Adorable thank you aprons

My mother-in-law, Barb, has two very sweet friends named Wendy and Joyce.  When they heard that Barb would be hosting a dinner for 21 people at her house after Grandpa Taylor's memorial service next Saturday, they called Barb up and volunteered their services to be both waitresses and clean up crew.  Barb was very touched, of course.  After she told me about it, I figured those ladies deserved a nice gift as a thank you.  I offered to make a couple of café aprons that they could even wear that evening if they wanted, and Barb liked that idea.  I got to work yesterday afternoon and came up with these:

Wendy is an interior designer, so I figured she might like the one with the modern color combination.  I thought Joyce might like the one with the darling pleats and fun kitchen-themed fabric peeking out from behind.  Barb agreed with me.

For Wendy's apron, I used a tutorial from Sew4Home for a half apron with jumbo pockets.  I altered the instructions a little to make the ties have angles ends, to add some extra top stitching to the ties/waistband, and to add a row of top stitching at the bottom hem to completely encase some raw edges that would have shown from inside the pocket.  The apron isn't lined, but I'm already scheming a way I could improve on this design to not only add a lining but also make the construction of the pocket a little neater.

For Joyce's apron, I used a tutorial from Thousand Square Feet (as featured on the Sawdust Girl) for a pleated apron.  This apron is also unlined and has some raw edges (which I sewed with an overcast stitch and using my overcast foot for the first time ever) on the back side.  Again, I am scheming to improve on this design as well.  This apron is probably not as practical as the other one because it doesn't have pockets and will probably need to be ironed if Joyce wants the pleats to stay sharp.  I guess it would still look cute with softer pleats, though.

I also think that adding interfacing to the waistbands of both aprons would make them feel a little more professional and substantial, but after adding the weight of a lining the aprons might get a little heavy.  Wider waistbands could also be even more flattering.  Hmmm . . .

I am not sure how appropriate it will be to whip out my camera at the dinner to take photos of the ladies in their aprons, but I'm kind of hoping I get the chance to so I can update this post with photos of the aprons in action!

-------------------------------

Update!  I wasn't able to stay long enough at the dinner to see the ladies open their presents, but Barb reported back that both of them loved the aprons.  Wendy sent Barb this cell phone shot of her on Thanksgiving wearing her apron, though.

Looks pretty good with her pretty yellow sweater!  Those are fabulous socks, too.  Mmmm -- that bird is making me hungry for turkey all over again.