I found this fun and easy craft for women with all levels of sewing experience. Even beginners will have great success! It was one of the first projects I took on, and I still love to make different variations of this simple apron. I like to mix and match my fabrics to create unique styles. Some of my favorite designers are Alexander Henry available at buyfabricsonline.com and Amy Butler who has fabric available by the yard at fabric.com. Another website offering a variety of cool fabrics and patterns to download for reasonable prices is Etsy.com. There are so many reasons to wear an apron, whether you’re cooking, cleaning, painting or just playing dress up. They make great hostess gifts or Mother’s Day gift. Make a matching apron for you and your daughter. The possibilities are endless. I love to make these aprons for my girls; they have such fun with them. Go have some fun of your own!

Brittany

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Directions for Making a Child’s Basic Waist Apron

Supplies:
1 yard of fabric, 42–45 inches wide
Matching thread
Scissors
Ruler
Pencil
Straight pins
Sewing machine (just a basic straight stitch is used)

Cutting the Pattern

  1. Place your fabric so right side is facing up and the longest edge of the fabric is horizontal.
  2. Measure and mark with your pencil a line 20 inches above the bottom edge of the fabric and cut out this piece. This is your apron’s skirt.
  3. Cut out these pieces as illustrated in figure below: (for a different look I like to use coordinating fabrics for these.)
    • Two 4 x 30-inch Ties
    • One 5 x 19-inch Waistband
    • Two 8 x 8-inch Pockets

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Sewing the Apron

For the Skirt:

  1. Lay fabric wrong side up. Turn in both sides and bottom edge 1/4", press with warm iron. Fold all three edges in 1/4" once more and press.
  2. Stitch a narrow hem down all three edges.
  3. At the top raw edge, find the center of your apron’s skirt and mark it with a strait pin.
  4. For the raw edge, set your machine to a loose basting stitch. Sew across the top of the skirt 5/8" from the raw edge. Now sew a second basting stitch just above the first, 1/2 " from the raw edge.

For the Ties:

  1. Lay one tie wrong side up. Turn in right raw edge and top raw edge 1/4" and press. Fold in 1/4" one more and press.
  2. Stitch from end to end on the right and top sides.
  3. Turn up bottom raw edge 1/4" and press, then fold 1/4" one more and press.
  4. To create pointed tie ends, fold down the right side of the finished end 45 degrees and press.
  5. Now stitch from end to end on the bottom edge with the right side folded down.
    *Note that the left edge remains raw.
  6. Repeat the steps above for the second tie, creating the pointed end on the left side and leaving the right side raw.

For a Basic Pocket:

  1. Pin together the two 8" squares so that the right sides are facing each other. Starting at the bottom, stitch around entire square 1/2" from the edge, leaving a 1/2" opening at the bottom in order to turn the pocket.
  2. Turn the pocket right side out, pushing it through the opening. Turn the raw edges back into the opening and press the entire pocket.
  3. Measure 4" down from the skirts top edge and 7" in from the right or left side. Pin your pocket here.
  4. Topstitch around the two sides and the bottom of the pocket. Backstitch at the beginning and end points for added strength.

For the Waistband:

  1. With wrong sides up, turn the left and right raw edge 1/2" and press. Turn up bottom raw edge 1/2" and press.
    *Note the top edge remains raw.

Gathering the Skirt:

  1. Place the right side of the waistband on the right side of the skirt. The raw edges should meet at the top.
  2. Mark the center of your waistband with a strait pin and match it up to the pin at the center of your apron’s skirt. Pin the centers together at this point.
  3. Gently pull both threads from the right side of the skirt, adjusting the gathers that form so they run evenly along the waistband, pinning as you go along.
  4. When you’re happy with the gathers, sew the waistband to the aprons skirt 1/2" from the top edge.

Finishing the Waistband and Ties:

  1. Set your machine to a loose basting stitch. Fold the waistband over the backside of the skirt.
  2. Pin the waistband to the backside of the skirt and baste stitch from end to end.
  3. Slide the unfinished ends of the ties into the waistband openings and pin.
  4. Finally, reset your machine to a regular stitch. Stitch close to the raw edge all along the sides and bottom of the waistband. Remove the basting stitches.

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