Remember a while back, when I said that I made an apron for my friend? Well I finished it at the beginning of May, and am just now getting it up on the blog. This post is rather long (as are most of my sewing posts) since I try to include as many pictures as possible.
To start off with you need to buy your supplies and print your pattern here. It’s an 8 page hand drawn PDF. Here is how you tape the pattern together:
Main fabric #1 (2 yards)
Main fabric #2 (2 yards)
Ruffle fabric (2 yards)
lining fabric (1/2 yard)
Two D rings
Get your pattern here
Now make sure you wash and dry your fabric, then you can get cutting!
From the main fabric #1 cut:
-one skirt piece
-one bodice piece
-two pockets
From the main fabric #2 cut:
-one skirt piece
-one bodice piece
-two pockets
From Ruffle fabric:
-two waist bands
-two waist ties
-the two neck ties
-three ruffle pieces
-four pocket bands
Let’s start by working on the pockets. Take one pocket piece, and one pocket band right sides together, and sew them like below.
Then flip the band up, and run an edge stitch to hold in place. I realize this is a different pocket than the one above, but I hope you can still follow what to do. Do the same to all four pockets.
Get your lining piece, and place it on the pocket, right sides together. Sew around leave a space at the top to turn it out.
Turn the pockets out, and edge stitch just the top.
Now, take two of your pocket, and pin them a skirt piece. I choose to do the opposite fabric to make them stand out.
Sew them on, leaving the top open (sorry the picture is blurry).
Moving on to the waist ties. Take each tie, with right sides together and sew around, leaving an opening at the bottom to turn them out.
Turn them out and add an edge stitch.
Next, sew the waist bands wrong sides together at the bottom.
Now take a waist band, and place it on one of your bodice pieces. Sew along the bottom. After doing this I realized that I had made some changes to part of my design, and ended up cutting the waist band so it was the same length as the bodice piece. But did I take a picture of that…. nope.
Take your bodice piece, and place it on your skirt piece right sides together. Lining up the bottom of the bodice piece with the top of the skirt piece. Sew across the top.
When you are done, flip the bodice up, and run an edge stitch along the bottom of the waist band.
Now it’s time to sew the ruffle on. I totally forgot to take a picture of sewing the ruffle piece, so I’ll try to explain it. You have three separate ruffle piece. You will sew them all together, end to to end, to make one long piece. Then when you have done that. Fold the piece in half, wrong sides together, and sew across the entire edge. You will then have one long piece of fabric, that you will create pleats with going around the edge of one of the skirts.
Here is a close up picture of the pleats. I would say I tried to make a pleat every inch-ish or so.
Now you need to add the waist ties. Match the non-pointed end of tie, with the edge of the waist band and sew in place. Then place the bands like shown below so that they are sandwiched between the layers when you move on to the next step.
Once that is sewed down, take your other apron part, and line it up, right sides togheter. Sew around the armholes and the skirt part, but leave the top open.
Time to make the neck ties! Take your material, and fold it, right sides together, and sew along the sides and top, leaving the bottom open. Do the same for the second necktie (only one is shown).
Turn them out, and edge stitch. You may notice that one of my neck ties used different fabric. I made a slight mistake when cutting, and ended up running out of the chevron fabric, so I had to use what I had.
Now, you need to slip these ties inbetween the two bodice pieces of the apron. The pins are where the neck ties are. Sew them in place, leave the middle open to turn the entire apron right side out.
Turn the apron right side out, and edge stitch the top to close the opening.
Finally take the two D rings and sew them onto the smaller neck tie.
Then you are done! Admire your amazing new apron!
Phew! Thanks for staying with me for such a long post! I am happy to say that my friend loved it! And serisouly, how cute is she! If only I could get my kids to pose like this when I make them clothes…