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“This is probably the most recognized piece of wall art.” “Nan is wearing an apron with rick-rac trim in the painting ‘American Gothic’,” Neven said. Neven sees aprons as having cultural significance. “When people move or their parents pass away and they don’t want to throw out the aprons, I get them because people know I’ll save them,” she added. Neven, who owns many books and resources on the art and history of collecting aprons, does presentations for local church and social clubs. “I like terry cloth the best because it’s easier to wipe my hands on,” she said. Her favorite style to use is made from terry cloth - a fabric commonly used to make towels. “I always wear an apron when I cook,” Neven said. Some aprons are never used, while others are functional. She also owns retro and contemporary apron patterns for the sewing inclined. Some of the other highlights in Neven’s collection include hand-embroidered creations, ones made from handkerchiefs, sheer, delicate styles appropriate for serving cake and punch at wedding receptions, foreign-made varieties, intricately crocheted styles, and aprons aimed at gardeners and butchers. Neven’s flour sack apron depicts a colorful garden scene. Very early on, Pillsbury and Washburn Crosby competed with patterned flour sacks as well.” The flour companies would try to one-up each other.
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But when companies started noticing that aprons and pillows were being made, that’s when the more vibrant colors started appearing. Jessica Faucher, corporate archivist at General Mills, explained in a company blog post: “White was the ideal flour that the consumers wanted to buy, so they would showcase that with the white flour sack. “And women liked to pick out their own patterns.” “It would take several sacks to make one dress,” Neven said. Out of economic necessity, many women took decorative feed and flour sacks and crafted them into dish towels, clothes, toys and aprons. They maybe only owned one good dress,” she noted. “Washing clothes was a real process, and women really needed to protect themselves from splatters and spills. “The oldest apron in my collection dates to the 1890s,” Neven said.Īprons of the early 1900s took on a more practical purpose. Women in the Victorian era continued to appreciate aprons, which inspired magazines to begin releasing patterns for ladies to make their own at home. This variety was tied at the waist, with the upper half being pinned near the shoulders. In the 1700s, pinner-style aprons were all the rage. While first associated only with the working class, the aprons of the 1600s were ornate and stylized, meant to add ornamentation to a plain-colored dress worn by nobility. Aprons, which are referenced in the Bible, were first depicted in paintings in the 1300s. The word “apron” is derived from the Old French word “naperon” meaning napkin. “I made my own wedding dress, and made a detachable panel for the front, which I guess you would consider an apron,” she said. Looking back, she noted, her wedding gown sported an apron component. They passed away in the early 1950s, and at that time I was a teen and not interested,” the collector explained. “I don’t have any aprons from my grandmothers. She and her late husband Gene, raised two children.ĭespite her life-long interest in home economics, she didn’t start collecting aprons until well into her adult years. She spent her career years with ISU Extension and Outreach and substitute teaching in northwest Iowa before landing a job in Marshalltown, teaching language through Iowa Area Education Agencies. was teach, teach or teach,” she told the Times-Republican. “Back then, all you could do with a degree in Home Ec. Having grown up with an interest in cooking and sewing, she earned a degree in Home Economics (today known as Family Consumer Sciences) from the Teachers College (now called the University of Northern Iowa). Neven, who hails from Oelwein, has resided in Marshalltown since 1967.
PINNER APRON PLUS
While most of the aprons were designed to appeal to women, she also has children’s and youth sizes, plus some for men (particularly butcher aprons), and mini aprons crafted to cradle soda bottles.
PINNER APRON FULL
She possesses 197 aprons made out of the following fabrics: broadcloth, feed sacks, ticking, lace, plastic, satin, terry cloth, denim, organdy, taffeta, muslin, Dotted Swiss, flocking, gingham and embroidery, designed as pant-shaped, cobbler and half or full coverage.