Today's post comes to us from about a year ago and was the top post of the month. It was called "Wrapped in Purple - An Apron Tutorial." I thought I'd bring it back to share since so many of you are new to the site and may have not seen it.
Here's how it goes:
Good morning, friends!
Several weeks ago I did a
post with all sorts of apron tutorials.
Here's one I came up with:
Don't you love the purple? The accent fabric is filled with delectable sprinkle-filled cupcakes! A light, fun combo.
You will need:
36"x 23" piece for the body of the apron
6" x 44" piece for the tie
2 - 6" x 10" pieces for the pockets
Begin
by creating the tie. Cut your 6" piece in half so you have 2, 3" x 44"
pieces. Sew them together so that you'll have one, long piece.
Press
it in half, right sides together. Now the strip is 1 1/2" wide. Sew
the ends at an angle (see image below). I like to do a zigzag as I
don't have a serger (oh... someday...) to help hold things. Trim at the
angle to remove excess fabric.
Time
for the pockets. Take one of the 6" x 10" pieces, fold with right
sides together and trim the corners round (an OPTION - NOT necessary).
Sew
around the outside edge using a 3/8" seam. Leave a 2" opening to pull
the outside through. Snip off the corners just beyond the stitching so
your corners will be "sharp."
Right-side out each pocket and press. Then topstitch at 3/8" on the top edge ONLY BEFORE sewing it on.
Time
to go back to the body of the apron. Starting with the bottom edge,
fold over and press 3/8" once and then twice, to seal the edge. Pin if
you'd like.
Topstitch the folded fabric to create the bottom seam. Repeat with both the sides.
Time
to place the pockets. I folded the body in half and then found what
was the "half way point" of that portion, pinning the pocket to the
center. I held it up to my body as well to see how high/low to place
them. I found that 6" from the edge and from the center looked good.
When you have them where you want them to be, pin them on and sew from
one corner, down and around to the other.
Ready
to do some gathering? If you've never gathered, it's really pretty
straight forward. You need to set you thread length so that it bastes.
L-O-N-G stitches. Do one run along the edge at about 3/8". Don't go
back and forth to secure the thread - you want to be able to pull it.
Do
a second run just inside that, about 1/4" away - you will now have two
parallel lines of sewing. It's important NOT to cross over the lines.
If you do, you won't be able to gather them!
To gather,
pull the two threads from the top while sliding the fabric along. It
will gather. Once I have what I like, I tie off both ends, just so it
won't un-do before I sew it.
Now,
let's get that tie ready and a waist-band constructed. Fold under 3/8"
on each edge and press with your iron. I pinned it every few inches
after I pressed it.
Once
you have it all pressed, find the middle of the tie (seam) and the
middle of the apron (just fold in half and find that point). Slide the
gathered body up into the tie and pin it down. Continue one direction
and then go back and do the other.
Once it's pinned, sew with a 1/4"-3/8" topstitch. Press.
Here it is!
A note:
If
you chose to use a directional fabric, be aware of that when you are
sewing things together. I put one pocket on "upside-down and had to
pull out my seam ripper. Just an FYI. :)
Ready to pull out your machine and try one? Give it a go!
Have a great day,
Carrie
