I spend a lot of time each day in the kitchen, in between cooking, baking, or doing dishes. Wearing an apron protects my clothing. I often wear an apron while working in the garden, too.
While I generally choose to wear solids, I like a bit of whimsy in my aprons.
All of these fabrics were purchased from Hobby Lobby at 40% off. This fabric is a cotton duck cloth. I bought one yard (just under a meter) (the fabric is 58 inches/147 centimeters wide) for each apron, so each apron cost me $6. I traced an apron that I had made previously by copying a purchased apron from Williams-Sonoma years ago, but I shortened it in the middle to better fit my petite frame.
I cut all of the aprons on the fold. You could freehand an apron if you don’t have an apron to copy.
The ties were cut at 2 1/2 inches (6.35 cm) wide. I made the ties the full yard (almost a meter) in length and the neck piece was 23 inches (58.42 cm) long. I sewed one side on for the neck piece, and then checked where I needed the length before sewing the other side in place. As you can see, the ties could be shorter, but it was simple to just cut them the length of the whole piece of fabric.
The pocket is one long piece cut at 13.75 inches (approx. 35 cm) long and 8.5 inches (approx. 22 cm) tall before the edges are folded in and stitched in place. After the pocket was stitched in place, I sewed in down the center to make two pockets. I find the pockets handy for keeping a handkerchief, for storing my watch when I knead bread, or to put my phone if I am walking around the house and listening to music. In the garden, I use the pockets to hold seed packets, transferring the packets from one pocket to the other after sowing each one.
On the black and white stripe apron, I chose to make the pocket not line up on purpose for a bit of fun. On a stripe, you can have the pocket line up exactly or go completely the opposite.
So there you have it: four aprons for $24!
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Don’t want to sew your own apron? Here are a few options:
I like all of the aprons.
I noticed right away that you had offset the striped pocket. I thought it was a nice design move.
I sew for a living and I have always made things from used clothing. Aprons are cheap…cheap made that way.
You look lovely.
I debated back and forth on the pocket. I’ll probably line it up next time but I thought I would try it this way this time for fun.
at least offset you can find it easily. Love them all.
These came our beautiful! I love the prints you chose.
I love the aprons!! I’ve always enjoyed your posts about your sewing (you don’t seem to post as often about that anymore). You chose some really fun prints. So cute!
I haven’t been sewing much the last four years! But I think a lot of my upcoming projects will be for the house and for myself. The girls have outgrown that age.
Those are great aprons. Inspiring for the rest of us to give them a try!
Oh my word! Your new aprons are lovely, what great fabrics you chose and made them up beautifully. I wear aprons a lot too but I think I need to up my game! So nice to see a post about sewing. I know you don’t have much time for it these days ( neither do I) but it’s refreshing to see something handmade.
I love your choices of fabric so much. This is the pattern I use but I have boring solids. I need to up my game. I, also, struggle with Instagram and caught a glimpse of the lemon apron but could not find it again. Thank you for sharing in a separate post. We know your time is limited.
How lovely! I know that I have a couple of lovely ones put away – somewhere – and one is a bright red Williams Sonoma one that was a gift. Must find them! I plan to do a lot more cooking and baking over the Winter so they will get a good use as I try to reduce laundry. You will fuel a run on aprons at this point Brandy!
I love them, especially the lemon amd the veggie ones! Great advice to cut on the fold. I also love the silky white top!
It’s on clearance from Banana Republic Factory right now; that’s my new blouse. It comes in ivory and black and for some reason the black one is half the price.
Absolutely love each apron! Going to see if my Hobby Lobby had any of the similar fabrics. I wear an apron every single day, ALWAYS in the kitchen doing anything, frequently in the garden as well. I have one apron I wear 90% of the time, that I made out of a sturdy dish towel, but it really needs to be retired soon!
Wow Brandy-I do not sew but I am so impressed with the aprons you made. You got some wonderful deals this week on chicken, school supplies and the wonderful bounty from your garden-those Armenian cucumbers look amazing. And somehow you found time for 2 posts alongside your busy family life! You inspire so many of us to continue our frugal efforts to the best of our abilities.
What a beautiful lot you have to choose from. The fabrics are fun! I’d vote the map as having the most whimsy. I would never think to use a map print for an apron. But that lemon print just curls my toes!! I’m not a yellow person at all, but I absolutely adore it. Thanks for sharing them here. I was so disappointed when I couldn’t find them on Instagram!
I shared them on my IG stories which disappear after 24 hours.
I love all of them. Thank you for sharing with us. And thank you for the great directions. Now I am wanting a new apron…
These are all wonderful! Love the contrast of having the stripes alternate. I think my very favorite is the garden-theme print.
