A Sweet Child's Apron Tutorial

Happy Valentines Day To You!

Child's Half Apron Tutorial

When I 1st saw Pam Kitty Mornings sweet Love line of Valentine fabric I just knew I would have to design something special integrating that cute Valentine block panel in my project. Cleo and I chose two blocks for our pockets and used that darling heart selvage for our waistband. 

Ties were made simple by using satin ribbon!

To get started you will need: 

1/2 yard fabric for apron skirt

1 Pam Kitty Love Valentine Block panel for waistband and pockets

1 fat quarter white fabric for pocket and waistband linings

1/8 yard lightweight fusible interfacing for the waistband

2 yards 1-1/2- inch wide washable red satin double faced ribbon

white thread, quilters rotary cutter, acrylic ruler and cutting mat

Cutting directions:

From fabric for skirt cut 1 rectangle 15" long x 30" wide.

Pockets- choose 2 quilt blocks from the panel,

carefully center the design and trim each block to 6-1/2 inches square.

Waistband- cut selvage from end of the Valentine block panel to measure 2-1/2" wide. 

Trim selvage to 16-1/2" long centering the heart designs you wish to feature on your waistband.

Cut 1 fusible interfacing 2-1/2" x 16-1/2" for waistband.

From white fabric cut: two 6-1/2" squares for pocket linings and

one 2-1/2" x 16-1/2" strip for waistband lining.

Use 1/2 inch seams unless otherwise noted.

Lets get started! 

To hem the bottom 30" edge of skirt: fold fabric 1/4" to the wrong side and press. Fold over 

1 inch and press again. Stitch hem close to the 1st fold line through all layers.

To hem side edges: fold fabric 1/4" to the wrong side and press. Fold over

1/2 inch and press again. Stitch hem close to 1st fold line through all layers.

Here is your cute pocket block, design all centered and trimmed to 6-1/2" square.

With right sides facing, pin block to pocket lining. Sew around the pocket leaving approximately 

3 inches open at the bottom edge for turning. Clip corners close to stitch lines. Turn pocket right side out and press. Make a 2nd pocket in the same manor.

Pin pockets to apron, placement is 1-1/2" from side and bottom edges. 

Stitch pocket to apron on all sides except the top edge. 

Gather the waist: using your longest straight stitch setting, sew two gathering lines along the top edge of your apron approximately 1/4 inch apart. Pull bobbin threads to gather top to measure 15-1/2".

Here are your 3 waistband pieces all laid out: heart selvage, lining and fusible interfacing. 

Fuse interfacing to wrong side of the heart selvage strip. With right sides facing, pin and sew lining to selvage along the top raw edge. Press seam towards lining.

Attach waistband to skirt: right sides facing pin gathered edge of skirt to remaining selvage edge of waistband. Waistband should extend 1/2" on either side of the skirt. Adjust gathers making sure they are spaced evenly, sew skirt to waistband. 

Remove gathering stitches, press seam towards the apron waistband which

should now look like this!

Press long edge of waistband lining under 1/2 inch to the wrong side. 

Right sides facing flip lining on top of waistband as pictured below.

Cut ribbon in half to make two 36" pieces. Cut one end of each ribbon tie diagonally,  this will keep the cut edge from fraying besides adding a pretty finish.

Sandwich ribbon ties in between waistband and lining matching straight raw edges and pin.

Stitch across the waistband 1/2" side seams encasing the ties within. 

Trim seams, turn waistband and ties right side out.

Pin and slip stitch folded edge of waistband in place on wrong side of apron.

All finished, now go make some cupcakes with your little darlings!

XXX000

Barbie Jo and Cleo

PS: if you make an apron using our tutorial, feel free to email Cleo a picture of your finished project, we would love to see and include you in a special Valentine LOVE post!