Dish Towel Apron

Last week I started a project for Gillian- a kitchen apron. A month or two ago, I talked with someone online about ordering an apron to be made for Gillian. We talked fabric, and size, but I never heard back. Being the holiday season, I figured it's already a busy time for us crafters, so I didn't push it.

 

But, I still wanted to get her an apron of some sort, and decided- hey, I can make one! So, that's what I did. I've posted in the past about making an apron for kids from a dishtowel and a pot holder. I wanted a different style for Gillian, though, so I made it from 2 dishtowels, instead.

 

 

I kind of followed this pattern, and kind of just winged it as I went. I had previously made an apron identical to the first link to give to my mom, who was wanting an apron. It was much too big for an almost-8-year-old, though, so I modified the pattern.

 

I opted not to use a second towel as a wrap around section. Instead, I cut from it a pocket section, and a ruffle for the bottom. When I went to attach the ruffle, I opted to round the bottom of the apron. I did a pocket seam across the top, as in the pattern, but then I decided to use fabric for the neck, instead of ribbon. To keep it gathered looking, I sewed a strip of elastic from one end to the next.

My stitching at that point is sloppy, and there is simply no excuse for it. I should have considered that, and sewed it on the seams, or used a less noticeable color of thread. Sloppy, like I said.

 

For the back ties, I just added thin grosgrain ribbon. I rather like it- and I rather love the fancy stitches I was able to add, thanks to the sewing machine. I added a stitch above the pleated ruffle, because the ruffle wasn't laying flat. I love the decorative stitch, though!

 

Making a Christmas Apron

This craft is featured over at Dollar Store Crafts!


Yesterday, I posted that I had made an apron using a photo I had found online. It's supposed to be a childrens apron made from a dishtowel & pot holder, only it came out huge. I haven't yet started working on that apron to size it down, but will do that at some point today.

This morning, I grabbed the other set I had bought, which happens to be Christmas themed. Or, rather, snow themed. The pot holder is star shaped, and white, with a red snow flake on it. The dishtowel is printed red with white snow flakes on it.

To start off with, I decided on the length, and opted to just cut the towel in half, length wise, giving me enough material for 2 aprons. If you do these this way, and get a 2 pack of pot holders at Dollar Tree, you can make an apron for $1, plus the cost of the ribbon used! I then messed around with it a bit, and played with pleats before settling on a loose box pleat in the front, with the white edges folded to the back.

This made the towel the perfect width for the pot holder, and created a gathered, more girlish apron 'skirt'. Once I had the pleats I wanted, I pinned it in place, and sewed a zig zag stitch straight across to hold it in place before attaching it to the pot holder.

When I got that done, I arranged the pot holder, and sewed it from the back, so I could see where the towel met up with the pot holder, just a simple zig zag stitch, with the ends reinforced with a back stitch. I took a moment to get all artsy with my photos, and took a few macros. ;)

This morning while I was starting the project, I cut the loop off the top of the pot holder, and nicked the bias that edged the pot holder, so that white was showing through. After a few minutes contemplation, I decided to add a simple bow to the front top where the nick is.

To do this, I took a small length of white ribbon, and folded it over on itself, then sewed a line to hold it in place. After that, I used the cut off loop of bias tape, and cinched the middle of the bow together, leaving a small tail behind it, which I used to sew the bow onto the pot holder.

After that, to keep the bow down far enough to cover the nick, I hand stitched the backsides of the bow loops directly to the potholder. I think it turned out super cute, and added a bit more girly to the apron.

Lastly, I attached the straps to the front and sides. For the sides, I opted to 'hide' the stitches as much as possible. To do this, I folded the front of the pot holder up, and safety pinned the sides of it together. I sewed the side ribbons straight to the towel, where it is covered by the pot holder.

What do you think? I love this one!

Also, check out the Re-Do I did of Yesterday's Apron!

Crafty Wednesday!

Today, I hit the sewing machine almost right off the bat. It's amazing how much more productive I am when I actually sleep through the night. First up, I tested the instructions for making a child's apron out of a pot holder, & dishtowel.
 
This is a project I saw online for sale, and came up with the instructions based on the end product. It looked simple, and it turned out to be simple.

The only complaint I have with it, is that it is way too long with a full towel to use as a child sized apron. With the full size towel, it actually comes out as being long enough for an adult apron! It came to my knees, so it is not a good height for a toddler. Tomorrow, I plan to cut & hem the bottom of it, and turn the bottom part into a pocket for the apron. I think that will shorten it considerably.

Scroll down for photos of the steps.

