How To - Patternless Apron

Today I decided to exhaust my supply of adorable teal and white fabrics by making a simple yet cute apron. And since I had nothing better to do, I decided to photograph the process and share it with you. The photography is pretty mediocre, but seriously, I was trying to sew and take pictures with a big SLR camera at the same time. So deal with it.

Materials you need:
- At least half a meter of your main fabric, and about the same amount of a different fabric
- A flexible tape measurer
- Pins
- Scissors
- Coordinating thread
- A large safety pin

This brings us to what is probably the least enjoyable part of the process - taking measurements. You will need to measure your waist - I actually just measured from seam to seam on my shirt and added 20 cm for the bottom part of the apron. Since I had a half meter of fabric, I made that the length of the bottom part.
For the top part, measure the width you want it to be and add 3-4 cm for seam allowance; also measure the length from the highest point you want it to sit to your natural waist (roughly your belly button). If any of you actually decide to make this and need photo guidance, just ask.

Next, cut out all those measurements you just took, using your main fabric. Remember to add a few centimetres to the measurements you took for seam allowances! My top part wound up being about 30 cm squared, and I followed the pattern of the print and a cutting mat to keep my lines straight(ish). You could use a ruler or any other long and straight item.

To make the straps for the apron, cut two strips about 8cm wide by 55cm long. I cut the length of my fabric by 8cm then snipped that in half.

Next, grab your tape measurer again and tie it around your natural waist. Figure out how long you want the belt to hang down when it’s tied, and add a few centimetres to that number. This is the length of your belt. The width of your belt should be about 13cm; this seems like a very wide belt, but don’t fret. Your actual belt will be half this width. Now, you will very likely have to stitch two pieces of 13cm wide fabric together to make up the length. This is very simple, but is made tricky when you have a patterned fabric and want to keep everything lined up. Just send me a message or reply if you would like guidance there, as I successfully did it with chevrons.

Fold your two strap pieces and your belt in half lengthwise with right sides together and pin. Stitch along your pins, and you will have three tubes. Using your safety pin, you will turn those tubes inside out, so your pretty printed side will show.

Push the edges of your tubes in and stitch them closed.

If you have a topstitching foot for your machine, stitch the sides (one on the seam and the other opposite to it) so your tube is not so much a tube anymore. Once you have finished these steps for all three strips of your contrast fabric, set them aside.

Next, fold the sides of your top piece AND bottom piece over twice, pin, and stitch. This will make it so there are no raw edges. You can do this to the top of the top piece, and the bottom of the bottom piece as well. If you REALLY don’t want raw edges, fold the top of the bottom piece over once and do the same with the bottom of the top piece.

Then find the centres of your top and bottom pieces and pin them together. Add a few more pins and stitch the top piece to the bottom piece. You’ll notice that the bottom piece wants to fold at a certain point now; Pin that fold down and stitch all the way across the bottom piece. This will also keep your seam between the two pieces flat.

Now’s the time to add your belt and straps. For the belt, line one edge up with the top of your bottom piece. Stitch along the topstitching lines you already made (if you made them!).

Stitch along the bottom of your belt as well, trying to stay on the topstitching line you already made.

Attach your straps one at a time by stitching over the line you created when you folded over the top of your top piece! You may notice that my edge is not pushed in and stitched; this is because this is the selvedge of my fabric and I am lazy.