Thursday, April 17, 2008

Reversible Children's Apron with Fabric Crayon Embellishment Tutorial

Yeah, my first sewing tutorial! I put this together quickly during a "Craft and Play" play date. I am so used to putting instructional material together for my high school students that when I read my first draft, I felt like I was back in the classroom. It's weird. I had prepared this as a pdf file but I don't know how to attach that as a link on Blogger. Does anyone know how to do that? In the mean time, here is a cut and paste version of it. Happy sewing.

Oh... and if you don't have time to make one, check out my shop for ones I have made for you. :-)

Reversible Children’s Apron with Fabric Crayon Embellishment

You will need:

- fabric – some polyester if you are going with the fabric crayon embellishment

- ½ to ¾ inch wide bias tape or ribbon or twill tape

- paper for sketching the pattern – I used a paper bag from the grocery store

- Crayola Fabric crayons (optional)

Step 1:

Draw the pattern on paper and cut out the pattern. Then pin the pattern on the first fabric and cut on the fold. Repeat on the second fabric.

This is what you should have:

Step 2: (optional)

Draw your design on white paper with fabric crayons.

Step 3: (optional)

Layer the fabric and paper as follows starting from the bottom:

- brown paper bag

- polyester fabric right side up

- white paper with drawing facing down

- brown paper bag

Set iron to polyester (medium heat setting) and press firmly for 1-2 min

This is what the result should look like. Remember the image on the fabric will be reversed so pay attention if you include letters or symbols in your design.

Step 4:

With right sides facing, sew along the blue line in the picture with a ¼ inch seam allowance. Notice how the sewing line breaks at the bottom for a 4-inch space to turn the piece and there are four 1-inch openings along the top, which will become the casing for the tie.

Step 5:

Turn the piece inside out using the bottom opening. Straighten everything. Iron and pay special attention to make sure the casing openings are folded neatly.

Step 6:

Topstitch all the way around the apron. Be careful not to sew the casing openings closed.

Step 7:

Create casing by sewing addition lines 1 inch from and parallel to the diagonal edges of the apron.

Step 8:

Insert bias tape/ribbon through casing as shown in picture. A safety pin can be helpful in guiding the tape/ribbon through the casing.

Step 9: (optional)

Finish the ends of the bias tape/ribbon if necessary. Sew a few stitches by hand to hold the casing openings in place. I find that the topstitching takes care of the openings and they don’t fray or pop open even after a few washings. But you can put in a few stitches if you like to make the openings extra-sturdy.

Now put the pretty apron on a kid and have him or her help you bake some cookies!

22 comments:

jillytacy said...

Great tutorial! I like that the apron has the casings for the ties. I've never made one like this and will have to try it. I just finished my first tutorials and posted them on my blog. Blogger doesn't have a way to attach a pdf to your posts. You have to upload it somewhere else and get an html link for it, then put your link into your posts. I think esnips lets you store documents and works for linking pdfs to your blog, although I've never tried it. Hope that helps.

jillytacy said...

Sorry if this is a repeat. I don't think the last one posted. Your tutorial is great. I just finished my first tutorials and posted them on my blog. Blogger doesn't have a way to link a pdf in your posts. You have to put the pdf somewhere else and get and html link then put the link into your post. I think esnips lets you store documents and such for free, although I've never tried it. Hope this helps.

langlangcreations said...

Jillytacy -
Thanks for the tips. I will have to try it out. I saw your sling bag tutorial and it's very cute. I especially like the D-ring detail. I will have to check out your other tutorial soon. Screaming babies... must run.

DeerDominique said...

Genius!
The tie is SO great!

Anonymous said...

What a little cutie! I like the drawing that you used. Was that your own or did you trace it? Very cute, either way. You did a very good job with your tutorial.

Thanks,
Melanie

Carrie said...

I've never heard of fabric crayons! How COOL!!

langlangcreations said...

Melanie - thanks for the compliments. The girl is my own drawing modeled after my 2 year old. I've been doing a bunch of crayon drawings based on my kids. I hope to be able to do more with them.

Anonymous said...

Love the apron, I found it through sewmamasew. One question...did you use 'fabric crayons', or just regular crayola crayons as pictured in your photo? Ta. Off to look at more of your creations.

langlangcreations said...

Craftymammas - those in the picture are fabric crayons, not regular crayola crayons. They are, however, made by Crayola.

Anonymous said...

Thank you for sharing your tutorial. I made an apron (based on your tutorial) for my 2 year-old son and our whole family adores it! Happy sewing!

Natalie said...

This is really adorable. Thanks for sharing it! Do you think it would work to just add length for a 4 year old or would it be all wrong? And does the crayon embellishment last through washings? I love the pattern and the embellishment!!

langlangcreations said...

Natalie - I'd add both length and width. Try cutting a paper copy and put it on your 4 year old to check. The tie makes the sizing pretty forgiving but you'll want to make sure it covers a good portion of her body. The crayon embellishment is permanant if you use fabric crayons on polyester. The packaging says the higher the polyester content, the better the colour transfer and the more permanant it is. Hope this helps.

Mimi from Peachy Papaya said...

Awesome, I just make an apron for my son and never even thought about how you wrap the string around the top....

Great idea...

Dannan said...

Love it! It was so easy to make and exactly what I was looking for! Thanks for posting this!

Bunny Ryan said...

So happy I found this! I have been looking for days for one that could be a little adjustable. 5 granddaughters between 3 and 9 will love this! You have solved my dilemna. Makes one want to say, "Why didn't I think of that?"
Thank You!

angelika said...

Are the blue line and the 1/4" seam allowance the same thing?

langlangcreations said...

Angelika - yes. The blue lines are basically the 1/4 inch seam allowance except I left spaces on the top and sides for the casing for the ties. Make sense?

Anonymous said...

Cool! Thanks so much.... can't wait to sew this!

Anonymous said...

I just made this apron tonight. I upsized it to suit an older child. It was so simple and quick. Thank you so much for the apron pattern. My niece will love her new birthday apron!!

Colleen said...

Saw a picture of a dish towel apron for kids, but didn't have a pattern. Started searching and found your pattern -- LOVE it. Can''t wait to make one for each of my grandkids for their easter-egg coloring! Thanks for sharing.

Anonymous said...

I'm a beginner sewer, and I made the apron itself in about an hour. For her apron I wanted to make a fabric tie to match the pocket I attached. The pocket was out of two left over 4 1/2 inch squares from her baby quilt. I sewed two together wrong side together, then flipped it inside out and top stitched. I used two layers so that it would be stronger and you couldn't see through. Then I used a scrap of the same fabric to make a long 2 inch bias strip that I fold in once, then over once to make a 1/2 inch fabric tie strip. The bias strop took me about 45 minutes from cutting to sewing. It looks awesome and fits her little frame perfectly. I plan on making these for all the toddler girls I know for Christmas and just using ribbon for ties like you suggested. Thanks for the great pattern!

Unknown said...

I have 10 grandkids, 6 girls and 4 boys (ages 2-10) that have been asking me to make them their very own magic aprons. I have taught them that when you wear an apron, magic happens! (Whether it's cooking/baking or arts & crafts. This pattern is going to be the one that I use, with adjustments for sizes of course. Christmas is going to be very special this year for them. They love when Grandma sews them something special. I can't wait to try out the fabric crayons! I am going to have them each color me a picture (without them knowing what I am using it for) and put them on their aprons! Thanks for the tips and inspiration!