Wednesday, September 2, 2015

Craft Fair Apron Tutorial

Hey there!  How have you been?  Around here we are gearing up for craft show season to start in about a month (eeek!).  Nicole from No Time for DIY (check her out, she's awesome) and I will be hitting the circuit together.  I've done craft shows before, but it's been a while, so I thought I would give you guys a glimpse into how we put things together along the way.





Last week, I decided to make us some pretty craft fair aprons. I had found a few tutorials online that I liked, but they weren't exactly what I was looking for.  I wanted to make something really sturdy, that will last a long time.  I liked the basic structure and size of this one at Sugar Bee Crafts, but I wanted it to be heavier weighted, and I made a couple of tweaks to the stitching.  The back and pockets are lined with canvas! I tend to stick pointy things in my pockets, so this should help the apron hold up to my day-to-day abuse.  Here's what I used:

Duck Canvas (a light blue-ish-grey color is what I used) in the following cuts:
12"x19"
8.5" x 19"
6" x 19"

Pretty fabric cuts:
12 "x 19"
6" x 19"

Solid color cuts:
8.5" x 19"
3.5" x 3 yards (or whatever length you prefer for the ties) Made into bias tape.  (Alternatively, you could purchase the appropriate amount of pre-made 1" double-fold bias tape from the store).

I forgot to take pics of making the bias tape, but here is a pretty good tutorial for making bias tape with a bias tape maker


Have all of your pieces cut? You do? Good Job!

First we're going to work on the pockets.  Lay your 6" piece of canvas down and lay your 6" piece of pretty fabric face down on top.  Line up all the edges and clip or pin in place.

Sew a 1/4" seam across the top (long) edge of your fabric.

Then flip your fabric so that the right sides are facing out.  Iron your seam flat.

Top stitch 1/4" along your nice, neat edge.  Isn't that pretty?

Repeat with your 8.5" pocket pieces.  Lay your canvas down with the solid color piece on top. Sew, iron, flip, topstitch.

Lay your 8.5" finished pocket down, face up, with your 6" pocket on top, also face up.  Line the bottom (raw) edges up together and clip or pin:

Now we are going to sew the pocket dividers.  First, find the center line (black dotted line below).  This should be 9.5" from either side. Make a mark at the center point of the bottom of the 6" piece and at the top of the 8.5" piece.  Draw a line connecting these points using a marking pencil.  Now measure 4.75" from either side and draw a line only on the 6" piece (See the blue dotted lines below).  This will give you 2 big pockets on the top row and 4 smaller pockets on the bottom row.

Sew the outer pockets (blue lines) from the bottom to the top of the line.  Do not sew the center line yet. 

When you get to the top edge of the pocket, sew just over the edge, backstitch to your topstitching line, and stitch back up again.  This will secure your pocket and prevent the pocket from pulling apart with frequent use.

Ok, lay down your large piece of patterned fabric, face up.  Lay your pocket piece down on top, lining up the bottom edges, and pin/ clip.  Now sew the center pocket line from the bottom up, and don't forget to backstitch like you did on the outer pockets.

Yay, your front panel is done!  Now, lay your large canvas piece down and flip your front panel face down on top of it.  Line up all of your edges (make sure all the pockets are laying flat and lined up with the edges).  Pin or clip all the way around. 

 Starting at the top right-hand corner, sew 1/4" seam down the right side, across the bottom, and up the left side. Do not sew across the top edge.  Backstitch at the beginning and end.  When you get to the corners, make sure that your needle is down and pivot the fabric.  Clip the bottom corners being careful not to cut through the stitching, and turn the fabric right side out.  Press all of your seams flat and top stitch 1/4" on the seams you just made.

All that's left is to add your ties!  Find the center of your bias tape piece and the center of your apron panel.  tuck the top raw edges into the  bias tape, lining up your center points.  Clip in place.

At the ends of your bias tape strip, fold the edge over 1/4" and stitch down.  This will give your ties finished ends. Fold up the bias tape again.

Sew 1/4" along the bottom (open) edge of the bias tape, from end to end.

Then sew 1/4" along the top edge, again along the entire length of the bias tape.

And that's it!  You. Are. Finished!  I made a red one for Nicole:

and a purple one for me!

These aprons are perfect for craft fairs, but they are also great for gardening, painting or other crafting, cleaning, etc.  The list could go on forever, and we all know how I love lists!

Let me know what you think!  Are you going to make one of these great aprons?  I'd love to see your creations!

~Melissa

7 comments:

  1. Very nice look. I will show this to my wife. Thanks for the post! ;)

    ReplyDelete
  2. You're so crafty! I love what you did :) Thanks for sharing at the Welcome Home Wednesday link party---I really hope we see you again next week!

    ReplyDelete

Keep it nice, ya'll!