Reversible Apron Tutorial

Materials Needed:

1 yd (45-inch wide) fabric for apron (or if you want the apron to reverse to a different fabric like what I did, get 1/2 yd of each fabric)
2/3 yd (45-inch wide) fabric for apron ties
1 pair of 1-inch D rings
Rotary cutter/mat
Sewing machine
Iron/ironing board

Use a 1/2 in seam unless told otherwise.

Apron Ties:
1) Lay out 2/3 yd fabric on cutting mat. Cut 5 4-inch wide strips.
2) With 1 4-inch strip: Using an iron, press edges toward center of strip- about 1/2 inch wide. See Figure 1.

3) Iron one end like so...see Figure 2.

4) Fold strip in half and iron. See Figure 3.

HINT: you can use pins to help keep fabric in place if you're a perfectionist. I'm not, I'm lazy...so I didn't bother with pins.
5) Topstitch around all 4 sides of the strip, using an 1/8 inch seam.
6) Cut the strip into 2 lengths. Starting from the finished end (the one you ironed) cut a 24 inch piece & then a 5 inch piece. Set aside for now.
7) With remaining 4 strips- sew 2 strips together to create one looooong strip (it'll be close to 90 inches long. Repeat with the other 2 strips. Press open seams with iron.
8)Using an iron, press edges toward center of strip- about 1/2 inch wide. See Figure 4. Iron ends also (like in Step 3). Set aside for now.


Apron:
1) Cut 1 14 inch x 21.5 inch rectangle in each fabric.
2) Cut 1 trapezoid in each fabric to the following dimensions. See Figure 5.
(And yes, my trapezoid is not the prettiest trapezoid you've ever seen but you get the idea.)

You should now have 2 rectangles and 2 trapezoids.
3) Put 2 d-rings on 5-inch strip. See Figure 6.

4) Place 1 trapezoid right side up. Fold 5-inch strip in half and pin 1 inch away from edge of trapezoid. Pin unfinished edge of 24-inch strip 1 inch away from other trapezoid edge. See Figure 7. Place 2nd trapezoid on top, wrong side up.

5) Sew trapezoid along the top 3 sides...leaving the 15.5 inch side unsewn. Snip the corners. See Figure 8. Turn right side out and press w/iron. Top-stitch around edges*. Set aside.

6) Putting right sides together, sew rectangle along 3 sides...leaving 1 21.5 inch side un-sewn. Snip the corners. Turn right side out and press w/iron. Top-stitch around edges*. Set aside.

* Top-stitching is optional...I think it makes the apron more cute- but it's your apron, not mine! (It should be noted that for this tutorial, I didn't top-stitch... again b/c I'm lazy.)

Putting it together:
1) Lay down one long strip (wrong side up). Using the pressed open seam as a guide, place trapezoid bottom edge against folded edge of strip. Place 2nd long strip on top of trapezoid (wrong face down). Pin in place- do NOT skip the pins this time...it'll be a nightmare to sew! See Figures 9,10, & 11. Sew 1/8 inch from edge of strip.



2) Repeat Step 1 with rectangle. Make sure unfinished edge of rectangle gets pinned to the strips. See Figure 12. Sew 1/8 inch from edge of strip. Sew ends of strips closed.

Phew! You're done...now you better go cook something. Hurry, while you're still motivated...


PS. I didn't realize how involved and difficult it is to effectively communicate in writing what I'm thinking in my brain. So let me know if something doesn't make sense...maybe I can edit it and make it easier to understand. B/c honestly, it all makes sense to me...but I could be weird that way...