Sewing With Children: Sewing An Apron

She hung up the receiver with a bang and turned a disappointed face toward her mother and sister.  The cooking party wasn’t happening.

“Well, then,” said Mother, “we’ll have to plan something else.”

“But a cooking party was such a good idea,” objected Jodi, “and it just fits with an unexpected vacation like today.  It isn’t nearly as much fun for you and me to go out and cook lunch, when we already know how to do it, as it would be to teach Frances; you know that yourself, Melody.  It’s something new, that’s the fun.”

“Then why not do something new yourselves?” suggested Mother, as she folded up the last bit of mending and set her work basket away.  “It isn’t as tho you knew everything!” she added, with a twinkle in her eye and a smile on her face. “How about sewing?” asked Mother.

“Really sewing-making something for ourselves?” Melody twinkled eagerly.

“Surely,” replied Mother, as matter-of-factorly as tho it was nothing at all-quite natural indeed, “why not?”

Much interested, the two girls followed their mother into the pantry, watched her as she pulled out the drawer where she put worn-out articles of clothing-including two old shirts of their father.  Then they went back into the sewing room with their mother and she pulled out the box of supplies and selected two cards of colored edging to match the shirts.

“There!” said Mother, with a look of satisfaction, as she spread her supplies out on the table, “there’s all you’ll want except white thread, and there’s plenty of that in the machine drawer.”

“Where’s the pattern?” asked Melody, who by this time was very much interested.

“In my head,” replied Mother. “and inside hald an hour you will have cut one for yourself out of newspaper.”

Directions for making an apron

Materials needed

• One old soft shirt.
• One bolt machine-made edging (color to go with shirt).
• White thread.
• One sheet paper for pattern (newspaper will do).
• Tape line, ruler and pencil.

Method to make pattern

1. Spread sheet of paper (or newspaper) on table.
2. From the lower right hand corner of the paper measure up the right side twenty inches.  At that point make a letter A.
3. With a ruler measure in five inches from A and make the letter B.
4. Measure one inch above B and one half inch toward the outside edge and put a letter C.
5. With the ruler draw a line from C to A.  This line is the top of the pattern.
6. Back at the lower right hand corner of paper put a letter D.
7. Measure up ten inches from D and mark F.
8. Measure in eight and one half inches from F and mark E.
9. Draw a curved line from C thru E to D.
10. Cut from A to C and down along the cured line to D.
11. Be sure that the letters are inside the lines so that they are still on the pattern.

To cut out the apron

1. Spread shirt out on the table and cut out sleeves, being very sure to cut close to the seams so that no material is wasted.
2. Cut off cuffs, and cut sleeves open.  This leaves two good sized pieces both bigger at the top than at the bottom.
3. Lay top of one by bottom of the other and sew together.  This has nothing to do with the apron but makes a nice dusting cloth and prevents waste of material.
4. Cut off collar band.
5. Cut large back and front pieces off the yoke, being careful to cut close to seams so that nothing is wasted.

Doing this provides three pieces:  a two fronts and one back.  Spread them out smoothly on the table.  Let’s make an apron.

1. Fold the back piece in hald sown the center.
2. Lay the pattern on this piece, fitting the line A to D along the lengthwise fold.  the point D should be at the very bottom of the goods.
3. Pin in place, using three or more pins.
4. Cut out.
5. Unpin pattern.
6. Lay one front piece on the table.
7. Fit the pattern on this piece, making the stripes (if there are any in the goods) lay straight with the line A to D.
8. Cut out after the pattern has been pinned in place.
9. Repeat, cutting another sections from the other front piece.

Now you have three pieces:  one, from the back which is twice the size of the pattern and one from each front piece.  From the strips of goods remaining cut the belt, which is a strip twenty inches long and two and one half inches wide.

1. Cut two strings, each twenty-seven inches long and three inches wide.  If shirt is badly worn, these strings may have to be pieces.
2. Fold up pattern and put away.
3. Gather up scraps, and thread machine with the white thread, now you’re ready to sew:

Tags: how to make an apron, making an apron, sewing with children, teaching a child to sew