Do you ever find yourself suddenly pulling information out of your sub-conscience from long ago? I was walking through Target sometime before Valentine’s Day and I noticed Tea Towels in the Dollar Spot. I suddenly remembered seeing a blog post eons ago about making cheap and easy aprons from tea towels. I decided on the spur of the moment that this would be a fun and easy sewing project to do with my daughter and her best friend. Sewing with children is not always easy, but it is very rewarding! Children love to create and at nine years old, these girls are ready for simple sewing lessons.
I decided to keep things super easy by using quilt binding for the waist and ties. We went through my quilt bindings and found matching colors in two different sizes. Actually, the pink one was a blanket binding so it was silky and much wider. But they worked the same.
First, we cut off the aprons to the correct length — I let each girl choose the length they wanted. We marked the length with a pen and then I started the cut and let them finish cutting the towel. Then we measured and cut binding so that they would make long ties around the waist. After the towels and binding were cut, we folded each binding and towel to find the center and I had the girls put the unfinished edge of fabric into the pre-folded binding matching centers. We pinned the towels into place. The final step was to make one long stitch from one end of the binding to the other. We had to turn a corner on each end as the ends of the binding need sewn shut.
Our finished product was quite adorable and both girls were very pleased. So pleased that I ended up buying Spring tea towels the next week from the Dollar Spot. With our Spring aprons, we are going to use the leftover fabric to make a simple pocket on the aprons. Altogether, each apron cost about $3 with towel and binding and thread. We only spent about 30 minutes sewing from start to finish. The girls learned about cutting, pinning, threading a machine, backstitching, turning corners and straight stitching. This was our very first sewing lesson together and I think it went beautifully!
Amy @ Are We There Yet? says
So cute & clever!! Pinned it
amyb says
Thanks Amy! Now I am motivated to do the Spring aprons with pockets!
Debra says
This is absolutely adorable, and so easy… Now I know Trina’s first sewing project…
amyb says
It the perfect first sewing project! Easy, Cheap, and Fun.
Angie says
This is just way too cute. I’m going to have to make a few of these for my little girl!
sarahelisabeth says
This is such a good idea. I was doing some cleaning today and realised quite how many tea towels I possess. Making an apron is the answer.
Meg says
Clever!!
Ann @ Harvest Moon says
Such a great idea!