Art Apron ;)

Hi!

Apart from sewing, I love art and painting and messing around in the kitchen - and my aprons have suffered for it haha. Most of the aprons out there don't have deep pockets for my art brushes (those that do have them, are out of my price range!). So I decided to make one for myself from remnants that I already have.

What is needed:

(1) fairly heavy fabric : 0.5 metre (I think mine is easy wash cotton). I am only 5'0" so don't need a lot!

(2) any kind of fabric ribbon : 2 metres

(3) matching thread

(4) sewing machine

(5) patience! and coffee maybe :)

I forgot to take photos until I am halfway through the project (sorry!) and I only have a small amount of fabric, so it's a patchwork apron for me.

CUTTING:

There are basically 3 sections of fabric needed (measured in inches) :

(1) for the skirt (i.e. from the waist down) - 20 in x 22 in

(2) for the bib (i.e. to cover the chest) - 10 in (at the top) x 16 in (at the waist) x 12 in (drop)

(3) for the bib (i.e. to hold the ribbon in place) - 10 in (length) x 1.5 in (width)

(3) for the pockets - cut the rectangles as needed

OVERLOCKING:

Neatly overlock all the edges so the fabric doesn't fray.

SEWING:

I chose to fix the length of ribbon that goes over the head (you can also sew 2 separate pieces that can be tied together behind your neck).

Then I just straight-stitch the fabrics pieces together, including the bib to the skirt section, and all around the edges. I think I will try to make a video next time that will probably explain this better, sorry! :)

The is no exact science in the art of sewing haha. My mum says my style of sewing is similar to my style of cooking --> very "rustic" and "to taste" ;D

I just roughly put my hand where I think is a comfortable reach for my brushes (to measure the drop from the top of the bib) and place my long/short brushes on the fabric and cut accordingly (to measure how deep the pockets should be).

I normally stitch the pockets last, but this time I actually stitch the 2 side ribbons (to tie around the waist), last! so the ribbons won't get in the way when i stitch the pockets.

I would also stitch a triangle at the top of the pockets (see pic) to reinforce the opening and prevent it from tearing or coming apart too soon.

The ribbons get stitched last so they won't get caught when we stitch the different pieces of fabrics (and pockets) together.

This is a photo of me in my pristine-newly-handmade-bespoke-art apron. It is no longer pristine :P.

Have fun designing and sewing your own!! xox