by Judy Roberson
My granddaughter Callie, will be eight years old on July 24th. Her mom and I searched the birthday books for just the right birthday party theme. We were searching for something that would make occasion extra special, yet nothing seemed “just right”.
Eventually we decided to make a list of the things Callie enjoys doing, and while we came up with several things to add to that list, we soon determined that the activity she enjoyed the most was cooking! Yes, Callie loves to come in the kitchen when her mom or I are cooking, in fact she has mastered several easy dishes all by herself. Callie particularly enjoys decorating cupcakes, etc.
With this in mind, we decided a cooking/decorating “Cupcake Birthday Party” theme was the order for the day, so off to the party supply store we went to search for items such as a tablecloth, napkins, plates, etc. with the hope of finding a cupcake design on them.
While we were there, we saw the perfect addition for Callie’s party! “Ratatoulli” (in case you don’t know, this childrens movie came out a few years ago and is all about a rat who wants to go to cooking school) Callie loves this movie so A “Ratatoulli” birthday party idea was born.
We were thrilled! Not only had we found something for her party regarding the activity she loves to do most, but we’d also found her favorite movie theme as well! In fact the store had everything we would need for the best party ever for Callie, even a paper chef’s hat, well nearly everything, as we could find no apron.
Never fear! Grandma to the rescue! My daughter simply asked me to make all the little girls a plain little apron to wear while cooking their cupcakes and decorating them. Now, as you all know, anybody with an embroidery machine doesn’t understand the word ‘plain’. Of course though, I readily agreed and set out to find a simple apron pattern, and while I did find one, I looked at it and it was so simple I knew I didn’t actually ‘need’ the pattern and really neither do you (though purchase a simple one if you feel you need to, as ‘simple’ is all you need for this project).
For the aprons I made, I decided to cut out my own and so can you! This is the simplest project I’ve done in a long time.
Helpful information for a successful project:
* I used a cotton fabric (45″ wide).
* The instructions I’ve provided below will make an apron
that will fit a child from 4-10 years old (note: length adjustable per your needs).
* You could use coordinating fabrics for a more custom look.
* If you choose to buy a pattern, some instructions will advise you to cut one piece and hem all the way around that piece for a finished edge, but that is very time consuming in my opinion, so I opted to just cut two pieces instead and use one for the front and one for lining, which I happen to think looks better as well.
* The instructions I’ve provided will make a darling little apron project that is quick and simple to make. This apron takes just minutes to stitch and I guarantee you, you will thrill your little cooking helpers.
Here are the instructions:
Step 1: I cut out 2 rectangles. 19″ wide by 21″ long. One rectangle is the apron front, the other rectangle is the apron lining. Fold them in half length wise and cut out a half moon shape for the top of the apron approximately 7″ deep (lengthwise) and 5″ inwards (note: though ultimately you can cut in any depth you want or need, there is no set amount, if in doubt, simply purchase a simple apron pattern to assist you).
Remember to make the birthday girl or boy’s apron special so it stands out from the others! How I accomplished this by simply going along with the planned theme, which lead me to Step 2.
Step 2: I then visited Designs by SiCK to search for the perfect design. I found it in the set entitled “Happy Birthday Cakes”:
http://www.designsbysick.com/details/happybirthdaycakes
I chose the design with the smiling balloon on top the little
cake wearing a party hat; then I added the words,”Ratatoulli Cooking School” beneath the cake.
Having made my design choice, I hooped my project and embroidered the design. I must say, the resultant stitched design turned out to be just as cute as could be!
Step 3: Cut 4 strips of 7/8″ wide gross grain ribbon to make your neck and waist ties. Cut them each 20″ long.
Step 4: Take two of the 20″ ribbons you just cut and pin them on the right sides of the top of your apron (pointing down and out of the way). Now pin the other two 20″ ribbons on each side to make your waist ties (point these inwards).
Step 5: Take the second apron piece you cut out. Place that second piece (lining) on top of the embroidered apron piece (right sides together) and stitch all way around the apron leaving a 4-5″ opening at the bottom of the apron for turning being careful all the while to keep the ribbon ties out of the way so they will not get caught up in the sewing.
Step 6: Clip curves.
Step 7: Turn right side out; sew opening close.
Step 8: Optional . . . add rick rack or trim of your choice to the apron if you wish to.
Step 9: Iron.
Additional notes: I made different colored aprons for each of the girls attending the party, using the same technique. I embroidered the words “Ratatoulli Cooking School” on each of them. They were cute as could be, but it was the birthday girl who stood out because hers had an additional special embroidery design on it.
Happy sewing and embroidering.
Very cute apron. I bet those were the hit of the party.
Great birthday idea! Congratulations to Mom and Grandma for making such cute apron party favors.
I have also used tea towels for the material and just cut off the sides like you did. I did some for a 6 year old’s gingerbread decorating party and they were a hit.
What a wonderful birthday! I bet all the children felt really special with your added touch of embroidery. Yeah! Grandma! Great idea.
I myself have been making a lot of retro aprons and BarBQ aprons to sell and give as gifts.
What a marvelously cute idea! I agree, you don’t need a pattern. I made one recently and wished I had thought about sewing the two pieces together and turning inside out instead of hemming all the way around. What a time saver you thought of! I put pockets on mine and embroidered the pockets first.
