Mr. Chef Boys Apron Tutorial

The Gourmet Feathers collection by Ellen Crimi Trent for Clothworks has the cutest prints for making kitchen accessories. The fun illustrations also make it perfect for kids items. I couldn't resist creating a fun apron for younger chefs with these fabrics. It just seemed calling my name.

Supplies:

Main fabric(SKU Y1056-37) - half yard
Coordinating fabric for waist ties, bias tape, bow-tie and hem (SKU Y1056-34) - half yard
Coordinating fabric for faux collars , neckband(SKU Y1055- 1) - 10 inches
Coordinating panel print for pocket (SKU Y1052-32) - 10 inches
Coordinating grosgrain ribbon - 5 inches
Stick On Velcro tabs - 1 set

Pattern:
Download the 3 page Mr. Chef Apron pdf pattern here.
Print on 8.5 X11 inches paper.
Tape together pages 1 and 2 to get the body of the apron. ( Note that the line below B on page 2 has been blurred during scan but it is just a straight line starting at B and going all the way to the bottom of the page.
Cut pieces according to the instructions on pattern pieces.

Construction:

Cut out the body and collar pieces from the pattern. Turn the two straight sides of the collar quarter inch on the wrong side and sew. ( See the pic above)
Remember that this tangerine fabric is directional so take care to cut it such that the print is in the right direction.

Place the collars on the main body and sew on all four sides.

Cut out two panels from the panel print with half inch fabric around them.

Fold the fabric in half such that one panel lies exactly above the other. Sew along the panel boundary on three raw sides. Leaving a gap of one inch to turn out. Snip corners.

Turn out. Poke corners with a sharp object ( like a pencil) and iron.

Place the pocket two and a half above the hemline of the apron and pin in the center. Sew along the three sides.

Now sew both the sides quarter inch onto their wrong sides. Start below the armhole curve and go all the way up to the hem.
Now sew both the sides 3/8 inch on themselves again.

Use quarter yard of coordinating fabric to make double sided bias tape. I cut 2.25 inches wide and 84 inches long strips to make the bias tape.

Sew the bias tape along the 'armholes' of the apron.

Start with the neckline and go all the way to the waist, once you reach there, just sew the bias tape on itself to make waist ties. Finish the ends of waist ties by folding the end half an inch towards the wrong side and ironing onto itself.
Sew a seam along the shorter edge of the tape.

Now finish sewing the waist ties by folding the tape back and sewing along the longer edge.

Sew the neckband pieces along three sides ( right sides together). Snip notches along the curve and snip out the corners for a better finish when you turn it right side out.

Turn right side out. fold the raw edges quarter inch inside. Iron.

Place the neckband over the apron neck. Align the center of apron to the center of the neckband. Pin it in place if needed. Now sew a seam along the raw edge of neckband, go slow and make sure your seam is going through all the layers.

For the bow-tie cut a rectangle 7.5 inchesX 3 inches. Now sew to short ends together ( right sides together). Now make this seam the center of the tube and along the longer ends, leaving a gap of one inch, to make a rectangle as shown above. Snip the corners.

Turn out. Sew the opening shut. Now use the ribbon piece to pinch the center of the bow-tie. Hand-sew the ribbon at the back.

Tack the bow-tie in the center of the neckband by hand-sewing it in place.

To finish the hemline, take a fabric of the same width as main apron + 1 inch and
7.5 inches wide. Iron it in half along the width. Now sew both 10 inch sides half inch onto themselves towards the wrong side. From this point we would sew this fabric at the hem just like a bias tape ( a really wide one). Again, remember that this blue fabric is also directional so take care to sew such that the print is in the right direction. I actually made the mistake of sewing it upside down and wasted some time to fix it.

Now just like the bias tape, first sew wrong sides together ( with 1/2 inch margin).

And then fold it towards the wrong side ( use the crease that you ironed earlier as a guide). Fold it just above the seam you had sewn in previous step and sew a seam as close to the seam in previous step.

Stick on the velcro tabs on the neckband. Its better to do it after measuring the child's neck, or you could stick 2 sets for adjustable neckband. I had to cut my stick-on velcro tabs in half to fit into the neckband so you may need to do the same.