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DLTK's Crafts for Kids
Ladybug Apron
This is a fairly simple sewing project (I'm not much of a seamstress
*grin*). The aprons cost about $1.50 apiece to make and I
made one for each of the children who came to Kaitlyn's 6th
birthday. We decorated flower shaped cookies as part of our
birthday party fun and the girls were tickled to wear (and take home!)
their cool ladybug aprons. |
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Materials:
 | red cotton (or canvas) fabric. Cotton is a lot less pricey and is
what I used. (20 inch x 15 inch piece) |
| black cotton fabric (about 60 inches long x 5 inches wide)
OR
black ribbon or seam
binding (about 50 to 60 inches long and as wide as you like) |
| red thread |
| black thread
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| black fabric paint or black acrylic paint (I had acrylic on hand and
although it won't last forever in the wash, it will last quite awhile)... it
depends on whether you think the apron will be used mainly for dress up or
will see heavy duty kitchen use (in which case I'd use fabric paint) |
| round sponge paint brush (you can find these at the craft store... they're
used for stenciling and are often called "spouncers")
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| scissors |
| sewing machine (or iron on hem adhesive and an iron!) |
| printer and paper |
Instructions:
Note: I used a sewing machine and thread, but you could purchase hem
adhesive and just iron everything instead of stitching it (that will increase
the cost of the project by a fair amount, though)
| Hem around two short sides and one long side of the red
fabric.
 | If you want to be extra "professional" you can fold your hem
over and hem a second time so none of the frayed edges showed. I
didn't go this far as I was making 10 aprons and didn't want to stress
myself out doing it.
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| If you're using black fabric instead of ribbon you're going to make your
own ribbon:
| Fold black fabric in half so it's 60 inches (or so) long and 2.5
inches wide |
| With black thread, sew up one of the short sides and down the entire
long side (1/4" to 1/2" seam or so). Leave the last
short side open. |
| Use the handle of a long wooden spoon and push on the short side you
sewed. Use the wooden spoon to turn the "snake" of
fabric inside out (so the seam is no longer visible). |
| Stitch the open end shut.
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| Make the ruffled top:
| With a needle and long piece of thread baste along the top of the
apron (the non-hemmed edge) Basting is just a long stitch (it
needs to be lose... about an inch or two apart). You have to do it
with just one thread. |
| When you get to the end of your stitching, scrunch the fabric along
the thread to make a ruffle. |
| Tie off the thread (to put this all another way, it should take
about 3/4 the length of thread as there was fabric (about 40 inches of
thread) |
| If the whole ruffle thing is too much work just make a flat apron
instead of a ruffle topped one.
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| Attach the tie
| Pin the black ribbon (the one you made with fabric or store
bought one) to the ruffled apron top
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| Run the top through the sewing machine to finish off your apron |
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