Apron Tutorial

For Christmas gifts, I made aprons for my mom, mother-in-law, sister, and sister-in-law! I think they turned out really cute. I made them all by myself, pattern included. I thought that this would be a good project to do a tutorial on! Bear with me as this will be my first DIY tutorial. 

To start out with, here are the supplies you will need:

Keep in mind that if you want to make the top part of the apron a different fabric than the bottom, then you will need to adjust the quantity of material used. For mine, I think I bought maybe 3/4 of a yard for the skirt and 1/2 of a yard for the top part. Stick with 1 yard of fabric for the lining. I used any spare material I had left over to cut out the pocket for the apron. 

You can use regular fabric scissors to cut out the fabric, but after I got this rotary cutter as a Christmas present from my mom, I will not ever use scissors again. The rotary cutter is so much easier to use and you get really straight edges to work with and it's easier to measure without marking the fabric each time.

Since I made my own pattern for this apron, I've shown some rough dimensions here:

I use a white wrapping paper to draw my patterns on...note that these dimensions show the exact size I cut the material too. I've already allowed for a 1/4" seam. Also don't forget to make sure not to cut the folds and  cut doubles for the body, ruffle, and pocket with the lining fabric.

Steps 1 & 2: Line up the pattern on top of the material and mark the edges. I just use a regular pen to draw lines straight onto the fabric. Since the edges will be hidden, no one will ever see my marks.

Step 3: Use the rotary cutter and cut along the edges you just marked. I use my straight edge to line up along the marks and cut a straight line.

Step 4: Cut the rest of your fabric pieces. I didn't really have enough fabric for this tutorial, so I had to piece my fabric together from some scraps I had left over from other projects. Since I am piecing it together, I decided to go ahead and make this apron reversible. 

If I were making it from scratch, I would use a solid piece for the back side. Also note that I haven't cut out the straps or the pockets yet. I'll do that in a few more steps.

Step 5: I start sewing the ruffle first. Line up the front and back side of the ruffle and sew with roughly a 1/4" inseam. If you want to get really fancy, you can pin this first. I usually am too impatient to pin, so I just wing it, but if you are just starting out or if you want everything to line up exactly perfectly, then you should pin first.

Step 6: Be sure to leave a gap in the ruffle so that you can turn it inside out.

Step 7: Turn the ruffle inside out and sew up the gap as best you can. (I always put the gap on the top side of the ruffle so that whenever I attach it to the body of the apron it will not show.

 Step 8: Lay the skirt right side up on the cutting board, then lay the top piece right side down and pin the two pieces together.

Step 9: Sew with a 1/4" inseam. Then repeat for the other side of the apron. Now you should have the body of the apron sewn together.

Step 10: Lay the body down right side up. Pin the ruffle along the bottom of the body, right side down. I always start by pinning the ends first, then the middle. To make the ruffle ruffley, fold it on top of itself like shown in the picture, then pin it down. Once I have the ends and the middle pinned, I pin the middle of each half, and then just repeat until I have the whole thing pinned.

Step 11: Sew together, pulling out the pins as you go. When you're done, the ruffle should look like the picture.

Step 12: Cut out the pocket. I put the fold along the bottom of the square. The picture shows it laid out open. Next, sew up the sides and turn the pocket inside out.

Step 13:  Fold the corners of the pocket inside and pin the edges. Then sew the top of the pocket. I decided to try my hand at some machine embroidery for the first time on this pocket. I'm practicing a little bit because I'm in the process of making my first quilt and I'm getting ready to quilt it soon...so I realize that this is not very good. But give me a break, it's my first try!

Step 14:  Pin the pocket onto the front side of the apron and sew. Don't forget to leave the top of the pocket open so you can actually use it.

Step 15: Now we are ready to sew the two pieces of the apron together! Lay the front of the apron down right side up. Pin the edges of the ruffle out of the way to make sure you don't sew over them then lay the back piece over the top piece right side down. Pin the two pieces together. Note that the ruffle should be on the inside of the two pieces you're sewing right now so that when you turn it inside out, the ruffle will be on the outside.

Step 16: Sew the two pieces together. I start with the bottom first, and then sew up the sides. Remember to leave the top open. Also leave some gaps where shown on the picture so that you can sew in the straps later.

Step 17: Turn the apron inside out and lay flat.

Step 18: Now it's time to cut out the straps! Cut three strap pieces, one to go around the neck, and the other two to tie around your waist.

Step 19: Fold each piece in half hot dog style and sew with a 1/4" inseam.

Step 20: Turn the straps inside out so the seam is on the inside. It is sometimes helpful to iron the edges down to make them easier to deal with from here on. Next pin one end and sew a straight line across the edge of the strap.

Repeat this process for the other two straps.

Step 21: Pin the edges of the straps inside the apron and sew them in.

Step 22: Pin the neck strap to the top of the apron. Fold the rest of the top part of the apron and pin. Then sew the apron up!

You're done! You can play around with the pattern and come up with your own versions. I made one for my sister-in-law with three ruffle layers that was cute, but I've also seen some other aprons on Pinterest that are pretty cute too. But for all of them, I think you could use this apron pattern as the base.

I hope you have enjoyed my first sewing tutorial! Have fun!