A few weeks back, before making my macaron apron, I was trying out making some other aprons. I had this fun cleaning fabric and decided it would be perfect for making some tester aprons since I was designing my own. I was trying out two different styles to see which I liked better. Of course both styles had to have ruffles because I <3 ruffles.
The first style, seen above left, was cut as one piece for the bodice on the fold. Here are the pieces:
- 2 bodice piece cut on the fold — one of the pattern fabric and one of some white muslin to use for the lining.
- 2 neck straps, 4 inches wide by 22 inches or so (half the width left of the polka dot fabric). These were then folded over on themselves and top stitched.
- 4 waist straps, 4 inches wide by 44 inches (fabric width). These were then sewed as pairs right sides together, sewing one end off at an angle. I turned them right side out and then top stitched.
- 2 ruffle strips, 8 inches wide by 44 inches. I sewed the two strips together on the short end, pressed in half and then gathered the old fashion way (not with a ruffler).
I attached the ruffle to the bottom of the bodice, distributing the ruffles and attached the neck and shoulder straps. Then I pulled everything in and sewed the lining on. Turned everything inside out so all the raw edges were inside and then top stitched.
Here are some detail photos:
Neck ties
Waist ties
Ruffle!
For the second style, seen above right, there were many different pieces:
- 1 bodice pieces. I was making do with fabric from the first so I had to put a seam down the middle, but otherwise I would have done it on the fold. This used the top half of the first apron for the top pattern.
- 1 bodice lining piece cut on the fold and with the length to include both the bodice and the waist strap.
- 1 skirt, 16 inches long by 44 inches (the fabric width)
- 1 waist, 4.25 inches (for a finished width of 3 inches) by 21 inches (the bottom width of the bodice)
- The straps and ruffle were 1 inch and 3 inch respectively grosgrain ribbon. The 3 inch wide was also used for the waist ties.
For this one, I first attached the waist to the bodice. Then I gathered the skirt top manually for even distribution of gathers and attached to the bottom of the waist. Next was attaching the straps — waist and neck — to the bodice. After that I once again rolled everything in, attached the bodice lining and turned right side out so that all the seams were enclosed, finishing up with some topstitching. The last step was to use my ruffler to ruffle the grosgrain ribbon and attach that to the bottom of the skirt. I decided to sew that directly on top since I was pretty sure it would really lie well if it had to turn inside.
Here are some detail photos:
Bodice front and waist band
Bodice lining
Ribbon ruffle
Although both are cute, I prefer the quality of the first apron with the fabric ties and fabric ruffle, but my husband preferred the look of the second one with the more gathered skirt. The first is more time consuming since the second uses many pre-made items like the ribbon. For both, I would make the top of the apron narrower since it gaped a bit on me. So definitely still some refinements to make before I achieve my perfect apron pattern, but I’m on my way.
I leave you with a back view of the first apron so you can see how cute the waist ties look when tied.