No, it’s the lemons.
No, it’s the garden… no, the lemons.
They are amazing!
😉
Haha! I feel the same way!
I love your aprons Brandy!
The aprons are beautiful! I have a favorite black and white polka dot apron I use mostly, but pull out the Christmas aprons my grandma made each year. If I can make a suggestion, I had a small 3 inch loop sewed into the side of the waist of my apron to hang a towel to clean my hands. Best thing ever since I usually have one on my shoulder when I bake.
Interesting patterned fabric you chose~gotta love a good apron!
These are great! Thank you for sharing your idea and creativity. I also took advantage of Hobby Lobby’s 40% off fabric sale last week and found enough yardage of an upholstery fabric to recover a chair I found at a good price several years ago. I am not doing the upholstery myself but definitely saved on the cost of fabric and probably the cost of a new chair!
Oh, I’m so inspired now to make some aprons. What a fun project (especially when you choose such whimsical fabric)! I have written about my love for aprons here: https://caretokeep.com/wearing-an-apron/ Great work Brandy! (I always especially love your posts about things you make.)
I like the photo of you in the apron that looks like a map best (with the straw hat in the border). You are the epitome of classy domesticity. Well done!
Thanks! It’s so hard for me to choose a favorite! I like them all!
The aprons took my breath away. Garden variety is my favorite, followed closely by lemons.
I love all your sewing projects. I had several female family members sew but never had the opportunity to learn. I regret that now. I have been given a new medication . I’m positive its a really expensive one. I was shocked to see my insurance covered all of it which is such a blessing. There were several items I needed from the grocery store . I searched the Southern savers blog toolbar to locate the desired items for the cheapest price. I ended up at Kroger where I saved a great deal but also got gasoline for $3.00 a gallon. I’m determined to stay on budget. Although this is my goal I often am not successful. I canceled my $5.00 a month Peacock streaming subscription. My daughter signed up for a year under a $2.00 a month offer. We are rechecking our auto insurance. My daughters went up $30.00 a month with no tickets or accidents. I ordered chewy Tums on Amazon. They were on sale , had a coupon , a special discount and the subscribe and save. I’ve never seen discounts stack like that. I paid $4.00 for two huge bottles. I ordered dogfood w a coupon lil Henry gave me. I saved half price. My dogs food had increased to $100.00 a bag. Yikes, I probably will go back to doing swagbucks. I find books at an eBay store called second sale to be my treasure chest. Buy 3 get one free. Most average under 4.00. I love that I can buy fairly recent releases 4 for $10.00. That’s my monthly treat.
They are lovely Brandy and you look wonderful.
Best wishes to everyone,
Wendy, NZ
I love aprons! I have 2 my kids gave me that I rotate and a worn out one for gardening. Saves my clothes and always gives me the feeling that I am “in business now” when I pop one one.
I love them all !!!!
I love all the fabrics you chose for your aprons, they look amazing. I can no longer wear aprons that go around the neck. Martha Stewart had an apron pattern she made many years ago that crosses the back and my mom wanted it to make. She knew I could go to the internet to find it for her. I still have the apron she made and love it. I do need to make another as it is getting worn out too.
Cooked/or microwaved homemade TV diner meals at home, Saved water from kitchen faucet, used left over drinking water to water houseplants.
I injured my shoulder about 4 years ago and then re-injured it twice this year. Since I had pt for it the first time, I told the doctor I could do the same ones at home saving money on gas to go to the physical therapist.
We have a whole house fan, so it has cooled off early enough to turn it on and not use the AC and after it gets warmer in the am, we shut all the windows and still don’t need to turn the A/C on for several more hours, saving on electric bill.
Hope everyone stays healthy and happy and thank you Brandy for all the lovely photos. I copied several of your recipes and have made several, when it cools down hope to try out more so I have alternatives if needed since food is getting so expensive.
To prevent food fatigue, I keep track of our meals each month and when planning for the next month I rotate what meats and meals from the freezer goes on the menu. I purchased about 7 chuck roasts last year, so we only have it every 3-4 months. It is important not to eat all of one thing then maybe only having less favorite dinners available. I just hope the price of beef goes down a bit when the cattlemen cull their herds so I can buy more.
Brandy, I have a question, I did the email and subscribe, will I get emails from you or ?
Are you not getting the emails? Hmm. Maybe I need to change the email add-on. You’re not the only one having issues.
Beautiful aprons, Brandy! Thanks for sharing!
