DIY Apron Tutorial

Thanksgiving is such a great time to enjoy  a meal with family or friends. It is definitely the season where you may find yourself in the kitchen more often or that you may be attending holiday meals as a guest. A fun sewing project to get yourself ready for this season is a new apron! Make one for yourself, give one to a hostess, or sew one up as a Christmas present.

This retro apron that I am going to show you how to make today can be made using any woven fabric. I prefer one that is a medium weight fabric. I used polyester twill to make my apron and love how sturdy the apron and how well it holds up in the kitchen.

Supplies:

• 1 yard of main twill fabric. I chose gold twill for my main fabric.
• 1 yard coordinating twill fabric. I chose off white twill for my coordinate.
• coordinating thread
• measuring tape
• sewing machine (optional serger)
• iron for pressing
• pins and clips
• scissors

Time:

1.5 to 2 hours

Difficulty:

Advanced Beginner

LET'S GET STARTED!

1. Cut out your pieces from the main (gold) fabric:
   
   a) Cut 2 bodice pieces on fold. 
   
   
   
   b) Cut 1 skirt main. Your skirt is a trapezoid. The top measures 20 inches wide and the bottom measures 27 inches wide. The height of the skirt is 14 inches. I made a pattern piece that was 10 inches wide at the top, 13.5 inches wide at the bottom, and 14 inches tall. I then cut my fabric out on the fold.
   
   
   
   C) Cut 1 pocket that measures 13 inches wide and 9 inches tall. 
   
   
2. Cut out your pieces from the coordinating (off-white) fabric:
   
   a) For the neck straps, you will cut 2 straps that are each 23 inches long by 4 inches wide.
   
   b) For the waist, you will cut 2 pieces that are 20 inches long by 2.5 inches wide.
   
   c) For the waist ties, you will cut 2 ties that are each 31 inches long and 4 inches wide.
   
   d) For the ruffle on the bottom of the skirt, you will cut 1 piece that is 56 inches long and 5 inches wide.
   
   
   
   
3. Now that we have all of our pieces cut out, we are ready to sew. Join me here for the video tutorial where I sew the apron together.
   
   
   
   

4. Just in case you missed any step, here is a brief summary of what we are doing on the video:
   
   a) Hem the pocket top. Iron the sides of the pocket to enclose the raw edges. Attach the pocket to the front of the skirt.
   
   b) Hem the sides of the skirt
   
   c) attach the waist to the skirt.
   
   d) Gather bottom of the bodice on the main and on the lining.
   
   e) Sew bodice to the top of the waist, leaving 1/4 an inch unsewn on sides of the bodice.
   
   f) Sew the waist ties. Press. Topstitch the entire waist.
   
   g) Sew the sides of the bodice right sides together.
   
   h) Sew the neckline. Press. Topstitch the sides and neckline of the bodice. Adjust.
   
   i) Attach the neck straps by wrapping one strap around the top of the bodice edge, right sides together. Sew the entire tie right sides together, leaving an opening. Turn right sides out. Press. Topstitch all of the neck ties.
   
   j) Hem the side of the skirt.
   
   k) Hem the sides and bottom of the ruffle. Gather the top of the ruffle.
   
   l) Attach the ruffle to the bottom of the skirt. Finish seam. Press. Topstitch seam towards the bodice.

5. You are finished! Thanks for sewing with me today! I hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving and enjoy lots of yummy food!