While I'm still dealing with a little lingering morning sickness (at 31 weeks! ugh!), thankfully I've been able to get a lot of sewing done. I'm hoping to share some of the knit shirts I've been making for Isabelle in the next week or so, but today is all about this sweet little apron set. I made it as a gift for my niece for her fifth birthday, but I think you could easily tweak the more feminine parts and make this perfectly suitable for a little boy as well.
I searched Pinterest for ideas and found a handful of apron styles and designs I liked, so I combined a bunch of them together. Then I thought it would be fun to make a matching play pot holder and a cute place mat- I don't have much experience quilting by machine and it was fun fun fun! The small size kept it really manageable and super quick to make. Instant gratification, yes, please!
Let's start with the apron.
I used a nice cotton for the front, and a poly-cotton blend for the back (for no other reason than I liked the color combination). You will want a cotton that holds it shape, maybe has a little weight/heft to it. You could certainly use a duck cloth or other stiffer fabric as well.
Sorry in advance for the wonky photos. It was cloudy one moment and then super sunny the next- I couldn't keep up. And this is a rather wordy tutorial. Sorry! I promise it isn't complicated, and hopefully the pictures will help.
Here are the basic pieces you'll use to make the apron with adjustable neck straps, two long side straps, and a solid pocket with contrasting band at the top. Of course you could put any type of pocket on, or none at all. Totally up to you.
approximately 1/2 yard cotton for front and another for backing
2 - 45" strips, cut 5 or 6 inches high
2 - 16" strips, cut 4 or 5 inches high
1 remnant for pocket, cut to size depending on apron width
1 - 4" strip, cut to roughly same size as pocket top
Velcro strip
Rick Rack
First cut out your apron front. This is basically the same principle used as in my nightgown tutorial. I wanted a sweetheart neckline and a scalloped hem, but first I cut a tapered "triangle" piece on the fold, with the top (neckline) about 12-14 inches wide. You can cut the sides here for the upper part, or do that in the next step, then create the scallops and the neckline you want.
Cut a second apron piece using the front as a pattern guide. If you didn't already cut the neckline/upper sides, do that now. Sew the front and back right sides together (RST) with a generous seam allowance, but remember to leave openings at the top for the two neck straps and at the sides for the two side straps- make one side opening slightly larger in order to turn apron right side out. Press apron; press edges of opening under.
Now you're ready to make the straps. For the side ties, I simply folded the strips RST and stitched a narrow seam along the edge; turn right side out, press. You can edge stitch or not- I did, just to make the ties a bit more sturdy. I inserted each one a few inches into the side openings and pinned in place. I could have stitched them in as I sewed the apron front and back together, but this just seemed much easier. Less fuss. That's nice. =)
For the neck straps, I did the same thing as with the contrast band, tucking one end of each in as I pressed it together. I thought the zig zag looked cute here, so I did that again, up and down each edge. Then I cut narrow pieces of Velcro and zig-zagged those on. Insert the straps into the openings and pin in place. Now you're ready to edge stitch the entire apron. This is why I suggested a wider seam allowance- it "catches" better so less chance of frayed edges where you're sewing the openings closed.
**My niece is very petite, and I wanted to be sure that she had lots of options for how tight or loose she wanted the straps around her neck; I would have probably only sewed in one long tab of Velcro on each strap for my own daughter.
For the pocket, fold fabric in half RST (top to bottom) and cut according to how wide and deep you want it. Iron; stitch sides. For the contrasting band, iron each edge, right side, toward wrong side center; iron folds together to form strip. Turn ends against crease and stitch a diagonal line- this is going to "wrap" around the top of the tapered pocket. I sewed one end and then placed it on the pocket to see exactly how long to make it, putting a pin in to mark the spot.
Turn pocket right sides out and press; press band.
It doesn't line up perfectly here, and that's okay. I sandwiched the band and the upper pocket edge and used a simple zig zag stitch for a little interest. I prefer making pockets this way, even if it's a smaller one and
especially if it's a rounded or curved one, because pressing down teeny edges does not make me a very happy person. So I always sew them RST first, turn them out, and then sew them in place.
Now pin it in place on apron front and stitch along the sides and bottom; stitch a center seam up the middle. Hopefully yours will be straighter than mine because I had to stitch a second one and take out the first. Oops.
Another view of the pocket. I think they're sturdier when constructed this way, and they look nice and neat from all sides, even the inside.
Next, sew on your rick rack with a narrow zig zag or straight stitch (I
zig-zagged again). I used medium rick rack for the neckline and jumbo
for the hem. There, apron's all done!
You could stop right here and have a darling little apron to give to a little girl in your life. Or you can make the complete set.
For boys: Obviously omit the sweetheart neckline and scalloped hem, including the rick rack. And most likely the pink and purple, ha. I would either keep both edges straight across, or I might try a jagged edge, think shark teeth, for the hem, with or without contrasting binding. There are tons of fun prints available for boys, and lots of great colors too. I'd try blues and reds.
Here's a glimpse of the apron back-
Now onto the place mat and pot holder.
I cut a square 7 inches by 7 inches for the backing for the pot holder. Next I cut and
sewed the strips together. I didn't measure, but the cupcake print is
slightly wider. It's pretty easy to figure out when you're doing it;
trim pieced square to about 1/4 inch bigger than the backing square.
Next, pin the pieced square to a small piece of batting- or use a ratty old washcloth like I did; set your stitch length a little longer and start machine quilting. Have fun with it! It was very gratifying sewing all those lines. When you've quilted enough, pin front to back, with right sides out, so batting is sandwiched in between.
The pot holder doesn't need to have a tab, but if you add it, be smarter than me and stitch it to the back, lining up raw edges- the tab will lay flat against the purple fabric when you sew the binding onto it.
Now cut some strips of coordinating fabric, approximately 2 to 3 inches wide. Don't worry about a bias because there are no curves to maneuver. Here is a great tutorial on binding if you aren't familiar with it...whoops, I can't find it now- there are lots out there, promise! I thought a wide zig zag would catch all the edges better, so again, that's what I used.
The place mat gets put together in much the same way. I cut a rectangle about 14 inches wide by 10 inches tall of the backing fabric and then some wider strips in the other fabrics. Honestly, you can make it whatever size you'd like. Since I didn't want to bind the place mat, I included the green strips into the design. After machine quilting the top and batting together, I pinned it to the backing RST (batting will be on outside in this step) and trimmed away any excess. Stitch together, again with a wider seam allowance, leaving a large enough opening on one side in order to pull it all right sides out.
Edge stitch all the way around, catching the turned under edges from the opening.
I thought the backing might shift a bit without some additional stitching, so I incorporated the same zig zag stitch up and down the edges of the green strips- you can see it (and the back of the pot holder) in the picture below.
If you wanted to bind the place mat like the pot holder, that would look adorable; likewise, if you wanted to sew the pot holder RST and omit the binding, go for it! Either option has a great finished look.
Now wrap this cute set up and give it to a special little girl...who maybe will help you make dinner tonight! ;)
Remember, this could easily be adapted to suit a boy's liking. Two of my boys in particular love to putter around the kitchen and have each had aprons of their own when they were younger. I think they'd appreciate a half apron more now...I'll share if I get to that sometime soon!
**PLEASE NOTE: this pot holder is for pretend play only. It will not withstand heat. You would need to line it with a heat resistant batting material if you plan to use it with hot items.
Here is a
link to a ruffled half apron I made a little while ago.
ps: I've changed things up on instagram - find me at roseandruffle to see shop items, special sales alerts, and fun tutorials like this one!
linking up with:
DIY by Design
