Toddler's Vintage Aprons

One of my goals for the new year is related to a trip down memory lane!  My mother loved to sew patchwork quilts. She also loved fabric shopping so much that eventually she filled two large closets completely full of fabric. (I blame her fabric hording on being a depression era child.)  We used to joke that we could go fabric shopping in her closets. And to her credit, she was very generous with her fabrics. In fact, I still have a couple of yards of that fabric, which was purchased at least 21 years ago, because that's how long she's been gone from this earth.  A 2014 goal of mine is to use up a majority of my fabrics so I don't have my mother's full closet obsession.  

So, with my vintage fabric, I decided to make what my mother made around 1958 for her children and then again around 1990 for her grandchildren: toddler sized aprons.

My grandchildren won't wear a bib, so maybe this cute apron has a chance of staying on my little granddaughters to keep their clothes clean and stain-free.

I started this project by reproducing a vintage toddler apron pattern.  If you'd like to make this apron, download the pattern here. 

Do you recognize the happy bears on this fabric?  

Instructions for making a Vintage Toddler Apron:

1.  Cut out your fabric by folding the 33" in half and then fold your fabric in half again.

2.  Pin the pattern onto the folds of the fabric as directed on the pattern.
3.  Cut the pattern out.
4.  Unfold your fabric.  Place the outside cuts together.  Now cut off the lower bottom corner of the apron by rounding it's corners.

5.  Sew the shoulders together using 1/4" seams
6.  Onto the raw edges, sew double wide folded bias tape - you'll need one package per apron.
7.  To keep the apron on your darling, sew a little velcro onto the top back edges.  

If you want to add a gathered look, make the center fold wider and add about 8" of seam tape right under your finished bias tape.  Insert 4" of 1/2" elastic.

From start to finish, allow about an hour to complete this toddler vintage apron.

I hope you have fun making this little apron for someone you love. I'm thinking these may just be the perfect Valentine gift for my cuties.

xoxo Grandma
*Thanks to my neighbor for letting me try theses aprons on her daughters.
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