DIY: Apron Sew-Along, Putting It All Together

As I type up this here blog post, I've got my feets up, my hair down and my Brand New Reversible Apron with Ginormous Pockets on. Yay, it's finished! As I was finishing up my apron this past weekend, I was suspiciously surprised by how smoothly everything was going. I mean, my seam ripper was actually collecting dust! I remember looking at it, flipping my hair and thinking, "Humph! I don't need that old thing anymore, I'm BEYOND mistakes," which, of course, was like The Kiss of Sewing Death. As you'll find out in the following clips, it didn't take me but a hot minute to make a big-fat-hairy omg, my apron is practically hanging down to my ankles mistake. But don't you worry, I'll fill you in on the oops-deets so the same won't happen to you.

Now, if you've not started on your apron yet, lemme direct you here. In this post, I'll introduce you to pattern and pocket making. 

In this here post, I'll share with ya how to do the following:

*  Make your neck strap (which, for some reason, in the vid clip I refer to it as a "necktie". Der.)

*  Make your tie ends

*  Assemble the neck strap and ties ends to the apron

*  Finish off the apron and call it a day!

I'd also like to invite you to share your completed aprons on this here blog!

I mean, you've already been sharing 'em on the Apron Sew-Along Facebook page (which totes makes my day when I see 'em) so why not show 'em off here? I'd love to put 'em all together in one big ole apron-tastic blog post. I know several of you made children's aprons and/or went a totally different apron-sewing route. I think it'd be a blast to see 'em all! To make that happen, I do hafta set a deadline. If you haven't started yet, no worries! You still have plenty of time. Just to give you a deadline, please email me (cassieart75@gmail.com) or share on the Apron Sew-Along page a snapshot of you in your apron by Sunday, September 7th. I'd love a brief description on your fabric choices and where you plan to wear your apron. 

But before we can do that, we gotta finish this thing! So, without further ado, let's get to work!

Neck strap and tie ends. Because I like to have a bow in the front of my apron, I decided to make my tie ends 4" X 30". You could adjust that length, of course. You might wanna cut out a couple different lengths with your wrapping paper, pin them to your apron and see how that length suits you before cutting into your fabric.

If you plan to tie your apron in the back, you could use the same pattern piece for your neck strap and tie ends, thus cutting three pieces of fabric from one pattern.

To stitch, pin those right sides together. As I mentioned, I like the ends of my pins to face my sewing needle. I don't wanna chance running over a ball with my sewing machine. No one likes squished balls. 

For the neck strap, simply stitch the long edge, flip inside out and iron. I have a tool for flipping fabric but you could just as easily use a safety pin or maybe a pencil. Youtube can help you out with tips and tricks on that.

For the tie ends, you'll not only sew the long end but also one short end. To do that, stitch the length of the long end, stop about 1/2" away from the end, lift the presser foot, rotate the fabric, lower the presser foot and stitch the short end. If that run-on sentence has left you confused, see the gif below. 

Make more sense?

To put the apron together, you'll need to pin your neck strap and tie ends on the right side of the apron (it doesn't matter which side). Now, my mistake was pinning everything in and stitching before I tried it on and checked the fit. Go ahead and pin your neck strap on and try the apron on so you can see if adjustments need to be made. Once you've got the fit where you want it, pin the neck strap 5/8" (or whatever your seam allowance is...mine is always 5/8") from the left and right ends (as seen below). For the tie ends, pin them 5/8" from the curve of the apron. 

You'll want to pin the tie ends to the apron body just to keep them out of the way as you stitch. Now, lay the other half of your apron on top of this with right sides together. Pin the top, curved side and sides. Stitch everything except the bottom.

Here I've got my right sides together and I'm ready to stitch everything except the bottom edge.

"I lay mah hands on ya apron and you'll be healed!" (said in my sad attempt to impersonate an evangelist. And that apron needed some healin' as you'll find out in that thar clip.

Here I'll talk making adjustments to my mistake and finishing the thing off.

Because my apron straps were too long, I went about fixing it by seam ripping out just the top of the apron, pulling those straps up, repinning and stitching again.

I snipped off the excess before flipping it right side out.

I finished off the bottom of the apron the same way I did the bottom of the pocket from the last apron post. I simply tucked the bottom inside, ironed and stitched. 