Regarding aprons- one grand when about 7 wanted to grow up an be a chef or a singer. Since we had done cooking and baking together and had some smaller aprons my mom had made for my youngest we used it. He soon found out he could have two careers, which surprise him greatly and made his day. He said he needed an apron so for Christmas I made him an apron similar to Brandy’s. I have a daughter who does the fancy printing on fabric with a machine that I could iron or sew onto the apron. So I had her print The child’s name & The Singing Chef out in the size I needed to put on the front of the apron. I will be making another for the sibling next Christmas, not sure what It will say. I saved money by getting the fabric on sale, one side was musical notes and the other side was with the print on it was a solid color. I made my own pattern from and existing one.
I love it! They all came out great. And, at the bottom of the post there are suggested posts with other sewing projects you have feature before, mostly with your eldest daughter. I’m going to do some clicking around. Thank you for sharing.
I’m thinking I might make aprons for Daughters #1 and #2, thanks to your post. And WHOO HOO — we got an extra post this week from you! Wonderful!!!! (Won’t you consider doing a monthly goals-and-groceries-shopping post again? These were especially helpful.)
I have something else to thank you for. The nearest Really Good peaches are about 4 hours drive away, on Colorado’s Western Slope. (We live south of Denver.) It’s a long trip, but worth it. We were at the farmer’s stand when I noticed two long green squash-looking things…and thanks to you, I KNEW they were Armenian cucumbers! Both were purchased, and they’re delicious. Thanks, Brandy.
Farmers’ stand veggie and fruit prices were outrageous, by the way — and ironically, far more than grocery store prices here, which are bad enough. They were asking $2.50/pound for tomatoes ($1.50 in GS), $2.50/pound for dry beans (last year $1/lb), etc. Everything had pretty much doubled, except for the Armenians (which were $1 each) and okra (which the stand manager said they had a bumper crop of). But the okra was $6 for a few pounds’ worth.
Oh, and the peaches were close to $2/lb. We did find some later at a warehouse that were $17 for 18 pounds — but that was incredibly cheap. (Even the ‘cheap’ peaches were going for $22 for the same box — we just lucked into a special.) I bought four boxes’ worth, and will be cutting them up and freezing them today.
The sales now are no longer following their old seasonal schedules. I have found it impossible to know when the sales are going to be. Prices are higher every single time I go to the store. Because of this, I no longer can plan like I did before. I am having to spend double what I was spending before and I am getting less food for it, unfortunately. I am looking for solutions; we are eating even less meat than before and I am trying to make less so there are fewer leftovers, as lately, everyone here doesn’t seem to want leftovers for more than once or twice.
As far as goals: it is just taking me forever and a day to get anything done. It is very disheartening to me. So, it would be better for me to post things as I get them done.
I feel what you’re saying. It IS discouraging, especially when you’re faced with the same struggles week after week — and only a promise that things will probably get worse before they get better. I have been buying extra canned goods via Amazon Warehouse (because the prices are lower) for just this reason. But I know very well that when they’re gone, I’ll be facing the same old issues.
Two of the things that we’ve been cutting back on: birthdays and the holidays. We still give gifts, but they’re much more modest. It helps that our kids are older (now 33 and 36) and don’t seem to want — or ask for — much. (They wouldn’t have gotten more, anyways.) I do give them more of anything I find at a bargain price — they each got a box of peaches, for example.
Think of all the wonderful things you have accomplished on such a barebones budget. And you’ve helped others — like me. Hang in there…this too will pass. Eventually.
My mom gives me birthday and Christmas gifts that she finds at garage sales. She does this for the whole family (my children too). It works well and we still get many wonderful things.
They are all very pretty. I love aprons…and totally forget to put them on 90% of the time. I need to make a conscious decision to put them on.
What lovely aprons! This post is a reminder that I need to replace a couple of worn out ones in my collection, so time to add aprons to the winter task list! I’m thinking of doing at least one garden apron where the front gathers up to create a collecting basket. I especially love the lemon one, it’s so bright and sunny and would bring me a bit of joy to wear during our long rainy winters. I use old 100% cotton sheets or old linen tablecloths from thrift stores as my main fabric source for making clothing and other items around the house. I doubt I’ll find lemons in the sheets, but maybe I will have some luck with tablecloths!
I love the aprons. So pretty all of them.
Love the aprons and especially that you created 4 for just 24.00.
Brandy: Those aprons are stunning and so are you. I would love for you to write a post about how you are saving money on groceries and household items with prices that are soaring. I know your garden is the main source of food for your family, but many of us are not able to garden due to many factors. I am just feeding my daughter and myself and we are spending $4oo/month. The size of all the profucts have dwindled and instead of 4 serving now it might be 2. I pray for so many that are having to choose food over other things that are more important.
It is not the main source of food for us at all, but I am trying to grow as much as possible.