Shamrock Apron Tutorial
Background - I did this about a week ago, but didn't get a chance to sit down and type it up!
As it is nearing St. Patrick's Day, I am psyching myself up for the annual off-season volleyball tournament hosted by many gyms near my aunt's school. High school girls will play in these off-season teams to enhance their skills and many weekends are devoted to traveling to far-off cities to play in these tournaments; usually it involves traveling to a few gyms within the tournament. My aunt coaches volleyball at her high school, so I often will go and help run a concession stand to earn money for the school's team.
This particular tournament emphasizes St. Patrick's day, so I thought I'd make an apron to hold the concession stand money while still being festive! I will try to explain things clearly, but feel free to comment if you have questions. Also, it's pretty image-heavy, so dial up users beware!
TL;DR- I need a shamrock apron to collect money.
But the pattern can easily be adapted for other holidays/events, cooking aprons, gardening aprons, etc. For people who do a lot of fundraising for school, school colors would be lovely!
Supplies (clockwise from top)
Self-healing mat, see-through clear ruler, and rotary cutter
Two 1/3 yd cuts of fabrics, an inner fabric and an outer fabric
Interfacing (a piece approximately 22"x21", )
1 package extra wide double fold bias tape
seam ripper (just in case!)
Thread and bobbin (I used Coats & Clark Double Duty) in a matching color
Pins and pin magnet
Fabric clips
I chose two fabrics, a darker outer print with shamrocks, and a lighter inner fabric with wavy lines. This was for two reasons, one because I liked the multiple prints for the "main" fabric to be seen on the exterior of the fabric. The lighter inner fabric was chosen because it matched and because it would be easier to find the money in the pockets when the interior is of a lighter background. (I have done this on many purses in order that I might more easily find my keys!) Choose fabrics that have a pattern that makes "sense" when the selvage is held vertical. I used quilting cotton, so I needed quilting cotton for interfacing, but if you're making this out of heavier fabrics, like duck cotton or ticking, you wouldn't need it.
1)Cutting - I was given a wee bit more than 12" of fabric. So I cut a 12.25"x 20" piece (back piece) and a 11"x20" piece (front piece) from each fabric. These are called the 'back' and 'front' piece, regardless of if it is the exterior or interior fabric. If you get the standard 12", then you might have to make it a 12"x20" for the back pieces.
2)Pinning-Pin bottom of the exterior fabrics, right side together. Again, if you have a directional print, make sure the bottom of the print is pinned for both the front and the back side. You can see the yellow pins at the bottom, in the image below. Sew with a 3/8" seam.
Pin the bottom and sides of the interior fabric. I've found that when doing purses and bags, if you make the interior a smidge smaller, it fits easier. Therefore, I used a 1/2" seam allowance to sew the interior fabrics together. Obviously you won't be able to sew the top inch of fabric on the back piece.
Clip the corners of the interior fabric, so that when you turn it right-side out, it will form nice points.
3)Ironing-It seems like a wasted/useless step, but all bags turn out better when you iron! Iron the seams for the two pieces; the bottom of the exterior and all three edges of the interior. To do a really good job on the sides, I recommend use of a seam roll.
(all done with the ironing for at least a few steps!)
4) Interfacing-This step is optional for you. I used quilting cotton which isn't terribly heavy. If you used a more durable/heavy fabric like denim or bottomweight fabrics or duck, you can probably forgo this step! I also used fusible fleece. There were two reasons for this. One, I'm making this to hold a bunch of quarters and I like the padding, and two, I had it already on hand. (Guess which is more important!) At this point, I measured the exterior piece of fabric that has been sewn (and ironed) along the bottom.
As you can see from the picture, it's approximately 22" x 20". I cut the piece of interfacing 22"x 19.5". This way the sides will each have approximately .25" not interfaced, which will be within the seam allowance.
I ironed the interfacing (following the instructions!) to the wrong side of the exterior fabric. Since I want to make sure it's securely adhered, and because I want to have a nice crisp bottom edge, I decided to stitch in the ditch of the bottom seam. The wrong side of the exterior fabric is the fusible fleece, so I pinned a strip of the fabric on the fleece to give the feed dogs some traction. (Don't try to sew with fusible fleece on the bottom, it makes the feed dogs very unhappy)
This is the image of the strip of fabric on the interfaced exterior fabric. I pinned the strip in place and turned it over so the exterior fabric was on top, then stitched in the ditch over the bottom seam.
