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Shabby Chic Pillowcase Apron
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Shabby Chic Pillowcase Apron |
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Turn a regular old pillowcase into a
sweet, chic apron.
Light-stitching embroidery along the
hem, along with ruffles, lace, and a
crazy-quilt pocket, bring this
project one-of-a-kind charm.
Read
below for these free project
instructions. |
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Supplies Needed:
**One
standard pillowcase
**1/4 yard printed cotton for
bottom ruffle
**2/3
yard cotton eyelet trim
**2/3 yard fabric ruffle trim
**Small scraps of printed cotton
for pocket
**Sheer cutaway stabilizer (we
used Sulky Soft 'n' Sheer;
Floriani No Show Mesh is
another popular choice) or
tear-away stabilizer - see
Embroidering on Pillowcases
for more information
**Temporary spray adhesive
**Air-erase pen (or other
marking
tool)
**Border embroidery design
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Cut the pillowcase open along
the seamed and folded edges so
that you have two identical
pieces. One of these pieces will
be used to make the body of the
apron, and the other will be
used to make the ties.
Take one of these pieces and use
a seam ripper to undo the hem.
Cut this piece of fabric into
thirds, the long way. These
strips will be stitched
end-to-end to make the apron's
waistband and ties.
To make the body of the apron,
fold one of the pillowcase
pieces in half the short way,
and cut along the fold. You can
make this piece longer or
shorter if desired. The hem of
the pillowcase will be along the
bottom of the apron.
Keep the remaining fabric piece
to use later in making the
pocket.
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Create paper templates of the
design by printing it at full
size using embroidery software.
If you don't have embroidery
software, you can cut a piece of
paper the shape and dimensions
of the design to help with
placement and centering. If
you'd like a recommendation for
an embroidery program that can
make templates, consider Embird
from
www.Embird.com.
Poke a hole in the center of the
templates, and position them
where you would like the designs
along the hem of the pillow. Use
an air-erase pen to mark the
center and crosshairs for each
design.
We used the owl border design
twice to reach all the way
across the hem of the pillow.
Check out this article
for tips on lining up and
stitching borders.
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Spray a piece of sheer cutaway or
tear-away
stabilizer with temporary spray
adhesive, and smooth the fabric on
top. Make sure the stabilizer is big
enough to allow hooping for the
designs. |
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Hoop the fabric and stabilizer
together by aligning the marks on
the hoop with the lines on the
fabric. Attach the hoop to the
machine and load the first design.
Move the hoop so that the needle is
aligned with the center point on the
fabric. Embroider the design. |
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Trim or tear away the stabilizer
on the back of the embroidery.
As you finish the apron, take
care not to steam the embroidery
while pressing - it can cause
puckering. Use only a dry iron. |
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Fold the hem back the way it was
originally, and stitch in place.
This will hide the stabilizer
and the back of the embroidery. |
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Fold over each side edge of the
apron 1/4 inch, then 1/4 inch
again. Press. Stitch in place. |
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Take the three long strips for
the apron waistband/ties, and
pin them end-to-end, right sides
together. Stitch and press open
seams. |
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Press under each end of the long
fabric strip 1/4 inch, then
press under the long edges. Fold
the strip in half the long way,
and press. |
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Pin the body of the apron to the
waistband strip as shown,
matching centers and overlapping
by about 1/2 inch. |
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Fold down the front edge of the
waistband strip, and pin in
place, sandwiching eyelet trim
between the front edge of the
apron and the front of the
strip. |
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Sew along all open edges of the
waistband/tie strip to close it
off and attach the apron and
trim. |
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To make the bottom ruffle, fold
the 1/4 yard piece of printed
cotton in half the long way,
right sides together. Stitch
along the ends and long edge of
this piece, leaving a gap for
turning. |
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Clip corners, turn, poke out
corners, and press.
Using a long machine stitch, sew
all the way along the non-seamed
edge of the ruffle piece, 1/2
inch from the edge. Stitch again
1/4 inch from the edge. Do not
backstitch at the beginning or
the end. Pull both threads on
one side of the ruffle piece to
gather. See
this project for more
details on gathering the ruffle. |
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Pin the ruffle to the bottom
edge of the apron as shown,
spacing out the gathers to match
the width of the apron. Pin a
piece of fabric ruffle trim in
between the two layers. |
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Stitch across the bottom of the
apron to hold the ruffles in
place. |
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Cut a 5 inch wide by 6 inch high
piece of fabric for the pocket.
To cover the pocket with crazy
patchwork, take a small piece of
fabric and lay it on top of the
pocket rectangle, right sides
together, at any angle you like.
Stitch in place along an edge,
flip and press. |
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Continue adding fabric in this
manner, one piece at a time,
until the pocket piece is
covered with irregular
patchwork. Trim away the excess
fabric around the edges of the
rectangle. |
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Cut a piece from the remaining
pillowcase fabric the same size
and shape as the
patchwork-covered pocket. Lay
the two pieces right sides
together and stitch around the
edges, leaving a gap for
turning. |
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Clip corners, turn, and press.
Stitch all the way around the
edge of the pocket rectangle.
Position the pocket on the apron as
desired, and stitch around sides
and bottom to hold it in place.
Stitch back and forth a couple
of times at the top corners to
reinforce. |
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Size: 3.05 x 11.76 (77.5 x 298.7 mm)
Stitch count: 12777
Price: $3.99
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Size: 2.44 x 9.37 (62.0 x 238.0 mm)
Stitch count: 9639
Price: $3.49
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Size: 1.79 x 6.86 (45.5 x 174.2 mm)
Stitch count: 7191
Price: $2.99
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Size: 3.05 x 11.76 (77.5 x 298.7 mm)
Stitch count: 12377
Price: $3.99
|
Size: 2.44 x 9.37 (62.0 x 238.0 mm)
Stitch count: 9649
Price: $3.49
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|
Size: 1.79 x 6.86 (45.5 x 174.2 mm)
Stitch count: 7195
Price: $2.99
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