, along with her custom fitting. Doesn't that sound awesome? Anyway, if you are interested in having a custom pair of jeans made just for you, head over to the contact page of her website and message her.

And in the meantime, Alina has kindly offered to give away one of her fantastic aprons to one of you lovely readers. The winner will be chosen by random draw, and to enter, simply leave a comment here, or head on over to Instagram and follow Dogwood Denim. There will be a post there too with the giveaway details, and if you would like extra entries, just tag a friend under the post. The contest closes Sunday November 19th at midnight MST.