Sewing: Child's Apron

One of my nieces is turning 7 in a few days. According to her mom, one of my favorite people, she is currently interested in, among many other things, board games and Easy-Bake Oven stuff. We already got her a board game for Christmas, so for her birthday I wanted to focus on her growing cooking hobby. Besides gifting her a fun measuring cup set that builds into a robot (via ModCloth of course!), I wanted to make her an apron. I only had about half a yard of fabric that was in one of her favorite colors (Kermit the Frog green), so I edited a waist apron pattern from One-Yard Wonders that was meant for an adult. Actually, the pattern was even big for ME, so I was going to have to edit it anyway. After measuring the dimensions of the original pattern, I calculated two-thirds of the dimensions and drew up a new pattern for the apron front and apron back. I figured that would fit a 7-year-old. For the trims and apron ties, I shortened the assigned length but used the assigned width because the widths were based on the seam allowance and how much folding would have to be done at the seam allowance, and not on the dimensions of the apron per se.

You can't see it too well in the photos, but it's a pouch-pocket apron, which means that you can put a hand in each pocket and your hands will meet inside the pouch. For a simple-looking apron, it was surprisingly complicated because of the reinforcing trim along the pockets. Basically, I had to make homemade bias tape, my first time doing so, and somehow carefully align the tape along the curvy edges and sew them together. It turned out way better than I would have thought. No crying this time because I didn't put a lot of pressure on myself for this. If it worked out, great. If it didn't, then the other gifts we already got my niece would have been enough.

Another slightly-sticky issue was how narrow the the apron ties turned out to be; I had to use a large knitting needle to turn the apron ties inside out through one of the narrow sides. In fact, I used the blunt-capped head of the knitting needle because I poked a hole in one of the ties using the tapered end. Yes, I did cut out and sew new pieces to replace the damaged tie, but that was actually quick to do.

Anyway, despite these difficulties, can I just reiterate how much I love this sewing book, One-Yard Wonders? So far, everything I've made from it has turned out well. Maybe not perfectly, but good enough to blog about! :-) While the instructions are not super thorough, the descriptions and accompanying drawings are clear enough that I can figure things out in my head before diving into each step. The book might be too simple for more advanced sewers, but it's just right for me!

xo, Gladys

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