Apron Tutorial
Now those spring days are here, I’m finding myself with a lot of jobs to do in the garden. New growth to tie in, branches to prune back and endless weeds to pull up. Normally I find myself scattering tools all other the place and I never have the correct one to hand when I need it.
That’s where the idea for this gardening apron came in. I just don’t have pockets big enough to keep the bits I need in easy reach so I came up with this. Small enough that it doesn’t get it the way while I’m working, pockets big enough to keep the essentials to hand and pretty enough to grace any garden.
What You Need
Fabric:
Medium weight cotton fabric in the following amounts:
1 x piece: 16½ (w) x 16½ (h)“ for pocket
2 x pieces: 16½ (w) x 13½(h)” for back and front
1 x piece: 3(w) x 66(l)” for tie
Other:
16½” of approx ½” wide woven or grosgrain ribbon
Alternative colour thread for top stitching - optional
★ I’ve used a ¼” seam used throughout, unless stated otherwise.
What To Do
Take the pocket piece and fold it in half, right sides facing out. Pin the ribbon along the folded edge and sew into place using 2 lines of stitches, close the the ribbon edges.
Take the front piece and with fabric right side up, place the pocket piece on top as shown. Pin the ribboned section in place.
Sew a small line across the ends of the ribbon with a small ⅛” seam to secure firmly in place.
Take the back piece and lay this face down on top of the front section, then pin into place. Sew a seam on both the sides and along the bottom, leaving the top edge open.
Cut the excess fabric from the bottom corner seams, fold right side out and press the apron panel.
Take the tie piece an fold in half to find the centre point of the length and use a pin to mark. Unfold and then fold the piece along the length, right sides together and line up the centre of the tie with the centre of apron panel. Place a pin approximately ¼” outside the furthest edge of the apron.
Sew a seam along the open edge of the tie to either side of the pin marked middle section, which will remain open. Each end should be sewn at an angle, and then the seam allowance cut as shown.
Turn each end of the tie the right way around and press. For the middle section, carefully fold in the raw edges at the top and bottom by ¼” to match the seam and press into place.
Insert the apron panel into the open middle section of the tie as shown, ensuring that the top edge of the apron panel is pushed right up to the folded edge of the tie and pin into place.
Sew a line of top stitching ⅛” along the bottom (sewn) edge of the tie, to close the middle section. Sew a second line of top stitching ¼” along the top (folded) edge of the tie, which will help secure the apron section firmly into place.
To make the pockets carefully make two lines of top stitching from the bottom edge of the apron panel up to the top of the pocket ribbon.
Give the whole thing a press and that’s it, your apron is complete!
So fill up your pockets and next time you’re in the garden, you’ll be able to find what you need when you need it. What’s more, I’ve been finding that mine can be just as useful around the home too. I think I might be whipping up a second one very soon.