I've had this idea for a kid's apron made from charm pack squares for a very long time, and I finally made it for C!
I had a charm pack of Robert Kaufman's Farm to Table, from which C had selected her favorite prints for this project. This was maybe . . . a year ago? Fast forward to last-ish week, when I decided it was time to DO IT!
I designed the pattern myself, which I had initially traced off an anonymous handmade toddler apron that both E and she outgrew. I enlarged it to fit her, and to play nicely with charm squares. ;) I like this design a lot, so I plan to (eventually) offer the pattern in three sizes in the Dorybird shop! THAT will take more work, so it's not happening just yet!
Let's look at how this apron came together!
First I laid out the squares I wanted in a good placement.
The top three are for the bodice. C said they were her very favorites!
I wanted a pocket on the front, "hiding" amongst the squares. I decided to simply applique it on.
The pocket will be the bottom two rows in the middle, so I switched out those squares with some other generic charm squares I had. They won't really be seen! I took the four pocket squares and turned and topstitched them with some backing fabric, to make the pocket.
Then I appliqued the pocket on, to cover those other squares exactly. Here it is, pinned up.
This apron has shoulder straps instead of an overhead neck strap. Not only does C find that more comfy, but it's way easier to help them get on and off! No hair getting stuck, messy aprons over the face, etc.
Plus, as kids grow, I've found that their big ol' heads grow very quickly, before their upper arm area. A fixed neck strap might be outgrown too soon! And I didn't want the extra effort of an adjustable neck strap, ha ha ha!
The moral is: if you are too lazy to make something the "right" way to solve an issue, design something else that takes away the issue. (and is better in many ways) ;)
Anyway, this is the pinned bodice, with the back/lining ready to go on.
Aaand, I've pinned the lining on, and traced off some nice rounded corners, using a mug! ^_^ All the measurements here changed after the fact, but we won't worry about all that here.
Here is the finished bodice! To add the skirt, I gathered it at the top and sewed it in, between the front and lining, folding up the bottom edge into a neat hem.
The finished apron! I will make the shoulder straps and back ties a bit longer in this size for the pattern, but it fits C well enough.
The pocket! I'm going to move the pocket up a whole row for the pattern. This works OK but it's really low, ha ha! One row up will be more convenient for whoever is wearing it.
Here is the back.
The skirt is lined because I dislike the "raw" back of patchwork AND I think it's too weak on its own. This is way sturdier. Which an apron needs to be!
What do you think? Do you like this apron? I admit, the overall shape is sorta long and skinny, but it works really well with a single charm pack. I tried to plan it so the materials will be easy for whoever uses the pattern. (one charm pack, two fat quarters, etc.) Any wider and you'd need other cuts of fabric for some parts. But maybe that is OK?
Also it has NO back, but I don't think aprons necessarily need to go all the way around like a skirt. The toddler apron/pinafore thing I based this off of, worked just fine for cooking projects, for years of growth!
I suppose I could lengthen the shoulder straps a lot, and move the back ties DOWN a whole row, so the bodice is two rows high instead of one. That might look/function more like a standard apron. On the other hand, the high empire bodice is very CUTE!
What do you think?
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