Here is a copy of the instructions:
Child's Kitchen Apron
What You'll Need:

• 1 Kitchen Towel
• 1 Rectangular Pot Holder
• 1 Spool of Ribbon
• Sewing Machine or needle
• Thread

1. Clip the loop off the pot holder, if there is one.
2. Take into account the child's height, then decide whether you want the towel to hang length wise, or sideways, depending on how tall or short the child is. Once you have decided, sew the pot holder onto the top edge, in the middle. The ends do not have to be bunched or gathered, they remain flat.
3. Once you have the pot holder sewn on, cut a length of ribbon long enough to loop over the child's head, or create two lengths that can be tied around the neck. Sew the two ends to the upper corners of the pot holder.
4. Sew two lengths of ribbon to the top corners of the towel, to tie around the child's waist. If you choose to make a sideways apron, you may want to fold the top corners down, and stitch the corner down before sewing ribbons on, to make it shorter around the waist. With smaller children, the apron might be too wide to tie around the waist at full length.
5. To keep the ribbon from fraying, you can coat the ends in clear nail polish, or fold it over and sew the ends.

To add to this, here are some steps to take to avoid a too large for the child!

• Measure the child, hold the pot holder up to about arm pit level for the top. Measure from the bottom of the pot holder to the child's knees. That's how long you want the towel. Leave an extra half inch in length.
• Cut the towel so that the pattern you want is able to be used. If you have to cut the bottom hem, make sure to hem the edge again.

Overall, it came out cute. I used a pot holder that has a pocket in it (for what, I don't know- the top material is way too thin to use without the bottom portion as well). I sewed it so the pocket was face up, so the child can make some use of it.







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My next project was a spur of the minute project. Today, I found a frugal deal on WII games at Target, and mentioned it to Nick, who was of course, in love with the idea. We decided to meet up for lunch, and in doing so, we went to the Target near his work, which has the added bonus of being right near my favorite Dollar Store location. I don't usually go there, it's a 40 minute drive to that store, so unless I'm over there, I don't stop by.

Back to my next project. Yesterday, I found a new blog, Obsessively Stitching, which is a sewing blog, mostly. The owner found a super soft fleece scarf at Dollar Tree, and turned it into a pair of leg warmers for her baby daughter. In the tutorial, she shows the warmer off on  her arm, which got me thinking of soft, fuzzy fleece arm warmers to ward off the cold Michigan winter. Only, my Dollar Tree didn't stock those scarves! Sadness.

Today, Nick and I stopped at the DT near him, though, and glorious! They had them! They had 4 different colors: lavender & gray, gray & white, gray & black, and black & white. I picked up the black   white, and the lavender   gray scarves. Tonight when I got home, I immediately set out for the sewing machine. These took a little work on getting them tight enough. While the scarf was skinny, it was stretchy, so when I made the first one, I had to go back over a line and make it skinnier to account for the amount of stretch.

What it left me with, though, is a gloriously fuzzy pair of arm warmers to help get me through the winter. I cut a thumb hole, and left enough length to cover my fingers to the knuckles. I'm actually typing with them right now! 

Fuzzy Dollar Store Armwarmers

What You'll Need:

• One Fuzzy Dollar Tree Scarf
• Sewing Machine
• Scissors

Total Cost: $1
Scroll down for photos of the project.

What To Do:

1. Fold the scarf in half, and cut it into 2 pieces. Take each half, and repeat the process, so you have 4 identical length sections.
2. Match the lengths up- two halves will have a serged end, with 1 color longer than the other stripes. Those are the two very end pieces, and for me, they matched up perfectly, stripe to stripe. The other two pieces will be lacking the serged end, and will also match up perfectly.
3. You can pin the halves together if you want, but I didn't. They're so short, and the fabric clings together, that it wasn't a problem sewing it without the pins. Sew a straight line down 1 side, to make 1 wide section.
4. Now, after doing that, unfold it, and take the un-serged ends, and just sew a straight line across. This is more to keep it from unraveling than anything.
5. Once that's done, fold it again, and sew a straight line down the other side. Keep it loose to start, then try it on. If it feels loose, just sew another straight line in about half an inch. Keep at it until you get a good fit.
6. Repeat with the second pair of scarves, and you have 2!

1. I cut a thumb hole into both of my arm warmers, but that's optional. I found a spot for my thumb that left the warmer enough length to go down my fingers to help keep my hands warm, then I pulled at the seam, and cut it apart.
2. Turn it right side out, and you are all set!

I get cold really easily. As I sit here, my toes are freezing, but my hands are nice and warm. I tried the pre-made gloves last year that don't have fingertips, and they just were never comfortable for me. I think I like these much better!

Have you done anything crafty lately? Feel free to share it with us!

Dollar Store Craft Day!

