Today we have a post from our sweet contributor Ana from The Lost Apron:
April is a great time to do some Spring Cleaning in your closet. It is also a perfect time to repurpose some old clothes that you are no longer wearing. I had a dress that I just couldn’t let go of (even though it was too short and a bit snug). I could not give it away. So I made it into an apron. Now I can re-love it.
How I made it:
All you need is a dress and basic sewing supplies. The dress I am using is lined, but yours does not have to be. It can have a waistline like this one or it can be straight. It you liked the shape of the dress, you will like the shape of the apron. My dress had a side zipper.
Cut the dress on both sides along the side seams. Cut through the lining also.
Don’t be afraid to do this. Remember, you were going to give this away!
Cut away the armholes and the neckline. This is the front of your apron. You can try on against yourself and adjust the top if necessary.
Use the back of the dress for the ties and a pocket. Because my dress had a seam at the waist, I cut off the skirt first. I will use the top for the pocket and the bottom for the straps. I folded the back in half along the back seam and cut 4 strips 3 1/4″ through both layers. I evened up the top and bottom edges. I sewed 4/8″ across all the bottom edges to give me 4 long strips.
I liked the back neckline of the dress, so I kept it for the top edge of the pocket. I cut the pocket 6X6″ and used a 4/8″ seam allowance. I sewed the pocket to the apron front.
I cut 2 of the strips 27″ for the neck ties and 2 strips 36″ for the waist ties. I folded the strips in half lengthwise and sewed 1/4″ across the bottom and along the edge of each strip. I turned each tie and pressed. Then I pinned the ties to the apron front as shown.
I put my lining front (that I cut when I cut the dress front) right side down over the apron front. I sewed around all the cut edges 1/4″ sewing in the straps. I kept the original hems. Note: If your dress was not lined, hem the apron front along all the edges before you sew on the straps.
I turned the apron right side out. Pressed the seams flat and topstitched 1/4″ around the sewn edges.
Read other ideas on repurposing clothing on Happy Earth Day.
Visit Resources Page for more patterns and notions.
My name is Ana Sullivan. I began my blog, The Lost Apron, because people would ask me for advice on parenting. My only qualifications for giving advice is that I have been there and I am proud of who my children have become. I have a daughter in college, a son and another daughter that are college graduates who are working and living on their own. I have been married for almost 30 years to a dream of a husband.
I have been a working mom, a part-time-work-at-home mom, and a stay-at-home mom. Although I have prefered being the SAHM, I try to write my blog in a way that would encourage all moms to be better moms. I hope to be the mentor mom to the young mom and the friend to the older moms and grandmothers. You can visit me over at Pinterest and Facebook.
