T-shirt Apron Tutorial #freefromtrash

Today is the first day of July and the first day of my Upcycled Crafting Challenge. The first day is to create something using t-shirts. Many of you may wonder where I get my patterns from. I usually make them up by looking at pictures or by looking at items I see in the stores.

Today I started with a quick Pinterest search for ‘Aprons‘ and decided I wanted a full apron and not just the one that goes around the waist.

Here is a list of materials you’ll need to complete this project:

3+ large t-shirts (I used 3 of my husbands old shirts)
scissors (invest in some good sewing scissors, mine are lost at the moment)
straight pins
sewing machine
thread (I used only 1 color but you may want to change it up to coordinate with your fabric)
iron and ironing board
Optional: an extra needle in case you break one like I did!

I started by sketching a pattern on some old newspaper. I used my own measurements to decide how wide and long I wanted it.

After I cut my pattern out on newspaper I “tried it on” to make sure the sizes would fit. Then I began to cut out my fabric. Don’t forget to leave some margin around the edge to fold over and sew. I ironed the seams to make it easier to sew since t-shirt material tends to roll when it’s been cut. Then I began to pin my pieces together. Once I got all of the pieces together I began to sew the top of the apron first. I only sewed the edging on the sides and the top at this time.

Before I attached the top and bottom I finished the edges of the sides and bottom, leaving the top raw. Next I attached the top and bottom together using the waist band. The waist band is 2 pieces of t-shirt that measure twice around your body, leaving enough for a flowing tie in the back. Once I had the top and bottom attached I decided I wanted to add ruffles. Using a white t-shirt I created strips (similar to the ones I showed with the grey above) and attached them using a gathered approach. I simply tucked and folded pieces of the white and pinned it to the bottom. Once I had the desired look I sewed the ruffle on the bottom part. I used 3 pieces of white and needed a little extra. Remember that when you gather like this the strips that were once too long are now much shorter. Finally I sewed a black seam around the outer edge of the white for some decoration.

I added the strap at the top using the same grey fabric that I used on the waist. After looking at the finished piece I think I want to add a small pocket and a bow (or two) to make it a little more girlie (not like the ruffles aren’t girlie). I realized that I can’t sew a straight line to save my life. I also realized that when your fabric is really thick that you shouldn’t force it…I ended up breaking the needle and can’t figure out where I placed the spare ones.

Want to learn more about crafting with t-shirts? Here is a past post I did that shows some more of my t-shirt creations and gives you some suggestions for t-shirt crafting books.

How many t-shirts do you own? How many of those do you actually wear? And what do you do with them when you don’t want them anymore?