I am a little bit obsessed with kitchen towel aprons. I have cute aprons with frills and ruffles, but my towel aprons are my go-to aprons when I’m in the kitchen! Maybe it’s because I’m a messy baker. I love that when I get ingredients on my hands or need to wash, I don’t have to go searching around for a clean towel; I can easily wipe my hands on my apron and it absorbs well (because it is a towel, afterall). I think they also appeal to me because I love kitchen towels in general. I just love passing by cute towels when I’m out shopping and whenever I see one (or two) that I like, I have a hard time passing them by. A strange addiction, I know. I have towel aprons for every occasion!
Another obsession I’ve developed recently is the new Pioneer Woman line of kitchen accessories. Have you been down the kitchen aisle in Wal-mart recently? Stimulation overload! My Christmas list just grew a mile long! So many cute dishes, utensils and yes, kitchen towels. I couldn’t resist these adorable Pioneer Woman towels when I saw them. They even have ruffles on them! How cute is that?!
Of course I had to get them so that I could make myself a new, cute apron. And, [bonus] so I could make a tutorial for you all! You can make one for yourself, or make one for a friend. I have found that these aprons make great gifts. They take hardly any time to make and they are cute and inexpensive to give out. One year, I made them for all of my girlfriends as well as the kid’s school teachers. I love to give little gifts to the close friends in my life, but I don’t always have a big budget to do it. It’s a great gift for older kids to make as well (by older, I mean age 8 and up; old enough to sew a couple stitches on the sewing machine without hurting themselves). I taught these aprons to a group of pre-teen girls in one of the sewing classes I taught a few years ago and they all made them as gifts for aunts and grandmas.
So, moving on to the tutorial. Your supply list is very short. All you need is a cute towel and some ribbon. The ribbon can be any width; I prefer to use 5/8″ grosgrain ribbon. If you like it thicker, you can do that as well. Of course you will also need matching thread, a sewing machine, fabric scissors, pins and a tape measure.
Step 1:
Measure 3 lengths of ribbon: two ribbons at 25″ long and the third at 28″ long. The longest ribbon will be for your neckstrap. The other two are for your waist.
Step 2:
Lay your towel out, right side facing down, on your work space/sewing table. Measure approximately 1/3 of the way down your towel lengthwise; that is where you will place the ribbon for your waist ties. Another option, rather than estimating 1/3 of the way down, is to hold your towel up against your body and figure out where it feels comfortable for you to wear it. Find your waistline and put pins in it at your waistline on the towel. Then, lay the towel back down on the table, right side facing down, and place your ribbon where you marked. Fold over one edge of the ribbon and place the folded edge down on the towel. This just helps to enclose the ribbon rather than sewing on a raw edge. You don’t have to fold the ribbon, but it gives it a nicer finish. The ribbon should be placed perpendicular to the edge you are sewing on.
Step 3:
Sew the ribbon in place. I always do two stitch lines, for added reinforcement. Repeat this step on the other side of your apron.
Step 4:
Lay your towel back on the table, right side facing down. On the top (neck edge), fold in the corners diagonally and pin, as shown in the picture.
Stitch the edge of the folded pieces (both sides) that are parallel to the neck. You don’t have to stitch all the way across. Just a couple of inches to tack the fold in place.
Step 5:
Take your 28″ piece of ribbon and pin down one side only in the same manner you did on the waist ties (folded under), with the ribbon being placed perpendicular to the neck edge. Stitch, making two stitch lines.
Step 6:
Hold the apron up to your chest to get an idea for placement of the ribbon on the other side. Wrap the ribbon around your neck, adjusting the apron to where it lays comfortably on your body. If you are doing this apron for someone else, you can still measure it up against yourself to get an idea. It might not be exactly custom fit, but it’ll be just fine. Fold the ribbon and pin in place.
Step 7:
Sew across your ribbon and voila! You’re done! How easy was that?
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