I mentioned last week that the one thing I "needed" while wallpapering was a tool apron. There are so many tools I was constantly reaching for: scissors, pencil, craft knife, straight edge, tape measure, smoothing tool, etc! I knew before I tried this DIY again I was going to want to sew an apron.
And so Monday, I did! It's a very simple project and entirely customizable. I am going to share the measurements for mine and a brief explainer in case you find yourself in need of a work apron as well.
I cut my apron from a white cotton canvas fabric that I had on hand. It is made up of six rectangles.
- the main apron piece - 26x16 inches
- the large pocket - 16.75x8.25 inches
- the mini pocket - 2.5x7 inches
- the waist-tie - 2x76 inches
- the large pocket top - 2x16.75 inches
- the mini pocket top - 2x2.5 inches
You can adjust any of these sizes (maybe you want a longer apron or maybe you prefer a larger mini pocket). You may also want a longer waist-tie (mine can tie in a bow in the back but just a knot in the front). Also, tip: if you don't have a long enough piece of fabric for the waist-tie, just sew two strips of 2" wide fabric together.
I hemmed the main apron rectangle by first folding the side edges back 1/2", then over again 1/2" and straight-stitching into place. Then I folded up the bottom edge the same way and straight-stitched that as well, creating three finished edges.
Next I prepped my waist tie and pocket tops. I folded the 2" strips in half and then folded the edges in toward the mid line.
I pressed these folds into place creating a piece that looks like the above (for all three of the 2" strips).
Then I used the large and mini pocket tops to finish the pockets. The photos above show this process for the mini pocket. I lined one edge of my 2" strip up with the top of my mini pocket. Then I sewed it into place using my 1/2" fold line as a guide. I trimmed the excess seam allowance and then folded the rest of the strip up and over the top of the pocket. I sewed this second fold into place from the front.
Once both my pockets had their finished tops, I folded back the remaining 3 sides by about 1/4". I secured the fabric with wonder tape to hold it in place.
I sewed my mini pocket onto the large pocket first, leaving about an inch of excess fabric on the bottom which would later be tucked under as you can see in the photo above.
And then I sewed my larger pocket to the apron, eyeballing it to keep it centered. I added additional straight stitching in a few points on the large pocket to create smaller sections that would hold my different tools.
Finally I attached the waistband to the apron. I first pinned the center of the long strip to the apron and sewed along the edge just like my pocket tops.
Then, I started at one end of the waist-tie and folded the unfinished edge back on itself (so the raw fabric edges were tucked together) and then sewed the length of the strip. When I got to the main apron portion, I wrapped it around the top of the fabric and kept sewing (creating a finished edge just like the pocket tops) then I sewed along the strip again until I got to the other side.
That's it! An apron! Super useful and can be customized in endless ways (think about a floral fabric for the pocket tops and waist-tie! Think about extra pockets!)
I cannot wait to use it.