And, there you have it! There are definitely some things I might do differently on my next apron. I think I'd like the length longer and the pockets less tight. But I'm happy with the outcome and the kids have loved the print. I've been wearing it all week and feel kinda naked without it on when I'm in the art room!

Looking forward to see in your creations, kids!

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DIY: Apron Sew-Along, Part 1

Okay, that man who lives in my house and eats my burnt banana bread makes fun of me because every one of my lil vid clips starts with a "hey, guys." I honestly tried to spice it up with something else ("hey, my b%tches" just didn't feel right) but I'm from the Midwest, what can I say? So "hey, guys" it is.

Welcome of the Apron Sew-Along! 

I'm so glad you are here, kids, I cannot wait to see the apron you create! Now, just to make it clear, you can sew any kind of apron you want (that's right, I bolded and italicized that bit. That's when you know I'm for serious). Whether it be bedazzled or ruffled, I say go crazy and make it your own. I've decided to show you how to stitch a simple reversible apron with nice deep pockets (because an apron without pockets is, like, absurd in my book. Which is titled Aprons Without Pockets is Absurd. It's a working title.) I thought by keeping it simple and giving you lots of options, we'd all come up with something a lil different. So, without further jibber-jabber, let's chat about what we'll be working on this week...

Apron Sew-Along, Week 1:

* Washing and drying out fabric to remove that weird sizing.

*  Creating pattern pieces outta wrapping paper or whatever else you've got large sheets of.

*  Stitching a two-ply double pocket that can either be solid or patchworked (I lost you didn't I? Just keep reading, you'll get it).

*  Cutting out our apron shape.

*  Stitching our pocket to our apron!

So by week's end, you should have something like this! More than likely, you'll have something even better.

Let's chat about fabric before we go any further. I had so much fun throwing fabric all over the floor of my sewing room to see what would work together. Here's what I've come up with for the front of my apron. That orange chevron is going to be used for the ties and the neck strap...so I had to be certain I liked it with both aprons fabrics.

Because I wanted to mix things up a bit, I decided to have a solid pattern pocket on this side with a strip of polka dot at the bottom. I'll tell ya how I did that here shortly. First, let's talk pockets.

I opted to make one large rectangular pocket with a stitch down the center. I thought this kind of pocket would be more useful than a single one. To create this, I simply cut out a piece of super cute kitten wrapping paper to 10" X 16". If you listen to the video clip, I'll walk you through pocket making. I've also written out the steps for you to follow that way as well. I do hope it makes a smidge of sense. Cuz that's really all I got. Just a smidge.

Told ya.

Okay, so I totes know my pocket's a lil crooked. But I'm not fixing it. This thing is about to be covered in all things art room so a slightly off-kilter pocket ain't nuthin. Now let's chat about the making of this pocket.

To make your pocket two-ply, take your pocket fabric and fold in half. Pin your pattern piece to the fabric along the fold. Cut out everything except that folded edge. Remove your pins. Now put the pins back on the fabric but just along the sides. When you stitch, you will only sew the sides. The top should be folded and the bottom should be open.

Stitch along the sides. Trim that seam close to your stitches and angle cut those corners there the folded edge and your stitched edge meet. Flip inside out and iron.

Flip the bottom raw edge inside an inch so that the pocket is now 9" in height. Iron.

Now let's chat about that patchwork pocket. I love it on this wild and crazy fabric!

Make two pattern pieces one that is 7" X 16" (which you'll cut one) and one that is 8" X 16" (that you'll cut two).

Pin the pattern pieces to your fabric and cut out. Remember, for the top band, you'll only need to cut out one piece; bottom band, two pieces.

To create, remove your pattern pieces. pin the long edges with right sides together and stitch.

Iron open your seam. Now repeat these same steps on the other side so that you have, basically, a fabric sandwich with your smaller band of fabric in the middle.

Again, press open those seams. To turn this into a pocket, you are going to follow those same steps as above. this time your "folded edge" will be that middle band of fabric. Stitch the sides, remove pins, trim seam and flip inside out. Fold in the open bottom portion and iron.

In this clip, I'll walk you through creating your apron pattern piece. 

For your apron, cut out a piece of fabric that is a 31" X 18" rectangle.

