Original 1952 McCall's Pattern No. 1713 - Tic Tac Toe Cobbler Apron, Small

Original 1952 McCall's Pattern No. 1713 for a misses' cobbler apron, an "easily made" full-coverage apron with deep patch pockets, offered with contrasting print pockets or with a tic-tac-toe embroidery transfer and two matching pot holders, designed for women's kitchen and household wear. Size Small 10-12. Complete Nice Condition, with only the back piece cut and the uncut transfer included.

Quick Facts

• Pattern Number: McCall's No. 1713
• Year: 1952; also found in the July 1955 McCall catalog, Page H6991
• Garment: Misses' Cobbler Apron and Pot Holders (2 Views), with Transfer
• Size: Small 10-12 (28½-30" Bust, 24-25" Waist, 31½-33" Hip)
• Condition: Complete Nice Condition; only the Back piece has been cut, all other pieces uncut; Uncut Transfer
• Other Sizes: McCall's 1713 is also offered in Medium 14-16 and Large

Design

McCall's 1713 is a true cobbler apron: a front and a back, each cut in one piece, with extended shoulders that sit like little cap sleeves, and tie strings that wrap around from the back to close the apron at the waist. It covers the dress from shoulder to knee, front and back, so nothing underneath needs protecting. View A sets two deep patch pockets across the hips, cut from cretonne or chintz so a printed motif (tulips, on the envelope) becomes the decoration, and binds every edge in contrasting double-fold bias tape. View B makes the apron in one fabric with bias-bound edges and adds two matching pot holders interfaced with flannelette, all three trimmed with the included tic-tac-toe embroidery transfer, worked in six-strand cotton with one color matching the binding and two others. McCall called it "easily made": six pattern pieces (front, back, tie string, two pocket styles, and the pot holder) and under two yards of 35" fabric. Suggested fabrics are percale, chintz, cretonne, linen-finish cotton, or denim.

A Moment in Fashion History

The cobbler apron was the workhorse of the postwar kitchen. Where a half apron only guarded a skirt, the cobbler covered a whole housedress front and back, and its generous pockets held clothespins, a dish towel, or a pot holder close at hand. McCall dressed the practical shape up with the playful touches its early 1950s aprons are loved for: printed chintz pockets, bright bias binding, and a tic-tac-toe game stitched right onto the pocket and its matching pot holder. McCall also issued a little girls' version as Pattern 1712, so mother and daughter could wear the game together. The design clearly kept selling: three years after its 1952 copyright, McCall was still offering 1713 at its original 25 cents in the July 1955 catalog.

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. The artist shows View A in powder blue with tulip-print pockets, View B in tomato red with white binding and the tic-tac-toe pockets and pot holder, a sunny yellow version beside them, and a back view showing how the ties wrap, with the tic-tac-toe motif itself printed in the corner. We've also included page H6991 of the July 1955 McCall catalog, where it was still offered.

Connections

McCall's 1713 has a little sister: McCall's 1712, a child's cobbler apron issued the same year with the same tic-tac-toe pocket, plus a little game that tucks inside, so mother and daughter could play in matching aprons. See McCall's 1712 Child's Cobbler Apron with Tic-Tac-Toe Game, Size 2. McCall made aprons for everyone in the household: matching sets for mother and daughter, his-and-hers aprons for Mr. and Mrs., and junior aprons for brother and sister, so the whole family could pitch in together. Explore McCall Family Aprons in Kitschy Kitchen -- McCall Edition.