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Simple Apron From an Old Shirt

An old men's button down shirt is repurposed to make an everyday apron
Keyword: apron, handmade apron, sewing, thrift flip
Yield: 1 Apron

Equipment

  • 1 Pair of Fabric Scissors
  • 1 Sewing Machine
  • Pins
  • 1 Iron and Board for pressing seams
  • 1 measuring Tape

Materials

  • 1 Men's Button Down Shirt 1-2 sizes bigger than you'd wear
  • Coordinating or Contrasting Thread

Instructions

  • Lay your shirt on a flat surface, unbuttoned. with right sides up. Cut out the back panel by following just inside the seams. Fold this panel in half down the middle. At the top of this panel, measure 6 inches from the center, outward, and mark. From this marking, angle your measuring tape to find where the distance to the outer edge is 12 inches. Lightly mark this entire line. In no particular depth, cut along this line, but curving inward slightly to meet both points.
    From the front panel that does not have a pocket, cut two-inch-wide strips from the bottom to the top, getting as much length as possible. These will vary in length, but we'll be binding them, so it doesn't matter.
    From the bottom of the button strip, measure up 12 inches and cut, leaving a bit of excess width to attach it later.
  • With your front panel, strips, and button strip cut, grab your pins and head to your iron. Create a ¼-inch rolled hem along the two straight sides of the apron. Press and pin.
    On your button strip, fold in the rough edge of your excess width to make it flush with the buttoned edge when folded in half. Press this edge, and pin the strip to the top of the front panel. The button strip should fold over the front panel, to cover both sides.
    Bind your remaining strips together by placing on piece right side up on a flat surface. With the next piece, meet the ends, perpendicularly and right sides together. Place two pins parallel to each other at an angle from one outside edge to the other.
    Turn your joined pieces counter-clockwise, then flip over to make the previous piece right-side-up. Repeat the pinning method to connect all of the pieces and make a long strap.
  • Move to your sewing machine and, with a straight stitch, hem the two straight sides and the top of the front panel.
    With your long strap, sew between each set of pins, and trim off the corners.
  • For the most time-consuming step, head back to your iron and board. Press the seams on your strap open. Fold the raw edges in by ¼ of an inch and press. Fold the width of the strap in half and press again. You should be left with a ¾-inch-wide strap.
  • Pick up your long strap to find the center of the length. from the center, measure 10 inches in both directions and pin those two points to the top of your apron on each edge, in the same way you pinned the button strap before- with the strap folded over the panel. Throw the apron on for a second, just to make sure the top lands in a comfortable place. If you need to extend of shorten, just be sure to do so by the same amount on each side.
  • Continue to pin the strap along the curved edges of the front panel.
  • Beginning at one end of the strap and continuing all the way to the other end, sew along the open edge of the strap with a straight stitch. Add a top stitch to the folded edge in the same way.
    To finish the ends, fold them up about 1-inch and tack them in place by sewing back and forth across them a few times.

Notes

  1. When choosing a fabric for this project, look for material that is not too absorbent, but is still comfortable.
  2. If you don't like the button detail added to this apron, you can definitely just use a 2-inch by 12-inch strip of plain fabric.
  3. Just as a disclaimer, I am not trained in pattern drafting, and some of these terms and methods may not be proper. If you have corrections or other ideas, feel free to leave a comment and help us all out.