A Handmade Season of Giving - A Reversible Apron
Michelle Burke
Last year I decided I would make as many gifts as I could to give as Christmas gifts. In this, "A Handmade Season of Giving" blog series, I am featuring some of the gifts that I am giving this year or have given in the past. All of them are quick and easy to make! Today I am featuring a reversible apron that I love to make and give as a gift.
Giving an apron to a someone who likes to cook is always a much-appreciated gift! I have received aprons as gifts (thanks Mom) and I have made them for myself and others. My favorite apron pattern is Mary Mulari’s Favorite Reversible Apron Pattern. This butcher style apron includes a pocket or two and an adjustable Velcro neck strap. I have made this apron many times and it is a fast and fun sewing project. You only need two 1 yard pieces of cotton fabric, although I sometimes use another small piece of fabric or two to make the pockets.
I like just having one pocket (where my phone lives while I cook) and I either reverse the pocket fabric (fabric #1 pocket sewn onto the side of the apron made with fabric #2) or I use a completely different fabric for the pockets on each side. The only other alteration I have made to this pattern is that I usually sew the straps together at the neck or if I want it to be adjustable, I put a button or two on one strap and a button hole or two on the other strap. The pattern instructs you to put Velcro on the neck straps and I have made the apron this way as well and it works very well, I just prefer buttons.
My daughters made these aprons for themselves when they were around the ages of 12 & 14. They really had fun picking out fabrics and sewing them up. They also added buttons to the pockets and sewed on a feature piece of their fabric near the top to add even more personality to their aprons.
I didn’t make aprons this year for gifts, but I have made them before for a Christmas craft fair at my church. I also made a Christmas-themed apron for my Mom for her birthday present a couple years ago – her birthday is at the end of November so she had it in time to wear for all her holiday baking and cooking.
I can make one apron, from cutting the fabric out to finished apron in about 1½ to 2 hours. It is important to prewash the fabric so that it is preshrunk before you cut the apron. If the cook you are giving this gift to is anything like me, the apron will be washed several times in its lifetime. I am a messy cook - the reason I wear an apron!
An apron can be a fun gift to include in a combination gift that includes a favorite recipe and a wooden spoon or two. You could also add a coordinated dishtowel! That brings us to the next blog post in this series – adding some fabric and trims to a dishtowel to make a pretty custom dishtowel, perfect for giving as a gift! Watch for the next blog post coming soon!!!