How to Turn 2 Napkins into 1 Fabulous Apron

This apron was inspired by Mary Ray’s tutorial over at craftstylish. I’m afraid Mary Ray lost me around step 3 so I decided to wing it. (The instructions might look lengthy, but the project is really simple and works up in no time at all!)

What you need:

2 large fabric napkins (I found mine on sale for 2 bucks a piece.)
several yards of grosgrain ribbon (I used 7/8″ wide ribbon, which cost $1.80.)
two pairs of D-rings, optional ($1.80)
thread, sewing machine, scissors, iron, ironing board, stick pins, tape measure, etc.

What you do:

Measure your chest from just inside one armpit to just inside the other armpit.

Take one of the napkins and make two folds at the top two corners. Adjust the folds to make the top of the napkin equal your chest measurement. Pin the folds down at the top edge.

Then, continue to ease the fold out all the way down the napkin. It’s kind of like making a big dart. You just want to make sure that by the time you reach the bottom of the napkin the fold has disappeared.

Press the fold with your iron.

Next, sew through all thicknesses at the top of your napkin.

Then, sew very near the edge of your fold all the way down to the bottom of your napkin.

Pin the BACK edge of the top of the second napkin to the BACK edge of the bottom of the first napkin. Sew them together.

Here are the 2 napkins sewn together:

Fold the second (bottom) napkin up–in half–pin the sides shut and sew them up.

Next, sew a seam down the center of the bottom napkin. This seam will fashion two pockets.

Finally, sew two lengths of grosgrain ribbon at the top of the apron. (I folded the edges back so the ribbon would have a finished edge.) You’ll want to pin it in place first to make sure the position of the ribbon doesn’t make the front of your apron ‘gap’. At this point, you can add a set of D-rings…or not.

After trying on the apron, determine where the ties for the waist should be and then sew two more lengths of ribbon at those spots, adding another set of D-rings….or not.

D-rings ready to sew into place:

Finish by folding up and sewing the ends of the ribbons for a finished look. I chose to sew the ends by hand.

And that’s it!