Wednesday, January 28, 2015

TUTORIAL - Tea towel half-apron...

 
I bought this tea towel in a set of 2 that were on sale at Spotlight a few weeks back...
 
....and it was already trimmed and had a sweet birdie appliqued across one end. 
My first idea was a pocketed half-apron, and here is how I made it.

You can use any tea towel to make this, but a feature along one end adds to the sweetness.
You'll also need some scrap binding and lengths of cotton twill for the ties.

Cut about 10 inches off the bottom of your tea towel...
 
Hunt through your binding scraps for a piece that measures 2" longer than the width of your tea towel, and blends or contrasts with the colours of  your towel. 
I eventually chose a pretty aqua floral because it picked up the aqua in the bird applique...

 Lay the raw edge of the binding across the raw edge of the pocket section you've just cut and sew together with a 1/4" seam... 

Fold in the sides of the binding so they sit level with the edge of the pocket and press with your iron...

Press the binding up and away from the pocket...

Fold it over to the back and pin so that the edge of the binding slightly overlaps and hides the seam line...

Turn the pocket over to the right side, and machine quilt in the ditch of the pocket and the binding...

 Put the pocket aside for now.

Cut two 24" lengths from the cotton twill tape...

With the remaining section of your tea towel -

Measure 1/2" down the sides from the raw edge, and sew one end of each piece of cotton twill tape to each wrong side edge of the tea towel...

Fold the raw edge over twice so that the end of the twill tape is hidden inside and pin...

Machine sew the hem just inside the bottom edge of the fold and up each side...

This is now the main section of your apron.
Press it flat, lay the pocket across the bottom and pin in place...

Attach the pocket to the main apron by sewing around the sides and bottom edge, just inside the natural hem of the tea towel.
 Sew two vertical seams from the base of the pocket to the edge of the binding trim. These should be equal widths apart measuring out from the centre of the pocket.
This will give you more than a single large pocket - which is much more useful.

Choose two buttons and contrast thread...

...and sew them in place at the top of your vertical pocket seams.

All done!
How easy was that?


 And now I'll get back to my secret stitching for February's Stitching Club patterns.
The theme next month is "Hooped!"
A little sneak peek... 

 Hugs


17 comments:

Leeanne said...

So pretty, but no good for someone like me................me in the kitchen? Well I need to wrap myself in plastic wrap some days.........I make such a mess!

selina said...

well where was this tut a few days ago!? am attempting to make an apron using an old as a guide, just copying it more or less but i'm not a sewer! am struggling with the border atm, it's just a 2 pocket half apron that we use for our markets money pouch & i just thought i'd 'give it a go'
love your sewing & am taking a little from your blog with the domesticity as mine really needs a lift
thanx for sharing!

Anonymous said...

That is so cute! I've never seen a tea towel like that here, but I'm going to be looking, you can be sure! Otherwise, I have plain ones, and I can applique something myself. It wouldn't be the same without something cute on there! I might have to use a Jenny design for my Year of Jenny. =) Thanks so much for sharing this bright and easy project. It will make a great gift for at least two friends!

Baa. xxx said...

Great tutorial! - pretty tea-towel

Girls Just Want to Have Fun! said...

I love this....thank you sharing it with a wonderful tutorial!!

Createology said...

How very clever of you to utilize the fabric trim and applique already on the purchased towel. Great little apron and will make a very nice gift...hostess and otherwise. Once again...Creative Domestic Bliss.

Nanna Chel said...

Thanks for that idea, Jenny. That is very pretty and doable as well.

Thoeria said...

Another fantastic idea Jenny :) I need to catch up on all your posts....I know I've missed some treasures!
Hope you and Mr E are well

Libster said...

I was just in spotlight buying some fusable stuff for my sparrow block and spied some tea towels! didnt see those nice ones but shall keep this in mind for gifts. thanks :)

KimM said...

What a delightful idea! Thank you for sharing.
xxx

Larissa said...

A very pretty 1/2 apron!! And another lovely tutorial!! Thank you sweetie!!! .. Do you have wonder clips? I find that pinning my binding with standard pins when hand stitching my binding down (which is the only way I do it ;) ) I end up sticking me at least once, without fail!! They are so handy!! Hugs xxx

TerriSue said...

This is so cute. For those of us not in Australia, so not able to go to Spotlight, if all you have is a plain towel I think Jenny's Daisy Chain Applique would be really nice on this one. Of course it does add to the amount of time you have to do for the apron. The more I think about it though I think I would rather make your Daisy Chain Towel into an apron more than a towel as it would last longer and I would be looking down and admiring your design on me constantly rather than just when drying dishes. You are clever beyond belief. Please give us an update on Mr. E and his new job tomorrow. How is it going? Is he liking it? Are you lonely, or is it nice having him out from underneath your feet? lol.

Ingrid said...

Hola Jenny!
Que reciclado tan lindo. Nunca se me hubiera ocurrido. A veces tengo repasadores para la cocina que me da mucha lástima utilizar porque son muy lindos. Me parece una estupenda idea la que nos compartes. Un abrazo!

Little Penpen said...

adorable!!

Águeda said...

Es muy bonito. Gracias por tu generosidad. Besos.

Tammy said...

This is sew cute and sew simple...But yet brilliant. Thank you for the tutorial.

https://www.morgan.hess.morgansquiltingandcuttingblog.com/search?q=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.morgan.hess.morgansquiltingandcuttingblog.com said...

Jenny, Thank you so much. I love to come and see what you are up to! You make such cute items. I love this half apron... and I have a sweet daughter, who loves to cook. I think I can make a couple for her, for the up coming year of holidays. Hugs Morgan oxoxoxoxo Friend of BJ's...