Last week I stopped by my local quilt shop to pick up a few basics and absolutely fell in love with this "Kiss & Tell" fabric! Since I knew I wanted to host a Valentine-themed "blogwarming" party to celebrate my newly published apron designs, I decided that the fabric would make the perfect flirty Valentine apron. I wanted to keep the design simple so I could share the apron's contruction technique and try my hand at writing my first online tutorial.
Call Claudia at Patchwork Quilts and tell her you HAVE to have some "Kiss & Tell" fabric and chenille pom pon trim...there's still plenty of time to make one before Valentine's Day!
APRON MATERIALS
- 1/3 yard "Kiss & Tell" fabric for top ruffle layer
- 2/3 yard hot pink fabric for bottom ruffle layer & waist ties
- 14" tulle or netting (optional)
- 1 1/4 yard RED chenille pom pons
- 1 1/4 yard HOT PINK chenille pom pons
- coordinating cotton thread (splurge for the good stuff...it matters!)
- Cut "Kiss & Tell" skirt ruffle fabric: 12" x 42"
- Cut hot pink fabric into four 2.5" strips (for waist ties) and remaining underskirt ruffle: 14" x 42"
- (optional) Cut tulle/netting fabric 14" x fabric width (usually wider than cotton fabrics)
- Finish edges and bottom hem of each skirt ruffle fabric piece. I use my serger to create a small rolled hem, but you could also simply press the edges under 1/4" and stitch. NOTE: if you are using the optional tulle/netting layer, you often don't need to finish the edges because tulle usually doesn't fray.
- Sew chenille pom pons to the bottom of each skirt ruffle piece (I use a zig zag stitch).
- To prevent the trim from fraying, finish the edges of the chenille trim by folding it under and hand stitching the ends in place.
- Gather each skirt ruffle to approximately 21" (adjust as needed to fit larger or smaller waists).
- There are a variety of ways to gather a ruffle. Pictured above is one easy method.
- Set your machine stitch length to the very longest stitch you can sew.
- Sew two lines of large stitches along the top edge of your skirt ruffle piece at 1/2" and 1/4" from the edge.
- Don't backstitch or secure the stitches at either end of the piece and be sure to leave relatively long threads when removing the piece from your machine.
- Leaving the top threads alone, gently pull both of the lower (bobbin) threads on each side of the piece to ruffle or "gather" the fabric.
- Once you have gathered your fabric to your desired width, tie the lower (bobbin) threads together so the fabric will remain ruffled.
- While there are a variety of different methods for creating a waistband and ties, I like to "sandwich" my apron skirt between two long strips of folded fabric...creating both a waistband and ties in one step.
- To create the waistband ties, sew two 2.5" strips together using a 1/4" seam (creating one long piece approximately 2.5" x 84"). Repeat to create two long strips of fabric.
- I use a 1 1/4" bias tape tool to fold under the raw edges of the fabric strips, creating a nicely folded edge and a uniform width. However, you can also just press the strips with an iron by folding the raw edges in toward the center of the strip until they meet in the middle (see the photo above).
- After pressing your waist ties, open them up and "sandwich" your ruffled skirt layers between them, carefully pinning all of the layers together (see the photo for how to layer your fabrics and ties).
- The center of your apron should match up with the center of the ties (so they will be equal in length on each side of your apron).
- Use a 1/2" seam to sew all the layers together.
- Press fabric strips up to create a waistband and ties.
- Fold in the raw edges on the ends of the ties.
- Pin strips and topstitch together.
