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You will need the front and back bodice pieces from a dress that you make. It is really just for the basic pattern
so it doesn't have to be a particular dress. Make sure that it fits you and the waist line is accurate for your size.
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| Front and Back Bodice Pieces |
Take the front bodice piece and fold the pattern diagonally from the
outside shoulder to the point at the waist that you want it. I try to keep my shoulder seam about 5 to 6 inches
wide from the neckline. For Olivia we keep it about 4 inches.
Do the same with the back bodice making sure that you keep the shoulder
seams equal on the front and on the back pieces.
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| Fold the outside edges under as shown |
| Measuring Side to Side Of Waist For Skirt Width |
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The skirt part of the apron
is a rectangle of fabric - the length you want (from the waist) and wide as your waist about 1 1/2 times (it is gathered
just to go in the front.) You can use the skirt pattern piece from your dress to help you keep lines straight but it
isn't necessary to have a pattern piece. Just cut the rectangle using the measurements.
You make the
waistband as long as you like. If you want a tie apron then you will cut the fabric double your waist measurement.
If you want it to button then you just add about 8 inches and this will give you room to fold under and make button
holes on one end and sew buttons on the other.
You want to cut the waistband
double the width that you want it so that when you fold it over to sew it is the right finished width. We have found that skinny waistbands do not look as nice and so we keep ours wide - finished 2 to 3 inches.
So we cut the fabric about 5 to 6 inches wide.
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| Marking the width of waistband |
Make sure that when you pin your front bodice down to your fabric that you pin the center fold on the fold line of the
material. You can play around with the placement of the pieces to have as little waste as possible when cutting - (this
picture is not normally the placement we use but for the website it shows better.)
Here is the fabric pieces that you will use to construct the apron.
First, you sew the back bodice pieces together
at the center seam leaving about 3 inches at the top for getting it over your head. We sew a hook and eye to close this.
Sew the back bodice to the front bodice at the shoulder seams.
| Hem Outer Edges Of Bodice |
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Fold the outside edges of the front and back bodice under 1/4 inch and then 1/2 inch and sew down for the
outside hem. Do this on both sides.
For the neck area we fold it under 1/4 inch and 1/4 inch again and sew down for hem around the neck. You
do this all the way around.
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| Neck Edge Hemmed Rightside View |
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This is how the neck looks once it is hemmed all the way around.
| Neck Opening In Back Hemmed |
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For the opening you left at the back - you just turn under 1/4 inch and 1/4 inch again and hem it down. This is
where you will sew a hook and eye at the top to keep it closed.
| Back side neck edge close-up |
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Here is a picture of the bodice part of your apron finished. The outside edges have been hemmed and the neck edges
have been hemmed.
| Fold Waist Band In Half and Sew |
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To prepare your waistband,
you will fold it in half lengthwise (like a hotdog) and then sew the long open edge. You can sew one end closed if you
like or leave them open and sew them shut later. I leave one end open for turning.
| Fold Ends of Waistband In And Sew |
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| Use A BroomStick to Turn Waistband |
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| Bodice Pinned to Waistband |
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Pin the bodice front to the waistband - you will need to put the bodice on the person who will wear it and pin it so
that the waistband can tie or button under the arm. You do the same thing with the back of the bodice. It is much
better to pin it while it is on the person. This way you don't have the back of the bodice off center.
| Skirt Sides and Bottom Hem |
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Next prepare your "skirt". Hem
sides and bottom and then gather the top to the measurement where you want your skirt to extend around your front.
| Skirt Hemmed and Gathered |
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| Underside of Waistband with Bodice and Skirt |
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Here you can see how we sew the bodice to the top underside of the waistband and the "skirt" to the bottom of the waistband.
(If you are adding length to the bodice for future adjustments for a child then you can just fold that and sew it in with
the bodice seam.)
| Bodice and Skirt sewn to waistband |
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| Olivia In Her New Apron |
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| Thanks so much Sarah! I love it!!! |
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