The majority of projects that I do for myself never make it to the website because in the chaos of inspiration and execution of an idea I forget to document the process.  So here is the first post showing my attempt to rectify my negligence.  For any project that I forget to photograph I will sketch out the how-to and hopefully the drawings will be more helpful than the photos!

Let me know what you think of this process, I think there will be a lot more content using this method. Just sayin.

So here we go: Frilly Apron.

My mom told me that my younger sister, Caroline (aka, Bean), wanted an apron for Christmas.  Would you ever expect me to go buy an apron? Never. So rather than create a standard apron that I’ve made before (and will show you how one of these days) I wanted to do something special and fun for Bean.  A retro/frilly apron is what I came up with.  She loves the color green as well as subtle patterns so I took the inspiration for the fabrics from those clues.  Scroll to the bottom past all the sketches to see the actual apron. I was inspired by an apron I found online at One More Moore and then changed and expanded to fit my vision.

Here are your measurements:

Piece #1:  15.5″ x 20.5″ for back of apron

Piece #2:  6.5″ x 33.5″ for ruffles (cut four or five depending on how many ruffles you want)

Piece #3:  5″ x 22″ for waist band

Piece #4:  4.5″ x 24.5″ for tie strings

Piece #5:  13″ x 13″ for chest panel (optional, you can just do a fold-over waistband and have a half apron rather than full)

Piece #6:  4.5″ x 24″ for neck tie

Piece #7:  4.5″ x 8″ for short end of neck tie

thread, needle (if sewing by hand), one set of D-rings (for neck tie)

First off, hem the main apron piece (#1) along one 15.5″ end.  Double hem by folding over half and inch and then again one inch then secure using a running stitch.  Repeat on all ruffle pieces (#2) along one 33.5″ edge.

Next, baste (long, removable stitches) along the remaining long edge of the ruffle piece.  Pull the fabric along the thread so it puckers until it is roughly 15″, the width of the apron backing.  Repeat on all ruffle pieces. See figure one.

When all ruffles are pulled, sew them onto the wrong (the underside of fabric) side of the back panel (piece #1) starting at the top of the panel.  Before you sew lay them out on the fabric so you can see how much space you need to leave between each one so the entire back panel is covered.  Leave about an inch of fabric above the edge of the top ruffle.  Sew directly over the pulled fabric so the stitching secures the folds you created.  Backstitch on edges so secure.  Lift each ruffle as they are completed and sew the next ruffle with the predetermined amount of space for overlapping.  Repeat on all ruffles.  Important:  you should be sewing the ruffles onto the wrong side of the back panel but make sure you are sewing the ruffles right side out.  Imagine this: when all ruffles are sewn on, you will see all the patterns and colors as you are supposed to. But when you lift them up to see the panel, it will be the wrong side of the fabric.  This is so the “pretty” side of fabric will be visible if the apron is turned around.

Next, take  pieces 4, 6 and 7 and fold them in half length wise so they are long and thin.  Press with an iron or enough that a visible fold is left in the fabric.  Open the fold then fold in both edges to the center line.  Press or pin and then stitch the edges closed, see figures 3a and 3b.

Now, if you are making the full apron, take pieces 5 (mine were two patterns, stripes for the front and dots on the back) You can leave them in a square shape or cut into a “v” or sweetheart neckline, Just make sure to leave an inch and a half open at the edges for straps.  With right sides together, stitch the sides and neckline but NOT bottom and NOT openings for straps.  see figure 4.  Before you flip the sewn piece right side out, slide the strap pieces up through the interior of the body so a half inch of straps poke out through the openings you left when sewing the seam.  see figure 4b, not marked as such but the second part of figure 4.  Zig zag stitch three or four times along straps to make them super secure.  Flip right side out and pull straps taught.  All edges should be clean and straps secure.

Take the short strap and put the end through d-rings (keep them together) double fold and stitch a few times along edge to secure. see third part of figure 4.

The top is done now, remember the bottom edge should be open and un-sewn.

This is where I had to get creative so it gets confusing, try and stick with me.

To attach the top and the bottom, take one of the waist band pieces (#3 from first sketch) Lay out the bottom section on the floor (ruffles facing down) and situate the top section (front piece down, back up if they’re different patterns)  just above it so the rough edges of both are touching.  Lay the waist band piece out so it covers the un-sewn seams and fold UNDER the edges to create a clean seam.   You can iron in a half inch fold along both long edges, but I tend to just fold under and pin.   Top stitch these folds.  I did my best in figure 5 to demonstrate with this should look like.  Flip the whole thing over and do the same thing on the front.  Make sure you do the back first and then sew the front piece on to cover the stitches from the back piece that show up on the front.

Now put the waist tie pieces and tuck the end into the open ends of the waist band.  It should look like the waist band piece is eating the waist tie.  Hows that for a description?  Fold the edges of the waist BAND piece under and then topstitch.  Repeat this on the other side.  It should look like figure 7. When this is done take the remaining open ends of the waist TIE straps and fold the ends in on themselves, about a half an inch, then topstitch for clean edges.

Aaaaaaaaaaaand…you’re done.  What do you think?  Plenty of steps to this one, I know.  But the results are SO fun.  Here’s a picture of Beanie’s actual apron, I’m waiting on a new pic from her so until then here is a Christmas morning over sweatshirt picture:

Have fun, writing this out has inspired me to make another one.  Here I go!