I know better, but clearly I have not learned from past mistakes. And once again I stayed up until an ungodly hour the night before a live TV segment to make a new apron to wear for my weekly appearance on Take Five & Company here in Grand Rapids, Mich.

I decided shortly before midnight to make a Nancy Minsky-inspired apron out of an old pair of jeans that are thankfully too big. I didn’t want to go upstairs and risk waking the kids while sorting for the perfect combo of cotton prints to make Nancy’s “Hanky Panky” apron, so I decided to cut up an old maternity top and turn it into a quick ruffle. I started to lose hope when I realized that the pink and white fabric ruffle was way too long and rather sad. After some fumbling round, I decided to gather the bottom edge of the ruffle and fold it up toward the back of the apron for a bubbled ruffle effect.

Since the jeans are too big for me, the apron isn’t the most flattering when only the top four inches are visible – something that didn’t occur to me until I saw the clip from today’s segment. Ah, well, I was pleased to have the opportunity to finally use one of my homemade screen-printed “Make aprons not war” patches. Thanks to that patch and the deep pockets that come standard with jeans, this apron will probably still get some mileage off camera.

I did learn a valuable lesson from all this. Frumpy jeans can lead to frumpy aprons if you’re not careful. Next time I make a recycled denim apron, I’ll will start the project during daylight and use a smaller pair of jeans or cut more of the denim away. If you make Nancy’s version that ties in the front, you can avoid several of the design issues I created for myself.

Speaking of refashioning, I’m challenging myself to take my recycled designs up a few notches from last night’s apron debacle and planning to do my darndest to get an entry or two completed in time for the Recycled Runway event on Aug. 8 at the UICA in Grand Rapids. If you’re local and feeling inspired to recycle in the name of fashion, it’s not to late to sign up. The show will feature “innovative clothing made from recycled and repurposed materials.” What a fun challenge, eh? Now I just have to decide what to recycle. Hmm…