You are creating half of an apron pattern, not the whole thing. Because your apron will be symmetrical, you are going to simply fold your fabric in half, place that pattern piece along the folded edge and cut as you see below. But first, we need to create that curved side so you won't be walking around wearing a rectangle. To create that curved edge, I measured 7" from the lefthand side and made a small mark. Then I measured 16" from the top of the right hand side and made another mark. I connected the two dots with a large curved line. If you are not sure about your curved-line drawing skills, no worries. Maybe you have a large round lid you can trace for the curve. 

Again, pin the long edge along your folded edge of fabric and cut.

Now, I did make my apron pretty long because I'm on the tall side. If you cut your apron out and hold it up to you and it touches your toes than you might wanna shorten it. Or grow a coupla inches. For a shorter apron, you might wanna start with a rectangle that is 28" X 18".

Because I wanted a little band of accent fabric at the bottom of my superhero side, I decided to cut the apron to that short size. Then I cut out a rectangle of my contrasting fabric in the remaining about which I think was 3" X 18". Don't forget that this fabric will also need to be folded in half to give you  the correct width.

If you are adding that band of fabric to the bottom, pin the right side of your contrasting fabric to the right side of your apron and stitch. Iron you seam out flat.

Now, let's add that pocket to your apron! To do this, I folded my apron in half along that long line. I measured 17" down from the top of the apron. With my pocket also folded in half (so to center my pocket along the middle), I pinned it down. Then I flipped my apron over and pinned down the other side of the pocket. Using a piece of chalk and a ruler, I drew that middle vertical line. That's the line I stitched first. Don't forget to back stitch. For added strength, I also went back and did a zig zag stitch. I don't want my apron pocket to pull off my apron. After stitching the middle line, I stitched along the bottom edge. 

Now, to make sure that your hands can fit in your pockets, remove your pins and slide your hand inside your pocket. Now pin that pocket down with that little added space and stitch along those side seams. Again, backstitch and add that zigzag for reinforcement. 

If you look below, you'll see that my pockets look a little baggy. That's because of that little bit of space I accounted for. I have big mannish hands, they need all the space they can get. 

And there you have it! Pattern pieces created (I've labeled and saved mine for future apron reference), pockets created, aprons cut out and pockets attached! Whew! That outta keep you busy for a week, amirite?!

Pretty please leave any questions you might have (because I did a lousy job of 'splainin') in the comments and I'll be certain to get back attcha. Also! I'd love to see your progress on the Apron Sew-Along Facebook page! Thanks for joinin' in, y'all. Happy stitchin'!

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What the Art Teacher Wore #109 and Welcome Back, Crazy!

Monday, Monday: Since I was painting my windows with a Mexican market theme, I thought I'd wear a colorful outfit for inspiration. Unfortunately that rogue tube of cerulean I mention in my last post managed to douse my legs, necklace and hair. Good think I was wearing my big ole plastic apron or the rest of me woulda been Smurf-a-fied as well. top: Banana Republic, garage sale; skirt: Anthropologie, found at Buffalo Exchange; sandals: Anthropologie, gift from a buddy

Welcome Back, y'all! 

If you're like me, a crazy art teacher, you just might be heading back to school this week or in the very near future. What better way to be welcomed then by my fave after-school rerun show to watch as a kid: Welcome Back, Kotter. Even though my students have been back since Wednesday, they've not come to art yet. Oh no, that starts tomorrow. Which explains why I'm still in my pj's working on lesson plans at 1pm on a Sunday. Ahem.

Oh, before I forget...Arsty Book Club friends! So as not to overload this here blog post, I thought I'd chat about this past week's readings of Teach like a Pirate to my In the Art Room post this week. It totes ties in because it's inspired just what will be going down in there this week. So read up and we'll chat soonish. 

Now, let's chat about the Apron Sew-Along (could we possibly have more going on here? Me thinks not)! I got my fabric orders in this week and I thought I'd share with you what I decided to stitch into an apron. I also couldn't help myself: I bought a buncha other prints to eventually be stitched into dresses or some MC Hammer pants or culottes. So stay tuned! 

Okay, so here's what I got...

Really? Could one person be more excited about cat fabric? I don't think so.

