Dottie Angel wrap apron – Simplicity 8186

Earlier this year I began a new job as a family and outreach lay worker at my local church.  I had already been volunteering at the playgroup there for over a year, so when the job came up it seemed pretty logical for me to apply for it.  I couldn’t be luckier.  It’s part time, so I still have time for running the family home, sewing, and whatever else takes my fancy.  It’s flexible, so I don’t have to pay out for childcare, and I can still be there to take my kids to school, pick them up, and ferry them around to all their after-school activities. It’s fun: I get to do crafts with babies and toddlers at play group, organise fun activities for families who come to Messy Church, and organise holiday special events, for example so far this year we’ve put on a family fun day, a teddy bears’ picnic, a light party and hot cooked lunches during half term for those who usually get free school meals.  It’s good to be doing something in my local community that benefits families, and I get to be involved with the local schools too, but without being a teacher – which is what I did before but I found it super stressful!

When I began my new post, my line manager suggested I use my sewing skills to make myself a ‘tabard’ or some kind of jacket to wear at work.  My first idea was to make a traditional sort of tabard thing but pieced, with a heart in the middle and rainbow colours radiating out around it.  I still think that would be pretty cool, but novelty prints have always been a weakness of mine, and when I saw this hand-print Cotton Fabric from Minerva I thought that would be perfect for the job.  The hand-print seems to be a childhood rite of passage – surely every parent has at some point had a print of their child’s hand done.  It’s also very definitely evocative of ‘Messy Play’ – something that we try to incorporate into our plans as much as possible.