How to make this apron
I love the style of the cross over apron in crisp linen often called the Japanese style apron. It looks casual without being dowdy. I find it difficult to find reasonably priced linen. However, I scored a super deal at Hobby Lobby on a buffalo check cotton tablecloth. I love the mint color and feels retro.
You can make this without a pattern. It is an easy one-size shape that has crossover straps and requires no buttons or ties. There is a large front pocket that I divided to hold the ever present phone. The finished measurements are 34” X 36”.
Here is how I did it.
materials
- 48” X 55” (120 x 140 cm) linen or cotton fabric
- Matching sewing machine thread
- Fabric marking pen
- Fabric scissors
- Iron and ironing board
- Pins
- Sewing machine
cutting list
- Cut a 35” (88 cm)square of fabric for the apron*. You can snip and rip if you want to make sure the fabric is dead straight. I wouldn’t bother if you are using a solid or busy print.
- Cut facing 11” ( 28 cm) X 3 1/4 “ (8 cm).
- Cut two straps, each measuring 30” X 4 1/2 “ (75×12 cm).
- Cut pocket measuring 12 1/2” X 10 1/2” (31 x 26 cm).
*Cut larger if you really want it loose fitting. The lines on the check fabric come in handy for keeping straight lines.
Method
make the curve for the arm hole area
- Fold the square apron piece in half and press for accuracy.
- Measure 5.5” from the fold to toward the edges and make a mark.
- Measure 12” from the top of the side edges and mark.
- Draw an arc connecting the two marks.
- Cut along the arc
make the straps
- Fold over and press 1/2 “ (1 cm)to the wrong side along both long edges of each strap.
- Fold the straps in half lengthwise, with wrong sides together and press
- Topstitch along both long edges
Prepare the armhole and sides
- Place apron wrong side up and fold over 1/2” along the curved edges and press
- Fold over 1/2” again and press
- Pin in place
- Repeat on other armhole
- Repeat for both sides of the apron
Prepare the facing
- Pink, serge or finish one edge of the facing.
- Fold the finished edge over 1/2 “ and press
- Topstitch the finished and pressed edge.
Attach facing and top of straps
- With right sides together of the facing and apron, insert the top of the strap sandwiching the strap between apron and facing.
- Pin in place
- Repeat for other strap
- Stitch facing to apron being sure to catch the top of the straps.
- Turn facing to the back of the apron and press.
- Fold the raw edges on the short side of facing to the wrong side and press.
- Repeat for other short side
- Topstitch around the sides and top of the facing tacking it in place.
Attach lower straps to sides
- Fold the lower edge of the apron strap under 1/2 inch and stitch
- Fold under Lay apron right side up. Cross the right strap over to the left side of apron and pin
- Stich strap to apron
- Repeat for other strap
the embroidery
I created the embroidery design and exported to the Janome format (jef). I combined the embroidery design with lettering on my sewing machine editor. You can download it here.
Here is a video showing how to transfer a downloaded design to the Janome embroidery machine.
Prepare the pocket
- If you would like to embroider the pocket, this should be done before attaching to the apron.
- On the wrong side of the fabric fold over 1/2 hem on all four sides of the pocket and press.
- On the top edge of the pocket, fold over and press 1”.
- Top stitch 3/4” from the top edge of the pocket.
Attach the pocket
- Decide where you prefer the pocket. I took extra care to line up the checks.
- Stitch around 3 sides leaving the top open. Reinforce the edges of the pocket by backstitching.
- If a divided pocket is desired, make a line of straight stitching from the top of the pocket to the bottom being sure to reinforce the top edge due to wear and tea
Hem
Turn up the hem by pressing over 1/2 (1 cm) and then another 2 inches (5 cm). Press and stitch
Check out my YouTube Channel and the playlist just for beginners using the Janome MC 9850
I’m still struggling with trying to transfer machine embroidery designs from my Apple MacBook Air
to my Janome Memory craft 9850. In your instructions, was your USB 64GB or 64 MB. It just dawned on me that I think the memory for this sewing/embroidery machine for USB is MEGABYTES not GIGABYTES. Just ordered a 32MB and 64MB from Amazon. WOW this has been a real hassle for
me.
Thanks,
Linda Ruiz
Hello, Linda. I can relate to the same struggle. There is not much published about the USB size limits. I use a 64 Gigabyte without any problems. I would expect anything under that size would work as long as it is big enough for size of the whole design file. Good luck.