I Made An Apron Out Of A Napkin

Yeah, you read that correctly.  I can explain.

I am obsessed with sometimes check out Pinterest (pssst…see my pinboards here).  I follow lots of craft & D-I-Y boards to get my creative juices flowing.  I saw this photo pinned up.

The caption was “Apron Made From Dish Towel”.  I love any project that involves repurposing (and I have an odd developing collection of aprons…don’t ask).  I quickly skimmed the article, and did what anyone with the attention span of a  6-year-old would do.  I looked at the pictures instead of reading the actual words.  What?  I was way too excited to waste time reading directions.

I needed to make this.

Like, now.

I got up from my computer desk, jumped in my Honda, and chirped out of the driveway.  Target, here I come!

I picked up this beauty for $2.

Next, I held it up to me, folded the top corners down and stuck a few pins in to hold my place.

It should look like this…

I cut the excess fabric below the pins.

Fold the frayed, scraggly edge under and re-pin.

Next, grab some fabric ribbon.  I cut 2 pieces about 18 inches long to tie behind my neck, and then 2 pieces about 24 inches to tie behind my back.  To stop the ribbon edges from fraying, I lit a candle and placed the edge of the ribbon close to the flame (not touching the flame).  I was shocked that the whole house didn’t go up at this point or that Mr. FSL didn’t find me doing this part, because he’d carry me out of the house in a straight jacket.  I digress… oh yeah, the ribbon.  So the edges of the ribbon will slightly melt, and thus no frayed edges.

Do this to all of the ribbon edges.

After those were situated, I attempted to clear a space on my (hoarding pile of felt, chiffon, rhinestones, feathers, buttons…)  craft desk so I can find my sewing machine amongst the rubble.

It’s like frikkin Where’s Waldo in here!

Sew the pinned top corners down.

The short ribbons that will tie behind your neck attach to the top corners that are freshly sewn.  I used a box shape with an “x” in the middle.  It looks fancypants, plus it’s probably sturdy.

If you are new to sewing like me, here’s a little trick I discovered to make corners nice and neat.  When you reach the place that you want to create your corner, leave the machine needle mid stitch and still poking through the fabric.  Lift the presser foot up and turn the material to where you need it to be. Pop the presser foot back down, and voila!  A sweet, neat corner.

If you aren’t a new sewer, and are a seasoned pro, stop laughing.

Seriously.

Hold the fabric up to you and see where you need the ribbons to tie.  I have the world’s shortest torso, so mine are probably sewn where your armpits are.

Sew those babies on the same way you attached the neck ribbons (the box & the “x”).

**You should be finished here**

If you are like me, however, at this point, you just got super excited and put it on and danced around for 3 seconds until you realized that it doesn’t fit right.

If I needed an apron with armpit flaps, this was the ticket!  But it’s not what I was going for.  Back to the pig sty craft room.

I pinned the flappy part down while it was still on (miraculously not stabbing my ribs) so I could be sure that this was going to fit. I took it off, then sewed the sides.

I was so happy I did a victory dance and shook my tail feather in my gym clothes!

Not bad for a $2 napkin!  It would make a really cute housewarming gift if you put it in a basket with cake mix & a fun bundt pan or even paired with a pot holder.