Housewifery - Aprons

I don’t use an apron much. Never have. My my mother and my grannie certainly did, and I’m sure had I been around Grandmother, she would have as well. Must ask my cousins about that!

Aprons have a long, and somewhat glorious, history. I assume from the etymology of the word, it might have come over to England from France in 1066 with some of my ancestors.

The word apron stems from the French word naperon, which means napkin or tablecloth...from which the first aprons were probably made.

Some researchers trace the apron to Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden when they sewed fig leaves together to cover themselves:

Genesis 3:7, And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons.

Traditionally aprons are used when cooking but that was not how they first began. Men were the first to use aprons about the 12th Century, and these aprons were often tied at the waist, although some covered the entire front portion of the person doing the work. They were used by butchers and porters who wore green aprons; blacksmiths who wore leather aprons; barbers who wore checked aprons; and masons who wore white.

Aprons have been used since the early 19th Century by women to keep their clothing clean while they are cooking and house cleaning. They have also been used to carry things such as the rolling pin from the drawer to the dough, eggs which were gathered in the chicken house, wood being transported from the wood pile to the stove or fireplace. They were used in transporting wet clothes to the line to be hung out and dry clothes from the line to be folded. Aprons have always been a very effective and efficient tool, an extremely functional piece of any woman’s wardrobe.

In the 17th Century romanticism began to blossom, and one notion that seemed to entrance men was that of their girlfriend’s apron becoming untied and dropping off!

In the 18th Century the pinafore apron was pinned to clothing. And in the 1950’s I remember wearing a pinafore dress, which evolved from this style of apron.

By the 1930’s aprons were decorative as well as functional. They had bright colors and decorations with large sashes. Some were crocheted. Some made of organdy, and by the 1940’s the printed half-aprons tied around the waist and were sometimes made of handkerchiefs. They were also hand embroidered. And by the 1960‘s there were attached hand towels and pot holders.

In the 1940’s and 1950’s the “perfect mother” always wore an apron, no matter what. Not being a particularly perfect mother in the 1960’s to 1980’s, I did not!

Now the men wear aprons again for barbecue and outdoor cooking, so I suppose we’ve come full circle!

Here is a cute little story, author unknown (not me), that I thought you might enjoy:

History of Grandma's Apron

The principle use of Grandma's apron was to protect
the dress underneath, but along with that, it served
as a holder for removing hot pans from the oven; it
was wonderful for drying children's tears, and on
occasion was even used for cleaning out dirty ears.

From the chicken-coop the apron was used for carrying
eggs, fussy chicks, and sometimes half-hatched eggs to
be finished in the warming oven.

When company came those aprons were ideal hiding
places for shy kids; and when the weather was cold,
grandma wrapped it around her arms. Those big old
aprons wiped many a perspiring brow, bent over the hot
wood stove.

Chips and kindling wood were brought into the kitchen
in that apron. From the garden, it carried all sorts
of vegetables. After the peas had been shelled it
carried out the hulls for the chickens. In the fall
the apron was used to bring in apples that had fallen
from the trees.

When unexpected company drove up the road, it was
surprising how much furniture that old apron could
dust in a matter of seconds.

When dinner was ready, Grandma walked out onto the
porch, waved her apron, and the men knew it was time
to come in from the fields to dinner.

It will be a long time before someone invents
something that will replace that old-time apron that
served so many purposes.

©2009 Sue Seibert