Surprise the special gardener in your life with an easy-to-sew apron that holds all the essentials.
Note: For this craft, use painter's tape instead of pins to avoid marring the material. Remove the tape as you sew.
Tools and Materials
- Apron pattern
- Printer, legal-sized paper
- Tape
- Scissors
- Ruler
- 1 yard leatherette or vinyl
- Sewing machine
- Leather machine-sewing needle
- Nonstick foot (optional: may be necessary for some types of material)
- Heavyweight coordinating polyester thread
- Screw punch
- One small eyelet and eyelet setter
- Scrap piece of cardboard
- Painter's tape
- 3 yards 1-inch-wide twill tape
- Five 1-inch D-rings
- Rivet kit
Garden Apron How-To
1. Download and print apron pattern on legal-size paper. Tape the first five pattern pages together, lining up dotted lines, to make one complete apron pattern. Cut out apron pattern on the solid lines. Cut the apron pocket template from the sixth page of the pattern.
2. Fold material in half lengthwise, and place the long straight edge of the apron pattern on the fold. Cut main apron piece from folded material with scissors. Place apron pocket pattern on a scrap of material, and cut pocket piece.
3. Fit sewing machine with a leather needle and nonstick foot (if necessary), and thread with heavyweight thread.
4. Fold and hem the top edge of the pocket piece about 1/4 inch. In one top corner, punch a hole and set an eyelet.
5. Cut a 1-inch-wide strip of cardboard and place on the center of the pocket. Pleat each side of pocket inward over strip, meeting in the middle. Secure temporarily with a few pieces of painter's tape. Remove cardboard guide from center.
6. Place pocket on top of apron piece, 9 3/4 inches from the bottom and centered. Tape in place. Sew around pocket bottom and sides, about 1/4 inch from edge. Sew a seam through center pleat, dividing pocket into halves. Remove tape.
7. Sew a decorative straight seam all around edge of apron piece, about 1/4 inch from edge.
8. Cut twill tape into three 1-yard ties. Hem one end of each. Fold the other end of each tie over the curved side of a D-ring, and sew in place, attaching rings to tape.
9. Fold one side tab on the apron over the straight side of a D-ring on one of the ties. Punch two holes through tab, and insert male sides of two rivets into holes. Cover with female sides of rivets on backside, and set both with rivet-setting tool and hammer. Repeat for opposite side tab.
10. Secure the third tie to one of the tabs at the neck with rivets, as you did with the others. Fold the remaining neck tab over two additional D-rings (without twill tape) and secure with rivets. Thread the tie from one side of the neck through the doubled D-rings to make an adjustable neck strap.
Resources
Screw punch available from Martha Stewart Crafts. Rivet kit from Tandy Leather Factory available at Michaels. All other tools and materials available at most sewing-supply and crafts stores.
