How To ~ Sew a Half Apron

Hello Everyone ~ Having worked in the service industry for years now, I know exactly what I want out of an apron.  This is completely my pattern, and you are free to use it however you like. You don't need a lot of fabric for this project, in fact you can probably come up with enough left overs from some other fantastic item you created.  So lets talk pattern.

As you can see, you just cut three rectangle pieces out.  Left to right they go ~ Apron Back ~ Pocket ~ Waistband. Back measures, 24 inches wide by 13 inches long.  Pocket measures, same obviously 24 inches wide by 10 inches long.  Waist band however is a little longer, 26 inches long by 5 inches wide.  So find yourself some bright paper that makes you smile, and get cutting. 

So for me personally ~ I cut two at a time because I sew a lot of aprons.  You of course are free to cut however you can piece this baby together.  Fabric fold is facing me, enabling two aprons to be cut out of this.  Moving on to apron ties.

So the ties are oh so easy peasy to cut out.  I measure three inches and cut from the top of the fabric. So cut threw two sides of fabric, unfold and you have a piece 3 inches wide by 43 or 44 inches long.  Be sure to cut two ~ these are your ties.

Next we move onto ironing, man do I love to iron.  I can totally zone out and iron.  Its calming, good therapy.  Or talking on the phone too, I like to talk and iron at the same time too.

This picture pretty much explains itself.  Fold left side it a half inch or so, iron.  Then fold sides in half inch, iron all 43 inches down.  Fold in half, iron.  Make sure to iron both you ties, then we can sew!  Also good therapy.

  

Sew up one side and down the other.  Enclosing all of the folded edges.

Well I didn't forget about that pocket.  I zigzag along the top to contain some of that raw edge.  Then I iron it over, sew a nice neat line and that is it for the pocket top.

Now to connect the pocket to the back of the apron.  I lie them out flat, pocket on top. Then I usually end up trimming a little here and there to get the edges lined up.  Then I pin the top to the bottom.  I zigzag down the left side, along the bottom, and up the right side.  Leaving only the top unzigzaged.  Unzigzaged, is that even a word.  Well I guess it is now.

Well now you go back to the ironing board, and iron the zigzag in.  Then I sew a nice neat straight line.  You are looking at the back of the apron now. After that I flip the apron over and sew another neat straight line.  Really close to the edge, just to ensure that the pocket won't come undone. Then I attach the ties.  I just zigzag them on.  Top left and top right, all the way at the top.  

Okay ~ Now we attach the waistband, makes everything all nice and tidy.  Again I iron really similar to the ties I line the waistband up to the sides by the attached ties. Iron in and then I fold the sides up and down to iron.  Fold in half, iron again.  Pin in place, and stitch that baby up. Sewing a complete rectangle, all the way around. 

Next I like to measure out where to top stitch, the dividers for the pockets.  Three front pockets are really nice for all you do.  At this point your apron is about 23 inches wide.  So I measures 7.5 inches in on either side and I mark with a pin.  Then I sew two straight lines, close to one another. This then divides you apron into three parts.  Making fabulous pockets.  There you have it ~ A totally functional apron.  So this is a little bit of what I do ~ check out my website. http://www.simplyjosephine.com/   May you be blessed with an abundance of creativity.