Original circa 1951 McCall's Pattern No. 1650 - Apron with Detachable Bib and Pockets

Original circa 1951 McCall's Pattern No. 1650 for a full-skirted apron with a bib and pockets that button on and off, designed for women's and misses' kitchen wear, with a ruffled heart pocket, script-embroidered pockets, and a rose appliqué from the included transfer. One Size. Complete Nice Condition, 10 of 10 pieces, with the uncut transfer included; the envelope is worn at the edges and has been professionally repaired.

Quick Facts

• Pattern Number: McCall's No. 1650
• Year: Circa 1951; also found in the December 1953 McCall catalog, Page 671
• Garment: Women's and Misses' Apron with Detachable Bib and Pockets (3 Views), with Transfer
• Size: One Size
• Condition: Complete Nice Condition, 10 of 10 Pieces; Uncut Transfer; Envelope Worn, with Edge Damage, and Professionally Repaired with Lineco Acid-Free Archival Tissue and Acid-Free Adhesive

Design

McCall's 1650 starts with a full, flared apron skirt on a waistband with long tie strings, and lets you decide how much apron you want. A bib on narrow straps and a choice of pockets button onto the waistband, so the same apron can be worn as a pretty half apron or as a full bib apron for real work. View A, in pink, is the half apron with a heart-shaped pocket, cut in two sections and edged with a ruffle, embroidered in script with "Sunday" and trimmed with a small appliqué. View B, in yellow, adds the bib and a square pocket embroidered "Monday," with a long red appliqué. View C, in green, is shown with the bib unbuttoned beside it and a square pocket carrying a large rose appliqué; it can also be made as the apron alone. Extra pockets in any of the three styles can be cut so they can be changed at will. Embroidery is worked in six-strand cotton: medium and dark green with deep rose for Views A and B, and dark green, rose, and wine for the View C flower. Ten pattern pieces (apron, waistband, tie string, bib, bib strap, two heart pocket sections, pocket ruffle, square pocket, and pocket facing) and one transfer; about 2 to 2¼ yards of 35" fabric.

A Moment in Fashion History

A detachable bib was the early 1950s answer to an apron that had two jobs. The half apron was the hostess's accessory, worn over a good dress to serve, while the bib apron was for cooking and cleaning; buttoning the bib on or off let one apron do both. McCall's pushed the idea further with interchangeable pockets, so the apron could change its trim as easily as its shape. The script "Sunday" and "Monday" pockets play on the days-of-the-week embroidery that filled kitchen linens of the period. The pattern was still in McCall's catalog in December 1953, on the same page as its Flower Petal Apron, McCall's 1691.

Illustration

The envelope front and back are shown as scanned, framed on our blue mat without retouching, so the artwork appears in its true color and condition. View A is shown in pink with the ruffled heart pocket, View B in yellow with the bib and "Monday" pocket, and View C in green with its bib lifted off to show how it buttons on; the three pocket designs are drawn across the bottom. We've also included page 671 of the December 1953 McCall catalog, where it appears beside McCall's 1691.

Connections

On page 671 of the December 1953 McCall catalog, this apron shares the page with McCall's 1691, a waist apron built from petal-shaped sections. They show two ideas of a pretty apron offered side by side: one that changes with a few buttons to suit the job, and one that turns the apron itself into a flower. See McCall's 1691 Flower Petal Apron.