[Sca-cooks] overgown for dishwasher

[Rosine]

<snip>
> On a side issue- I'm planning to make an overgown
> for a friend who is _ALWAYS_ washing the dishes
> at feast. Something she can get in and out of
> easily, to protect her clothes. I already have ideas about
> how to do this- but has anyone made anything like this,
> and do you have any _specific_ pointers?
>
> 'Lainie

   Before I became The Baroness, the kitchen sink was _mine_ (my theory is
that someone who does a lot of cooking is the best dishwasher - you can
recognise the areas where food-prep is finished and needs cleaning up, the
areas where it's not and you'd best keep your fingers off the knives, the
importance of where to put the knives after they're washed... timing
availability to the sink so everyone can wash hands.)
   I carried my own bag o'stuff (favorite dishwashing detergent, small
bottle o'bleach, brillo pads, cheap new sponge/scrub pads (doubles well for
washing veggies), extra garbage bags, lots and lots and even more small
white towels bleached and folded by someone with clean hands and marked with
some sort of identifier. Not that I expected to use them to bandage wounds,
it just made me feel "better".
   And in the top of the bag went my apron. I made a wide-bodied lined
cyclas (more like a surcoat of the Norman style) of a nice tight "almost
canvas" muslin. The two panels are joined at the waist by an attached "tab"
which hides the elastic inside it... there's enough opening between the arm
and the tab that I could easily turn the thing around without taking it off,
should the front get too dirty. The double-layer of muslin is not hemmed
together, just stitched down the sides, so one layer rides separated,
mostly, from the other, which seems to really cut down on the "wet belly"
syndrome. The unbleached cloth holds up really well to repeated washing in
hot water with bleach - I've been using the same "apron" for about 9 years
now. (But since I'm only allowed in the kitchen at events we're not hosting,
it hasn't gotten much use lately.)
   So I'd say:
- aim for unbleached, sturdy muslin
- make the neck opening big enough to allow for knotted or scarved heads
-make it wide as the shoulders all the way down, possibly even wider at hip
to hem, if necessary - and a long apron means less spillage on the bottom of
a skirt
- if possible, have the neck opening symmetrical so it can be reversed
- the elastic cord between the panels of the apron is not too obtrusive, but
for shimmying in and out of at need, it is a real stress-saver.
- think very carefully before adding pockets. I found that pockets = putting
something in them, which made leaning against or bending over a sink
uncomfortable.

Hope that helps,
Rosine