Now, while we're still on the topic of our Apron Sew Along, please remember to prepare your fabric for stitching by washing your fabric first. The reason being is that this will remove all the sizing from your fabric (have you noticed that it feels a lil stiff? That's the sizing. It needs to be washed out before you sew). I use a delicate and cold setting on my machine. I dry as normal. You should probably wash separately (um, I never do but I'm totes lazy) just so the colors won't bleed onto the other fabrics. 

Okay, so here's a close up of what Ima be stitching with...

I know, riiiiight?! Cray-zay. But they both make me so extremely happy that I just couldn't not get them. I also think that the busy pattern will do a bang up job hiding stains. We'll see about that. Now I've gotta pick out accent fabrics (for the pocket, neck thingie and ties). For that I think I'll dip into my own stash. I'll keep ya posted. 

Totes Tuesday: I finished off my windows on this day. My super sweet custodian popped in to tell me how much he liked them...but then asked, "Don't you usually paint both sets of windows?" I told him I was just too worn out. He took a step back, scratched his chin and said, "Hm...I think I like last year's windows better." Gee, thanks! top: vintage, thrifted; skirt: old, Anthropologie; sandals: old, Target

Oh my gawd, my inner preteen just died of excitement. I cannot wait to stitch something insane with these sweet prints. I love how the framed cat at the top in the middle looks just like our Asha. Fat and furry, just how we like 'em.

Welcome, Wednesday! It was the kids very first day. It was a half day which was weird because 1. I didn't have kids in my room and 2. I was just as tired as if it were a full day and I did have kids in my room. What's up with that?! top: Forever 21; skirt: etsy; shoes with artsy shoe clips: deets here;  necklace: Paper Source

I kinda wanna stitch this into something right freaking now. I have so many sewing projects in the works that it is absolutely nuts. I have no business buying any more fabric...and yet...sigh. 

No Running with Scissors, You'll Lose an Eye! Thursday: At least that's what I told the kids when they asked, "why are you wearing a shirt with eyes and a skirt with scissors?" What I really wanted to tell 'em was "I've got my eye on you and if you misbehave you might get cut" but I just didn't think that was appropriate. Not with other teachers around anyway. eyeball shirt: Urban Outfitters; scissor skirt: Modcloth, super duper sale

Speaking of scissors, I love this sweet print on the left. I don't know if I love it with the pin fabric...but the theme is there, right? I'm still dreaming up what I want my kids to stitch up this year. I'd love any hand sewing/machine sewing project ideas if y'all have got any!

Finally Friday, I mean, Really!: I actually thought it was Friday all week long. That is not a good way to live your life as it only ends in disappointment. dress: DIY by me; belt and necklace: Anthropologie; shoes: Frye, TJMaxx

Speaking of having the kids sew, look at this! I made a lil mention of needing embroidery hoops for my 4th grade artists and a friend shipped a big ole box of these beauties my way! The kids are going to Freak the Funk Out. Yay! So much stitchin' goodness.

I do hope you guys have a super fun week! You especially, teacher friends! Just remember, if all else fails, just act like a crazy person and the kids will love ya. Welcome back!

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DIY: Let's Make Beautiful Aprons Together!

All fabric is from my fave online fabric retailer Fabric.com. They ship fast and have a huge variety. There are plenty of other sellers out there though so shop around, kids! You can find this one here. 

So last week I got the crazy idea that it might be fun if we, you and me, stitched up beautiful aprons together. Before better judgement set in, I threw this question out to the interwebs:

Have you guys ever heard of a Sew-Along? It's where a blogger presents a sewing project and, over the course of a coupla weeks, walks the reader through the sewing steps of a project. In the end, the sewers show off their creations on the blog. SoooOOOOoooo, I thought I'd see if anyone might be interested in sewing an apron with me. There's tons of fun fabric out there (this example was found after a quick search) and, being that it's an apron, little sewing experience would be required. I only wanna venture down this road if I've got some folks who'd be interested...whatcha think?

I was excited to hear from so many of you that are interested! So in this here post, I've put together some super fab fabric (y'all I spent entirely too much time trolling for fabric. I honestly think I could do it all day. Anyone need a Personal Fabric Shopper cuz I'm totes yer gal!) along with some apron pattern ideas. I hope you'll have as much fun shopping and dreaming up apron designs as I have. 

