DIY childrens apron

This DIY childrens apron pattern is easy to customize to any child, boy or girl. Depending on the fabrics, colors, pockets or loops you include, it can be customized for helping in the kitchen, garden or the garage or perhaps a young artist needs a place to keep their paintbrushes or colored pencils. Simply adjust the pocket placement, size and depth to exactly what they require and let the fun begin. This apron is an excellent Christmas or birthday gift, because you literally can’t buy an apron like this in any store.

20120911-143319.jpgYou will need:
A piece of canvas or duck cloth cut into a basic apron shape
3 strips of canvas roughly 2 1/2″ wide by 22″ long for straps (hint: you can also use ribbon or webbing for straps- even easier!)
85″ of bias tape (or folded over ribbon) to finish the edges of the apron
5 or so various squares of fabric for pockets and tool loops
1 piece of thin rope, 26″ long
1 metal claps for the neck strap.

First you will need to make the straps- iron the pieces so the unfinished edges are neatly tucked away, then finish one end of each of the three straps by folding the end over on it’s self and sewing over the end and the length of the strap as well. (see pictures above)

The finished straps should look like this. Or you can skip making straps and use ribbon or webbing in their place. Set the straps aside.

Fold over twice and iron over the top of the pocket pieces for a nice finished edge.

On each pocket, and using your iron lines as a guide, sew over all of the pockets making a nice finished edge for the opening side.

Sew extra stitches over the tool loop for a finished, masculine feel.

Now is the time to sew on any applique details you are planning on using to jazz up the pockets.

Also if you are planning any small pockets piggy backing big pockets- sew on those tiny pockets now too.

I added two puckers to the bottom of this tiny pocket to allow for a pocket knife to fit or half a hot dog (being saved as a snack later on).

I decided to add a few loops- just in case. These are just 1 1/2″ strips of the bias tape (that will be used to finish the edges of the apron) stitched together and sew into place on either end.

Once all of the details have been sewn into place on the pockets, iron the remaining three edges of each pocket.

Place the pockets where you want them and pin into place. One by one sew then onto the apron taking care to reinforce the sides of the openings. On the loops, fold over the unfinished edge and sew over the top making sure to leave the loops big enough for tools to fit comfortably.

To add a rope loop to a pocket, put it into place right before you finish the third side, reinforce well. (On the inside of the pocket, one end is short but burned so it won’t fray and the other end is the long piece you can see coming out of the pocket.)

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Prepare the handles by first cutting off a piece 4″ long from the neck strap. With the wrong sides together, pin the straps into place making sire to leave a space for the bias tape to still be sewn around the perimeter of the apron (see pictures above) and baste straps into place.

Working with the finished side of the apron up begin finish the edges of the apron with bias tape. I started (pictured above) on the left side, beginning by the waist strap and working down. As pictured above- sew over the strap with the bias tape then pull the strap out from behind and reinforce stitch it into place. The finished front of the apron will look like the last picture above, the back of the apron and the strap will look like this:
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I finished the corners with the picture frame technique. Sew all the way up to the end of one side of the project then stop, put the presser foot up, rotate the project 90 degrees, fold the bias tape over so there is an angled joint (like a picture frame), drop the presser foot and keep on sewing your next side.

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For the neck strap, I finished it with a carabiner style clip. Measure your subject matter to find the right length for the neck strap or you can make the strap adjustable using D-rings (like a belt).

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Finished! Your little guy is going to love hooking on anything his heart desires from tools to art supplies, fishing tackle or cooking necessities. Places to store every treasure.

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