Adorable Valentine Aprons From Tea Towels

If you're big into celebrating various holidays, like Valentines Day, you might be one of those people who changes up their kitchen linens too. Let's throw aprons into the mix, and you'll be all set! 

Today, I'm going to show you how to turn Valentine tea towels into two different aprons. Any tea towel will work. So go to your local dollar store or splurge and get a nicer tea towel, whatever your preference. This project is quick and easy and I'm sure you'll want to share one of these with someone you love. Let's embrace the Valentine Day season, shall we?

Let's get started:

Supplies needed:

• Tea Towel
• Thread
• Ribbon (I found this lace red ribbon in the Christmas clearance section at Jo-ann's for 80% off.)
• Scissors

1.  If your ribbon has wire in it, pull the wire out.
2.  Measure 8 1/4" from the top of the tea towel, mark both sides of a tea towel for the back ties.
3.  Cut two pieces of ribbon 22 - 24 inches of ribbon for the back ties & sew right sides facing to the tea towel using 1/4" seam.
4.  Finish off the ends of the ribbon by folding 1/4" .  
5.  Cut a piece of ribbon around 24" for the neck tie.  Fold the ribbon in half and pin the edges together.
6.  Edge stitch the neck tie ribbon.
7.  Pin the edge of the ribbon under and sew the neck tie to the left side of the top of the tea towel.
8.  If your tea towel is large, you can add a tuck to the top, front center of the tea towel.
9.  Sew both ribbons onto the tea towel with the folded edge toward the wrong side of the tea towel.

10.  Sew 1 3/4" piece of the loop side of Velcro to wrong side of the top of the tea towel. 
11.  Sew the hook side of the Velcro to the right side of the neck tie ribbon.

For the second Valentine apron, you'll need a red bandana instead of ribbon.  A bandana makes a sewing project easy because it already has four finished sides and you'll be using all of those finished edges for this apron.  This heart tea towel was purchased from my local dollar store.

Cut red bandana as follows:  

• 10 1/2" long x 6.25 wide - pocket
• 2) 3 1/2" x length of the bandana using the finished edges on 3 sides - bottom ruffle
• 3) 2 1/2" x length of the bandana - neck and waist ties

Follow steps 2 and 9 from the above tutorial for the placement of the ties.

Now to create the bottom ruffle on this apron, follow the steps below:

1.  Sew the ruffle pieces together as shown, stitching the 2 pieces at an angle.  Iron this seam.

2.  Add a gathering stitch to the unfinished edge of the ruffle.

3.  Gather the fabric evenly and sew from the wrong side the ruffle to the bottom edge of the tea towel (use 1/4" seam).  Turn the tea towel over and top stitch the bottom of the tea towel.

To make the pocket:

• Mark all the unfinished edges 1/4" .
• Iron the edges under.
• Pin the pocket onto the upper portion of the tea towel.
• Edge stitch the pocket in place, pivoting at each of the corners.

Take the neck tie and fold it in half and iron.  Now fold the unfinished edges into the middle of the fabric and iron again.  This will leave all the edges finished.

For the waist ties, clean finish the unfinished edges.

To finish this apron, follow steps 6-9 above.

I shared these aprons with my youngest daughter.  Growing up, she didn't get a lot of Valentine gifts because it was her twin sisters' birthday.  So this year, I'm trying to make-up  neglecting her for all those Valentines Days and I'm visiting her family in Okinawa.  It's actually great too because now she cooks for me.  Happy Valentines Day indeed. 

Enjoy making these tea towel aprons.  xoxo Grandma

Linked to:  Sunshine and Munchkins & All Free Sewing

Easy Heart Ribbon Wreath - a Tutorial

Are you a big holiday decor person?  I like my holiday decor to be nice and simple. Simple to make, and simple to decorate (equating to simple to clean up when the holiday is over). With Valentine's Day right around the corner, here's an easy heart ribbon wreath that you can make to spruce up a door or wall.  

There are 7 easy steps to complete this project.  Plan about an hour to make this cute heart ribbon wreath.  You'll need the following supplies to make it:

• Heart tinsel wreath (I found my wreath at my local dollar store.)
• Red ribbon 
• Gold wire cording
• Heart tinsel
• Scissors
• Bowdabra tool (or just really amazing bow making skills)

Now follow along as I show you how easy this wreath is to make:

Step 1:  Fold the cording in half and add the cord wire to the Bowdabra tool.

Step 2:  Add about 2" of red ribbon into both sides of the center of the tool; twisting the ribbon as you add two layers of ribbon loops per side.

Step 3:  Add 6" of red heart tinsel on top of the ribbon.

Step 4:  Remove the ribbon from the Bowdabra tool by lifting the gold cord and looping the ends together.

Step 5:  Pull on the gold cording tightly and loop the cording around the ribbon one more time and tie the cording into a knot.  Repeat the first 5 steps until you have 13 ribbon bundles or stop with just three ribbon bundles for a simpler look.

Step 6:  Tie the ribbon bundles to the back side of the tinsel wreath and twist the ribbon so it looks how you like it.  You can stop at this point for a simpler look or continue to make more of the ribbon bundles for a complete heart.  

Step 7:  Add some of the leftover heart tinsel to the back side of the heart and twist the tinsel together to use as a holder for your wreath.

Making this project is so simple! The wreath would also be fun to use for a wedding or anniversary and could be made from any combination of colors.  

Do you have any special plans for Valentines day? xoxo Grandma

Linked to: Crafty Allie, Nap Time Creations