You could not help but feel Christmassy wearing this apron decorated with my 12 days of Christmas lino cut prints in a repeating pattern. I can almost smell the turkey in the oven and all those delicious trimmings just waiting to be eaten. I actually adore sprouts, they are one of my favourite vegetables and definitely not just for Christmas. Like this apron they can be appreciated at any time of year.
84 x 62 cm with a large pocket 38 x 20 cm and extra long waist ties in bright red or green
The design depicts my humorous take on the traditional Christmas song where I challenged myself to fit each of the twelve presents given by ‘my true love’ into a square lino cut print. This became increasingly challenging as the presents mounted up. One partridge was simple sitting in it's pear tree, two turtle doves as well, in fact all the way up to eight maids a milking which was the biggest challenge.
How to fit all eight maids and their cows in? - They must have their cows or they would not be milking - as you can see I came up with a genius solution!
After finishing all 12 prints I made my Christmas tea towel which has been a consistent seasonal best seller for the last few years. Along with the set of greetings cards this year I have added an apron, a double oven glove and wrapping paper to the collection.
The Origins of the Design;
'The Twelve Days of Christmas' is a traditional Christmas song first published in England in 1780 but thought to be of French origin. It is a cumulative song where each verse builds on top of the previous. As the verses accumulate, so do the gifts; by the end of the twelve days the true love would have received 12 partridges, 12 pear trees, 22 doves, 30 French hens, 36 colly birds, 40 gold rings, 42 geese, 42 swans, 40 maids, 40 cows, 36 ladies, 30 lords, 22 pipers and 12 drummers! I have used the original ‘colly’ birds which is a traditional name for black birds rather than the often-sung modern version of ‘calling’ birds.
This apron is also available as part of a gift set
Tea Towel and Double Oven Glove Gift Set
Simple Soups Gift Set Tea Towel, Apron and Double Oven Glove