How to Make a Tea Towel Apron with Pockets and Fabric Ties
Follow these steps to turn cute tea towels into half aprons with pockets and coordinating fabric ties.
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A couple things to know before we get into these DIY tea towel aprons:
- You need a sewing machine. You don't need to know more than how to sew a straight seam, but glue isn't going to work for these handmade aprons.
- I am giving you permission to go shopping! Yep, go forth and search for the cutest aprons you can find!
- If you want to make an apron with a pocket, look for 2 matching tea towels.
How to make the cutest tea towel aprons
I made two different aprons. The cherry one is terry towel, and the green
stripe one is some kind of cotton/linen blend. I had very different
experiences making both aprons and I found the fabric made the difference!
Tips when shopping for tea towels
- Look for 100% cotton tea towels (check the label).
- Be aware of the direction of the pattern - open the tea towel horizontally - if you're happy with the way the pattern is facing, you're good. If it's sideways, you might want to pick another towel.
- Try to find a package of 2-3 tea towels that are exactly the same (or at least coordinating).
- I find HomeGoods, Marshalls and TJMaxx to have the most variety and best prices.
Each apron will require 2-3 tea towels to make a half apron with pockets and
tie. If you're unable to find a package of multiple towels, you can use
coordinating cotton fabric to make the ties, as I'll demonstrate in the
tutorial below.
Supplies
- cotton tea towels (2-3 of the same pattern per apron)
- coordinating cotton fabric
- sewing machine
- thread, straight pins
- fabric scissors ( these fabric scissors are the best, and they're cheap!)
- iron
Directions
*For reference, I am using two cherry pattern terrycloth tea towels
measuring 27"x16" and gingham fabric to make the cherry apron I'm
demonstrating here. The green apron I show further down was made using two
matching tea towels - one for the apron and one for the ties (this apron
doesn't have a pocket).
Placement
Start by laying out your tea towels on a flat surface. One tea towel laid
horizontally will form the main body of the apron. Lay the second tea
towel on top for the pocket (we will be trimming this down).
I wanted the cherries facing the right direction on the pocket because this
piece will be on top and is more visible. The tea towel that is used whole and
forms the apron is sideways but that didn't bother me. See the picture below
for reference.
.jpg "Follow these steps to turn cute tea towels into half aprons with pockets and coordinating fabric ties. See full tutorial at diybeautify.com!")
Cut pocket piece
Cut the pocket from the second apron. You can decide how big you want this
piece to be. My finished apron pocket measures 16" wide x 8" tall.
Pin and sew pocket to tea towel
Use straight pins to secure the pocket piece to the full tea towel, and sew in
place on the sides and bottom, leaving the top open. I also sewed a seam
straight down the middle to divide the pocket into two equal sides. This also
prevents it from gaping.
Be sure to tuck the edges under to form a simple hem so you don't have
fraying. As you can see below, I used the existing hem on the tea towel as
the top of my pocket.
Make ties
If you purchased a 3-pack of matching tea towels, you can cut the third tea
towel into three equal pieces lengthwise and sew them together to make the tie
for the apron.
I used coordinating red gingham fabric to create the apron ties. Don't be
stressed, this isn't difficult. I will try to explain it easily but basically
you will be cutting the fabric into long strips, sewing them together, folding
and ironing them into a narrow strip and then sewing that to the apron top.
-min.jpg "Follow these steps to turn cute tea towels into half aprons with pockets and coordinating fabric ties. See full tutorial at diybeautify.com!")
How to make the fabric ties
- You need to decide how long the ties are (this is personal preference). I like an apron with long ties that I can wrap around to the front.
- Measure the width of the apron, then add the length of the ties to come up with the final width you will need the ties to be (mine measures 75" long) TIP - if you have an existing apron, measure the ties to get your custom measurement.
- Cut fabric 4" wide x 75" long (or whatever your measurement is)
- You might have to piece two long strips together to make the full 75" strip
- Iron the strip by folding the outsides into the center, then fold that in half and iron to create a strip that is 1" x 75"
- Find the center of the strip of fabric and mark with a pin
- Pin center of fabric strip to center of apron, sandwiching the top edge of the apron between the strip
- Sew strip to apron, then continue to sew along the length of the ties, sewing the strip together
- To finish the ties off, sew a narrow seam along the top edge of the ties, all the way to the ends. I cut the ends of my apron ties as you see below.
Here I am, stying my cute cherries tea towel pocket apron.
I sent the olive green tea towel apron to my daughter, who loves natural
colors. The only thing I sewed on the green apron was the ties, made from the
second tea towel. I cut it into equal strips, sewed them together and followed
the steps above to sew it to the apron.
Let me know if you make your own tea towel apron, I'd love to see a picture! I
hope this tutorial is straightforward, but be sure to reach out with any
questions.
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Good Morning Cindy, so happy you and your husband made a safe move and found a new home.
ReplyDeleteLove these aprons! Do you also have “full” cover DYI? I need top covering for cooking grease splatter.