Our newest tutorial comes from KCEtsy Team Member and sewer, Lori Rio of
ditda.etsy.com. Her apron skirt is a quick, fun project to make for a little girl in your life. Perfect for Spring.
Lori says,"
I love the way the apron gives another dimension to this skirt. It is such an adorable look and it is so easy to make you’ll want to make one for every little girl you know!"
All seams are 1/4". Measurements are in inches.
First, cut out your pattern pieces:
Cut 2 for Main skirt: 18” X 7.5” (contrast 1)
Cut 1 for Yolk: 12.5” X 5.5” (contrast 1)
Cut 2 for Hem: 18” X 7.5” (contrast 2)
Cut 1 for Apron piece: 14” X 9.5” (overall size) (contrast 3)
Cut overall size of apron if you do NOT want a contrasting band on the apron.
Cut the following pieces if you want a contrasting band on apron:
14” X 7” (contrast 3)
14” X 1.5” (contrast 2)
14” X 2” (contrast 3)
For the elastic, I used 3/4" X 18". You can also measure the waist of the child and add 1".
With right sides together, sew the 2 Main Skirt pieces together at the short end of the cut. Do this for both short ends. At this point you can either serge or finish the ends however you want.
Next, sew 2 Hem pieces together at the short end of the cut (same as the Main Skirt). You do not have to finish the edges on the Hem because we will be folding them in.
With right sides together, sew the short ends of the Yolk together.
Just like the Main Skirt, you can serge the end or finish it however you please.
Next, match the unfinished edges of the Hem, wrong sides together, and press. Be sure to match your seams. Do this around the entire Hem.
When finished, it should look like a giant headband that would fit Godzilla if Godzilla had hair…and was real.
Now for the Apron. If you do not want a contrasting band on the Apron, then go ahead and hem one of the 14” edges and the two adjacent sides.
If you chose a contrasting band then with right sides together, attach the 14” X 1.5” (contrast 2) band to the 14” X 7” (contrast 3) piece. Finish the edges (the part you just sewed) however you prefer and iron seam down. With right sides together attach the remaining 14” X 2” (contrast 3) Apron piece to the existing piece you just sewed together. Finish the edges however you prefer (again, the edges you just sewed) and be sure to iron your seams down. Top stitch both sides. Now hem the 14” side of the apron and the 2 adjacent sides.
With right sides together and matching seams, match the unfinished edge of your Hem with the unfinished edge of your Main Skirt. You can serge the two pieces together or finish it off however you prefer.
Once attached, top stitch the Main Skirt and Hem portion. Top stitching makes your piece look professional and finished.
Now for the fun part: ruffling. You can ruffle the skirt however you please. I actually have a ruffler foot. Have I used it? Don't be silly, I've had it for 4 months and still have no clue as to its uses, so I ruffle the way I’ve always known to: gather stitch the top portion of the Main Skirt piece and pull the thread to gather. I usually gather stitch each side separately. This enables me to evenly distribute one side instead of an entire skirt at a time.
With right sides together, attach the Apron to the Yolk of the skirt, 1" from the the Yolk seams. You will need to lightly pleat it.
Now with right sides together, attach the ruffled skirt to the Yolk making sure that the ruffles are evenly distributed (you wouldn't want a left-heavy skirt, would you?) and stitch, finishing off the edges in what ever manner you fancy.
Once the skirt is attached to the yolk, do I really need to tell you to top stitch? Nah, you know.
Fold in a 1/4" on the top, unfinished side of the yolk. Press, then fold over again to accommodate whichever size of elastic you are using. I used a 3/4" elastic so I folded the fabric over just at 1". Stitch all around leaving a 1" opening to insert the elastic. The easiest way I found was to attach a safety pin to the end of the elastic and pull it through.
Once through, zigzag stitch the elastic ends together and close off the entry.
Now sit back and marvel at the pretty skirt you just made!
Thanks Lori for a great project! As always when you try one of our team members tutorials, we'd love it if you come back and share a picture!
Find Lori specializes in purses, tote bags, and children's clothing. You can find her on
Etsy and keep up with her on
facebook, twitter and her
blog.
Red Applique Clutch by ExcessoriesKC
1. If you're like me and hate to waste anything, you'll understand why all my extra paint on a palette ends up randomly swiped on scrap papers. This way I have a stack of them to use in future projects. Using scraps or painted papers like these, cut out leaf or petal shapes.
2. I even used lace scraps. Next, lay them out on a piece of paper and using india or other watery ink to draw all over them with the dropper or a calligraphy pen set.
5. Take the small circle and layer with a transparent image. Here I used a transparent Altered Pages butterfly. Sew 4 even lines (in pie sections) through the small circle and image. Then, take butterfly circle, lay on top of the sandwiched flower piece circles and sew around the edge of the small circle to connect the layers perfectly.
6. Turn over the whole piece and handstitch a length of sheer ribbon to the back as a hanger for your new flower!
