The Mad Person-Who-Stitches: Triumph!

I spent the summer angst-ing mightily over our costumes for a Legend of Zelda aerial routine.  The angst was well spent: I am very happy with how things turned out.  I'm going to start out with my last project: Princess Zelda's Twilight Princess apron (? if there's more apt term historical term for this piece of clothing, please let me know).

My Princess Zelda (Elisheba) will look amazing parading on stage wearing this!

For comparison:

What I did: I sketched the pattern freehand onto graph paper, then traced it onto some medium weight white cotton fabric from my fabric stash with a temporary fabric marker.  (The apron is actually two pieces of fabric, as hemming a single piece of fabric with sharp corners can be more trouble than it's worth.)  Then I colored it in with fabric markers.  I might have had more interest in coloring as a child had I had this sort of project!  I used Marvy Uchida markers, and they performed to the reviews as having no bleeding at the edges of the line, and (almost) odorless. 

How it Worked: amazingly well!

Things I Might Do Differently Next Time: Use a more lighter, more finely woven cotton for the front of the apron, with a heavier weave in back to make it hang properly.  The twill weave I used has a definite grain that the marker shows on close inspection.  More careful color selection: finding the right colors of markers was a pain.  Maybe experiment with liquid paints, if I can find fabric paints that won't dry stiff and prone to cracking.