Sewing Tutorial: Child's Apron

My kids like to play with their toy kitchen, and help in the real one, too. Although I rarely use an apron (I should though; I spill a lot), they like to. Here's a quick way to make an apron with less than a yard of fabric, which will be a good size for child about seven to ten years old.

SUPPLIES

1/2 yard of fabric
Ribbon, if desired

DIRECTIONS

As always, wash and iron the fabric. Cut two squares, one ten inches by ten inches and the other fifteen inches by fifteen inches. Cut the remaining fabric into three-inch wide strips.

Sew the short ends of the strips together, making one long strip. Fold it in half lengthwise and iron to form a crease. Open and fold the raw edges to the center crease. Iron again.

Using some of the strips, sew a binding along the top and sides of the ten inch square and the bottom and sides of the fifteen inch square.

The remaining strips will be the tie around the waist and the loop to slip over the head. Sew the strips lengthwise so they don't open. Serge or zig-zag the ends too.

Sew on the ties and loop. If desired, you could use wide grosgrain ribbon for this part.

Now you'll attach the skirt to the top. Using a ruler and disappearing ink, mark the two raw edges at their halfway points, then halfway between that and the edge, and halfway between those, for a total of seven marks evenly spaced along the raw edges. Match up the points right sides together, and sew the two piece to each other. Serge or zig-zag the raw edge.

Iron, and you're done! If you want, you could applique a design or pocket for some extra flair.