Now, let's talk details:

* During the week of August 18th, we'll kick off our Sew-Along! In that initial post, I'll post short video clips on preparing and cutting your fabric as well as taking our first couple of sewing steps. I'm going to approach this apron as if you are a beginner sewer so that everyone can feel included. However, you are not limited to what I sew. Advanced kids, take it and run!

* You'll Need Some Fabric! I'm still gazing at apron patterns for us but my personal plan is to use two contrasting fabrics. So, if I were you, I'd purchase about a yard of your main fabric (meaning the fabric that will cover the majority of your body) and about 1/2 yard of a contrasting or complimentary fabric. That 1/2 yardage could be used for a pocket, ties or a ruffly bottom (and who doesn't like a ruffly bottom, hmmmm?). In this post, you'll find a ton of fabric ideas. 

*And, the best part, Let's Share Our Creations! So I actually have big dreams for this idea. First, I'd love for us to share our works-in-progress as well as our finished aprons and what better place than Facebook? So I've created a page just for us! You can join here even if you don't plan to sew, it's fun to be inspired. I also WOULD LOVE for us to gather at the NAEA conference in New Orleans this year wearing our apron-tastic creations! Wouldn't that be fun? Like I said, big dreams. More on that later. For now, let's chat apron patterns!

Okay, lemme tell you my apron criteria as I do plan to wear this in the art room:

1. It must be super cute. Always a priority.

2. It must cover the majority of my bod. Which means ruffly half aprons are out. 

3. There must be big -n- deep pockets. They don't necessarily have to have a wiener dog on 'em or a pig grillin' up his family members (like, weird) but they do have to be functional. That's a must.

4. Speaking of wieners, there won't be a stabbed one in the middle of my apron. Geesh, is someone frustrated or what?!

After much thought, I've decided that we won't be using a purchased pattern. I don't want y'all to break the bank for this AND I want you to have plenty of money to spend on the fun part: The Fabric! So, I'll be working on a pattern template that will be easy for you to replicate at home. However, you are not limited to what I come up with! For some apron-spirtation, you might want to visit these links and come up with your own pattern!

Martha Stewart's Baker's Apron

Hostess Apron with Ruffles (this one is more cute than art room functional)

Simple Ruffled Apron (perfect, just needs pockets!)

Another Ruffled Number (again, pockets, people)

Retro Inspired Apron (ahh, so cute! But those ties...are they in a funny spot or is it just me?)

Now, let's chat fabrics!

Artsy! Here's some artsy fabrics to wear in your art room, art studio or just to lounge around and look super cute. Because it's what you do. Retro camera fabric here, pencils here. 

I MIGHT be madly in love with this fabric. 

That pencil fabric is actually the same design used in a pencil skirt that was sold at Anthropologie last year. I have some sitting in my sewing room waiting to be stitched into a dress. I love that scissor fabric, I think it would be cute as that 1/2 yard contrasting fabric I mentioned earlier. Check those rulers at the bottom so you understand the scale of the fabric.

WHUT?! Yes!

Art Teacher Geek Chic: Marker fabric and art supplies. 

What's Cookin', Good Lookin?! I know not all y'all are art teachers out there but I'd still love it if you'd join the fun. So I thought I'd throw some other fabric options out for you. I personally LOVE this fabric as it reminds me of the food in Pee-wee's fridge on Pee-wee's Playhouse!

I actually have that fabric on the right...I had plans to make it into some sort of Labor Day/Grillin Out Dress...we'll see if I can get around to it!

If you type in words like "retro" or "vintage", you'll love what you find on this website! While on this site, check out Cloud9 Fabrics as they are all organically dyed and printed. 

Love these retro prints!

Garden Apron: I mean, I don't garden but I might with this fabric. You might recognize this, I used it to stitch up my Gnome-y Dress!

Something for the Boys: I love this comic book and Pop! fabric. 

Muscle Cars, anyone?

Muscles with Cars, anyone? Okay, you caught me, here's the REAL reason I can't stop looking at fabric. It's just so...hawt. 

Alrightie, kids! If you're in, remember to "like" the Facebook page. Order your fab fabric when you can as we'll be starting the week of August 18th! I'd LOVE to see the fabric you pick so please share it on the Facebook page for apron-spiration. Chat soon!

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