(sewing machine in all its glory!)
5) Finish the exterior-If you added interfacing, sew the two side seams of the exterior fabric with wrong sides together and a 3/8" seam allowance.
6)Sewing interior and exterior together-
Flip the interior fabric pouch right-side out, keeping the exterior fabric wrong-side out. Place the interior inside the exterior, so the fabrics are right-side together. Align the top of the front pieces and the top of the back pieces of the interior and exterior fabrics. At this point I definitely used the fabric clips, as there was interfacing and it was easier.
(Top of the back piece is underneath and to the left of my hand. The bottom seam is on the right. The clips are aligning the top of the two front pieces. Yes, the lining is fairly thin, but it *is* inside-out)
Sew together the 1" side, turn at 90 degrees, sew the top of the front piece, turn again at 90 degrees and sew up the 1" side. DO NOT SEW THE TOP OF THE BACK PIECES TOGETHER. There are no clips along the top of the back piece, because you need the top of the back pieces unsewn so you can flip it.
7) Flip 'er!
Flip the interior and exterior pieces right-side-out through the top of the back piece. Then place the interior on the inside of the pouch formed by the exterior fabric. If it looks like you have sewn it correctly, flip it back to the seams, and you may want to clip a notch at the 90 degree angles you made at the corner of the side and top-front seams. (Clip a small notch into the seam allowance at a 45 degree angle towards the right angle, this doesn't remove any fabric, but allows the fabric to form the right angle after you've flipped it.
8) Iron again!
As I said earlier, it really makes the difference in how "finished" the final product is. (And at this point, it's totally worth the hassle of making it look nice after you've already spent the 3 hours on it!)
(side seam, see how nice you can get the right angle?!)
Press the side seams and the top seam of the front piece really well.
Optional - I edge-stitched the side seam and the top of the front piece seam with an 1/8" seam to really fortify those nice edges and to give a bit more structure.
Be sure to push the bottom corners out for the exterior fabric and push the interior corners out as far as possible so it sits nicely. You're almost done, promise! If the top of the back pieces don't line up, take a moment to even it out so it's nice and flat across. (Mine actually looked pretty good!)
9)Meet in the middle-
Find the halfway point in the width of the apron. Mark this with a water-soluable marker or set of pins. Sew a line down the middle of the top piece, through to the other side, so you have two pockets in the front.
Take your double-fold bias tape, putting it around your waist, tie a loose bow behind you. Leaving enough extra to allow for ease of tying the bow and an extra inch, cut off the excess. Now measure the midpoint of the bias tape.
10)Bias isn't a bad thing-
Placing the midpoint of the bias tape above the midpoint of the apron, sandwich the top of the back piece (both the exterior and interior) between the bias tape. If you look carefully in the image below, I've sewn the dividing line that will give me pockets in the front, which indicates the midpoint of the apron. The clip indicates the midpoint of the bias tape. I carefully sandwiched the bias tape around the top of the back pieces at this point.
(Clips will work wonders here to make sure the bias tape stays in place!)
Pin or clip the bias tape along the length of the apron. Continue to pin or clip the bias tape to the end. When you reach the end of the tape, fold in the edge 1/2" so you'll have a nice end. Repeat on the other side.
11) Just keep sewing-Starting the end of the bias tape, start on the short, folded end. Using an 1/8" seam, stitch close the folded end. Rotate the bias tape 90 degrees, along the open end of the tape, and keep stitching the open edge closed. When you get to the section with the apron, keep going, making sure to catch the back of the bias tape with the thread. This will neatly cover any open seams. Continue to the end, also stitching over the folded-edge to ensure the bias tape has no open edges.
12) Admire!This is the finished product!
13) Thank your helpers!I'd like to thank the academy my sewing machine and my sewing buddy-
She kept me company throughout the entire project!
Lessons learned-
My interior fabric was printed not-quite-perpendicular to the selvage. I was stuck with trying to decide if I follow the grain or the pattern. As it was, I figured I'd be fine if it was a bit skewed.
Going slowly meant I did not actually need to use my seam ripper. Hurrah.
This pattern actually works. It was my first-pancake attempt.
I forgot to clip the exterior fabric when I sewed the sides. Oops!
I've actually already used it by this point, and it worked *great*. I got several compliments on it! I left it with my grandma, though I should have probably made the bias tape longer as grandma's not quite proportioned like I am.
Constructive criticism or questions are welcome!
Cross-posted to my blog.