Inspired greatly by all the wonderful frugal craft sites I've found over the past 18 hours or so, I decided to take a quick trip to Dollar Tree for some supplies today. I had certain craft projects in mind when going in, and picked up a few other ideas after looking around.

In total, I spent $13 on supplies at Dollar Tree, and $1.97 on ribbon at Walmart. Here's what I got:

4 Decorative Towels
1 2-pack of Pot Holders
2 1-pack of Pot Holders
1 2-pack of Dish Cloths
1 pair of knee high socks
4 knit scarves

And here are my ideas.

Fancy Ruffled Scarf

What You'll Need:
2 lengths of fleece, or 2 premade scarves
Scissors
Thread
Sewing machine, or needle to sew by hand.

1. Cut the lengths of fabric or scarf into squares. The blog I found them at suggests 58-64 4" squares, but said that it came out very long. She used cut up old leggings, but found the pattern herself in a book suggesting using t-shirts. I wanted a practical scarf, so I bought 4 knit scarves premade.
2. Once the squares are cut, turn them sideways, and layer them on top of one another in a diamond, or argyle type pattern.
3. Sew straight down the middle. When it's done, the scarf should form natural ruffles along the sides. My hope is that with 4 scarves, I can make 2 decently sized fancy scarves. One to keep, and one to gift away.
   

Fingerless Gloves/Arm Warmers

What You'll Need:
1 pair of long socks
Scissors
Sewing Machine or Needle
Thread

1. Cut the sock right above the heel, and set the foot portion aside. I have no immediate crafts for them, but I'm sure something can be found!
2. Roll the cut edge inward, and sew a hem along it, to keep it from fraying.
   
3. Measure them on your arm, and cut a slit where the thumb will go.
4. While they are on, use safety pins to pin the fabric between each finger- you may need help doing this.
5. Remove the gloves, and use the sewing machine to tack the fabric together in between the fingers, where the safety pins are.
   
6. Embellish the gloves however you wish! On the blog I found them on, she used a little velvet ribbon and a single pearl bead. I'm not sure yet what I'll do. I may make rosettes out of the left over sock material.
   

I bought the items needed to make 2 more of my Dish Towel Angels. This time, I'm making more of a harvest colored theme, as at least 1 person I am going to give one to has a darker colored kitchen.


And lastly, I bought the material to make 2 of the Inexpensive Children's Aprons. This is the reason I bought a spool of white ribbon for $1.97. In total, it will cost me about $3 to make each apron, though that's dividing the cost of the ribbon between 2, and I know I'll have plenty of ribbon left over afterwards. I'm planning to give one apron to my niece, who is 2, and I think the other apron I'll gift away here, on my blog.


Not a bad little haul for $14.97 total! I'll be able to make 2 aprons, 2 angels, 2 scarves, and a pair of fingerless gloves!

Inexpensive Child's Apron

With Thanksgiving & Christmas coming up, the chance to have the kids in the kitchen is expanding. Recently, I talked with a friend online about making an apron for my youngest daughter for Christmas. She is getting an easy bake oven for Christmas that another friend had sitting in her closet- brand new!

I am having one made for her, but after that, I found a really easy way to make a child's apron to use while baking. The main supplies- the towel & pot holder, can be found at Dollar Tree. For $3, you can buy 2 towels, and 1 2 pack of pot holders. Counting in the ribbon, this project should cost you about $1.75 to make.

Finished images of this project can be found on the blog by clicking the link below- it opens in a new window

Child's Kitchen Apron

What You'll Need:
1 Kitchen Towel
1 Rectangular Pot Holder
1 Spool of Ribbon
Sewing Machine or needle
Thread

1. Clip the loop off the pot holder, if there is one.
2. Take into account the child's height, then decide whether you want the towel to hang length wise, or sideways, depending on how tall or short the child is. Once you have decided, sew the pot holder onto the top edge, in the middle. The ends do not have to be bunched or gathered, they remain flat.
3. Once you have the pot holder sewn on, cut a length of ribbon long enough to loop over the child's head, or create two lengths that can be tied around the neck. Sew the two ends to the upper corners of the pot holder.
4. Sew two lengths of ribbon to the top corners of the towel, to tie around the child's waist. If you choose to make a sideways apron, you may want to fold the top corners down, and stitch the corner down before sewing ribbons on, to make it shorter around the waist. With smaller children, the apron might be too wide to tie around the waist at full length.
5. To keep the ribbon from fraying, you can coat the ends in clear nail polish, or fold it over and sew the ends.

The image below shows how to place the potholder, and where the ribbons go. I didn't have anything on hand to demonstrate it, so I used my art program. Yes, I really should have been a serious artist, I'm just that good. ;)