Project by Helen Bowes
My daughter has had another growth spurt and is currently eating me out of house and home. As a result of this the apron I made her when she was younger no longer fits, so it was time to make her a new one. When this gorgeous Alice and Wonderland fabric arrived on my door, I knew this was the fabric for her apron. This blog will take you through the steps to create your own apron for your budding cooks and chefs.
Step 1: Gather Supplies
· Sewing machine and thread
· Iron and Ironing board
· Fabrics
· Cutting device – scissors/rotary cutter
· Pins or clips
· Mark maker – tailers chalk, heat dissolving pen
· Tape measure
Step 2: Measure your child.
Measure your little one. You want to work out where the apron will sit on your child so you will roughly want to know the length from the neckline to the bottom of the apron and the circumference of your child. I used these measurements as a guide. The basic shape you are aiming for is a rectangle with the top two corners chopped off:
Step 3: Cut and hem
Cut your fabric. For my daughter’s apron I decided to use two fabrics. The main part of the apron was done using the Alice in Wonderland fabric and the top part in a complementary purple. Mark out a rectangle on your fabric that will go on the bottom and cut it out. For the top piece, fold your fabric in half and mark out a rectangle. To get the curve that goes around the arm, use a plate to draw around and give the basic shape. Once happy you can cut this fabric out too. Once happy with the size, hem around all the edges of the Alice in Wonderland fabric and the bottom edge of the purple. To create a neat edge, fold over by ½ inch and press and then fold over another ½ inch and press.
Step 4: Attach bottom and top pieces.
With the raw edges hemmed, you can now attach the top and bottom pieces together. Lay your fabric with the right side of your bottom piece facing you and the right side of your top piece facing away from you. Pin or clip into place and then sew along this seam using a ½ inch seam allowance.
Step 5: Create a pocket:
Having a kangaroo pocket is useful for storing all those bits of equipment you need for cooking and baking. Measure a square of complementary fabric that will fit comfortably on the bottom piece of your apron. Fold this piece in half and use a plate to create a rounded edge at the top and hem the edges as detailed earlier. I went on to embellish mine by cutting a heart out of the Alice in Wonderland fabric (Queen of Hearts) and sewing this onto the pocket. Once happy, pin in place and sew around the edges bar the curved edge. Also do a line of top stitching down the centre of the pocket top to bottom to create two separate pockets.
Step 6: Create Bias Binding and ties
The edges of the top section of the apron need to be bound by bias tape. Depending on your fabric choice you can buy premade bias tape. I prefer to make my own now especially as I got a bias binding making kit for around £12 from eBay.
To create your binding using a bias binding kit, decide which fabric you are going to use and then cut strips that are 2 inches wide. I decided to use the Alice in Wonderland fabric as my bias binding. Using the kit, feed the strip of fabric into the device, pull it through and even out the fabric and the press flat.
If you do not have your own kit and want to make your own binding it is easy to do. Cut your fabric into 2-inch strips, fold in half lengthways and press. Open the fabric up again and fold one edge lengthways to meet the centre and press. Repeat for the other edge. Now fold the whole thing in half again and press.
To create the ties you need to cut out 4 strips that are 4-inches wide and to the length you desire – mine were 4-inches by 24-inches for both the apron and neck ties. The neck ties do not need to be as long as the apron ties but the exact length depends on the size of your child.
Step 7: Attach ties and bias binding.
Place your bias binding around the top and side edges of your apron. Follow the natural curve you have created and use pins or clips to hold in place.
To attach the apron and neck ties, turn your apron over so the wrong side is facing upwards. Decided where you want your ties to attach and lay them on so that they go in towards the centre of the apron rather than going out away from your apron. The neck ties will be in the same area as the bias binding so tuck it under the binding. Clip or pin into place before sewing the bias binding and ties into place.
Once you have sewn the bias binding and apron ties into place, you now need to take your ties and double them back over themselves. It will make it bulky but this gets the ties into the right position. Then sew again into the ditch of your previous stitching.
Step 8: Get baking
Give the apron to the little person in your life and get baking.
To see more from Helen, visit her on Instagram @phoenix_crafting
Made by Helen Bowes for The Craft Cotton Company 2021