Christmas Crafts #1

This year's theme for Christmas was Homemade. The siblings and I were all very busy sewing and making things for each other. I thought I would share a few of the gifts I've already given with you all. Crafting gifts is a lot of fun, and it can put you in a great holiday spirit to sit there sewing and thinking about how much the person is going to enjoy their gift.

Customized Towel Apron
I got this idea from one of Miss S's posts about towel aprons, and wanted to make one for a friend of the family. So I went to the store and got a large bath towel, took it home, and washed it. It was a good idea to pre-wash and dry, since the towel lost a lot of fuzz in the dryer.

I had my husband help me by holding up the towel to himself while I approximated where the neck string and waist string should go. I marked these using pins.

Then I drew the two curved lines between the pin marks using a chalk pencil. I added about 1/2 inch seam allowance to the line I had just drawn, then cut the fabric.

Next, I folded the seam allowances and sewed along the edges to create a casing for the string. This was a little bit difficult, because the towel was at double thickness while I was sewing.

To create the string, I sewed closed a length of double-folded bias tape and used a safety pin to pull it through one side of the waist to the neck, then down the other side to the waist.

I knotted the ends of the bias tape to keep them from slipping back through the casing.

Then I created the pocket. I made them kind of deep (to carry your favorite beverage, perhaps) and almost the width of the apron. I used some awesome flame fabric and cut two pieces, then sewed them, right sides together, leaving an opening to flip the piece inside out along the long top edge. I pressed the pocket, then took some double-folded wide bias tape and stitched that to the raw edge. I used a zigzag stitch to attach both the bias tape and then the pocket to the apron- it seemed to work better than a straight stitch through the thick fabric.

I made several lines for the pockets- these could hold your potholders, beverage, grilling spices, salt and pepper shakers, etc.

For a little extra decoration, I found a picture of a skull with barbeque implements behind it. I drew this design on a piece of paper. Mr. D helped color it, then we scanned it into the computer and printed the decal onto printable fabric. I then cut it out and ironed it onto the apron (after several test swatches, which turned out to be incredibly helpful- otherwise I would have ruined it!).

And tada! Easy towel apron, ready for grilling good times!

Stay tuned for more crafts and tutorials, coming your way soon.

Cute garden apron

Spring is here! Hopefully, it's where you are, too. If you've been longing for something to hold your gardening implements while you stroll about and muck in the dirt, here's a good one. It's a half-apron designed to hold stuff you need outside.

This pattern also came from One Yard Wonders. It's easy to make. You need 2 pieces of the main apron (21 inches wide by 10 inches tall), an upper pocket (21 inches wide, 4.5 inches tall), a lower pocket (25 inches wide, 7.5 inches tall), and a tool loop (4 pieces, 5.5 inches wide, 3 inches tall). You round the apron and pocket pieces using a drinking glass, then baste together the main apron pieces (wrong sides together). Then you hem the upper pocket top and attach it. You can add as many seam lines as you want then to create pockets. For the lower pocket, you hem and then attach it as well- this time, making two creases in the material so it will fit on your apron. Baste everything in place. Then you attach the tool loops. Personally, I would have attached the tool loops to the large pocket at the beginning, because the stitching closes off some of the big lower pocket. Then you add double-fold bias tape to the whole edge and some more for tying the apron on, and you're done! It only took me a few hours to complete this project. And now I can use it in my garden!

I enjoy playing outside in my garden!

Even room for a pen- perfect for jotting down what I planted where...

The tool loop was a little large- the spade stayed in it, but not the garden rake.

Towel Aprons

So, my mother makes these towel aprons as Christmas gifts, birthday gifts, etc:

They are great.  Because seriously, I am a messy cook, and I always need something to wipe my hand on.  Most aprons are too pretty to ruin with my gunky hands.  But these aprons are made with towels, so I can throw them in the wash and use them again!  I liked my mom's pattern, but the towels and the pockets were too big for my little self.  So, I modified them.  And here is my attempt at a tutorial:

They are really easy to make, and take hardly any time at all!   First, I just laid my mom's aprons down and cut some pattern shapes based on how she did hers.  You cut off just a little bit of the top of the towel to make it fit. Here are what all the pieces look like:

Then, I stitched the top on, right sides together.  If you can't tell, I use a piece of fabric on both the front and the back of the towel,  That way, when you fold it up and topstitch, the rough edge of the towel is completely enclosed and won't shed everywhere.

I ironed and topstitched at the bottom, where it attaches to the towel, and then I folded under the rough edges at the top and topstitched those as well.

Then, on to the pockets.  I simply ironed the rough edges underneath, stitched the top edge down (about an inch from the top), and then topstitched the other three edges right onto the apron.

Now for the straps:  one package of bias tape.  That's it.  I cut it in half, and then placed it over and the remaining rough edges.  I stitched it to the apron, and then stitched the ties as well.  I love bias tape--it is so easy.  Well, if you buy it from the store, that is.  I hear you can make your own, but that is a lot of work, and a lot of ironing work at that.  I'm clumsy, and making my own bias tape is just asking for serious burns.

Here is the finished product for a guy's apron:

The nice thing is, you don't have to finish or hem the bottom, because the towel already has finished edges! But for fun, for the girl's apron, I used some lace attached to (you guessed it) bias tape (it came like this . . . and on clearance), and sewed that right on the bottom.

And here is the finished lady's version, with curved pockets:

I made these as gifts, and they were as loved as my mother's aprons, so I think I did alright.  As I was making these, I also thought about how easy it would be to make them reversible.  You could have one fabric on one side of the top part, and another on the other side.  Then you could stitch pockets on both sides and have two aprons for the price of one!  Perhaps I will try that next time....

Linking To:

Kiss the Cook Apron

When the weather is nice (apparently not today) my husband grills outside. I love summer because there are less dishes to clean up when he grills and grilled food is often healthier than winter food. So in honor of the spring and summer, I decided to make my husband a manly grillin' apron.

I bought a Simplicity pattern to help me with the basics. I bought Simplicity 5154. I made some changes to the pattern because I wanted something a little different.

1. When I cut the pattern, I made it 6" longer so it would cover my hubby's legs
2. Instead of making the ties out of fabric, I took the easy way out. I bought belting! Cheaper and much easier
3. The belting I put around the neck, I made it about 1" longer, since my hubby likes everything loose
4. Finally, I had leftover insul-bright. Why waste it? I made the two pockets lined with insul-bright. Great for keeping beer cold and in a pinch they can be used as pot holders!

So I finished the apron around 2pm and decided to see if the beer would fit in the pocket. My husband came home at 6 and the beer was still cold! I'm thrilled with the results. More apron madness is on its way from Mrs S.