DIY Play Apron Tutorial

Hello One Artsy Mama fans.  It’s Amy from While Wearing Heels.  Back to share another sewing project with all of you.

Does your favorite little person have a play kitchen?  Or better yet, do they like to help you in the kitchen?  If they don’t already have an apron, this tutorial will walk you through making one for them.  Then, they can look stylish while making either real or imaginary cookies.

Since this is a sewing post, you’ll need a sewing machine and some fabric.

I decided to use 2 different coordinating fabrics.  For the apron skirt, you’ll need approximately 44 inches by 12 inches of fabric (or you could use 2 sections of 22 by 12 inch sections of fabric).  For the tie, you’ll need approximately 66 inches by 3 1/2 inches.  I opted to make my tie long so I could make a big beautiful bow when tying it.  You can adjust your length for a shorter tie.

Start by folding the fabric for your apron skirt in half, right sides facing each other, or place the (2) 22 inch by 12 inch sections together right sides facing in.

Optional:  Add curved edges to the sides of your apron.  To easily add curves, use the curve of a plate as a template.  Line the plate up along one corner of the apron, using a rotary cutter cut along the curve.  Fold your fabric in half, to cut the same shaped curve on the other side of the apron.

So, now we are ready to sew.

Sew down one side of your apron (or if you folded your fabric in half – start sewing at the rounded edge, beneath the fold), across the bottom and back up the other side (the open side) of your apron.  Do not sew the top of the apron.

If you opted to curve the edges of your apron, clip your corners.  If you opted to leave your apron squared at the edges, cut the point off the 2 edges, close to the seam line.

Turn your apron right side out and press.

Optional:  Top stitch down one side of your apron, across the bottom and back up the other side of the apron.  Though not necessary, top stitching gives your apron a finished more tailored look.

Optional:  Gathering the fabric at the top of the apron. To gather the fabric at the top of the apron, grab some string, long enough that it spans the length of the apron.  Do a zig zag stitch wide enough that it goes over the string.

Hold one end of the string in place, while you gently pull the other side of the string, gathering the fabric as you go.

Try and space the gathered fabric evenly so one spot isn’t more gathered than another spot.  You should be able to freely adjust the fabric, as long as you hold the string securely.

Time to make the tie.  *Want to save a step, use wide ribbon as your tie.

Or you can make your own tie…

Your tie can be made long and wide as you want.  The tie I made is roughly 66 inches by 3 1/2 inches.  To make it long enough, I needed to sew 2 sections of strips together to get the length I wanted.  Press all sides of the tie over roughly a 1/4 of an inch.

Pin your tie to the top of the apron.  Open the 1/4 of an inch seam you just pressed, line the outer edge of the tie up with the top of the fabric.

Sew along the seam line you created from one end of the apron skirt to the other end of the apron skirt.  Take the apron off of the sewing machine.  Fold the tie up, along the 1/4 of an inch you just sewed along, and then fold the rest of the tie, in half over the top of the apron, so the raw edges of the apron skirt top is now sandwiched between the apron tie.  Sew the tie into place using a top stitch (basically sew as closely to the bottom of the tie as you can).

Continue top stitching down the length of your tie, across the end of the tie, across the top of the tie, down the opposite side and back to the front of the apron, where you began.

Now go send your favorite little person to do some imaginary or real baking in style.

Until next month…

Happy Sewing!