ADORABLE!!!! How sweet!!!! Your instructions were GREAT too. Thank you so much, for this clever theme and idea. Candy from Iowa
What a cute idea and I’ll bet Callie will alwasy remember how special this birthday party was. Thanks for sharing. Janeen in WA
What a lucky little girl to have such a talented grandmother. That will be a party that stays in their memory books forever.
Great article. Thank you for sharing your process and the how to sew an apron. Your pictures are great illustrations. I so enjoyed your planning of a very special birthday party. Barbara Klink in Saint Louis
Nice, simple design and I will make these for my GDs. Thank you for sharing.
I love this idea. Sure wish I had someone to make them for. Thanks for the idea. I will print & keep it for future use. Joyce
That is really darling. How clever! It looks very pretty for your granddaughter’s big day. I hope your grand daughter had a very happy birthday!
What a cute idea. And a very lucky girl she is to have such a smart Grandma. Seriously. I do think this is a great idea. I am going to make my granddaughter an apron just cause I love her. Thanks for the idea.
Diana in Texas
This was a beautifull idea. I think the little girls just enjoyed it very much.
You made this a very special birthday to remember with your special touch!
Thank you for sharing your really clever idea.
What a lovely idea! I bet it was the best birthday party ever! She’s a lucky girl to have such a clever grandma.
We do a similar apron for our new sewers workshop. They are very popular. We even had a boy make a neat BBQ one when the rest made girly ones. His turned out great.Sorry, I don’t have pictures. Hopefully this year I’ll remember.
Great job! It’s perfect for a cooking birthday party.
Hi, July Robertson,
It’s a wonderful gift for your granddauhter’s birthday!
Have you measurments for an adult?
Have a nice week-end,
slavy33, France!
the apron is just awesome will start on mine for grandchildren as soon as i get off my compture just so awesome
the apron is awesome i will start to make one as soon as i get off the compture it is a very good idea for a little girls party at that age they love to bake just so cute and what a wonderful idea
How adorable and clever!
What a lovely yet simple idea. I think it could also be quite appropriate for little boys.
Thank you for the clear instructions too.
That is the coolest apron. She is one lucky girl to have such a talented grandma.
Thanks for sharing the idea with us.
I love your story and it’s so wonderful Callie loves to cook at such a young age.
Callie looks adorable in her cute little apron!
I love aprons and my mama still has many of hers and mine when I was a young girl.
Thanks bunches for sharing with us.
What a clever and creative idea! I really like the idea lining the apron instead of trying to deal with all the hemming — a real timesaver! I hope her birthday was a great eighth. You do realize, though, that you’ve set the bar pretty high for next year, don’t you?
So cute….
Wonderfull idea!!!! I loved it!!.
When I was looking @ the pictures I notice that you have a FUTURA machine, I have one also and I am having problems w/ the tension, is there any suggestion??? I have to ajust the tension even in the middle of a project, also when I chang to the sewing machine.
PLEASE help!!
Becky
This is absolutely adorable!!!!! Nice job Grandma!!!
This is a very cute apron,and a great idea. I have 2 grandaughters and grandson, I made myself and my 3 grandchildren aprons for christmas to bake cookies in, I used a christas design and added their names.
Love, Love the idea of a “SPECIAL” birthday apron.
Happy Stitching,
Elaine
What a cute and easy idea! These will also make great Christmas gifts for the grandchildren (or for Gramma to leave at her house when the grandkids ‘help’ her cook). Thank you for sharing!
Gorgeous…thankyou for that.
This is just too cute. Good goin’ gramma.
What great instructions. I will definitely keep these so that I can make them for my Granddaughter (turning 1 on August 20th) for when she has her first big girl birthday party.
This is a wonderful idea for a little girl’s party. I have 3 grand-daughters and I hope I can do something like this for them when it is their birthday! Thanks so much for sharing this with us.
aprons are really cute
Cute idea! My daugher-in-law is a cook at the school and I sew her 5 aprons every year. I can use your idea for an adult, too. Thanks! JanP
So cute! Thanks for sharing!
I can’t wait to make my little girls some aprons ~ What a cute idea..My girls also like to help me cook in the kitchen. Thanks for sharing yor idea….
Thank you so much for the wonderful idea. We had already decided to use the cupcake as the theme for my granddaughter’s 2nd birthday. You have given me a lot of wondeful ideas.
This is just too adorable and too simple to make, just love this idea and won’t she feel so special.
Thank you for sharing
Pam
What a wonderful idea. I can’t wait to have a grandchild to do this for. It sounds as if you had as much fun as the girls.
Thanks for sharing.
I think this is wonderful.. I want to make aprons for my sewing group this year and I do believe that I will do this. Of course, the girls are bigger but it will still work out. we all get together after Thanksgiving and make Christmas cookies at Dianne’s house.. she has the biggest kitchen… Thanks for the info.
Charlette
This is just adorable!!! What activities did the kids do at the party? Decorate cutcakes? Watch the movie? I’d like to do this for my GD.
I purchased “commercial” white aprons (6 for $12.00) and “bar towels” at Sam’s Club and embroidered each of them with the 4-H logo for the cake decorating class that I instructed the 12 and 13 year old girls in. I am happy to say that 5 in the group of girls I instructed took their projects to the MO State Fair last year. What a treat it was for them, and what a good feeling it was for me.
This is the cutest idea for anyone.
I have 4 great granddaughters, all sisters. They come over and bake cookies for Christmas. That is a great idea. They will be so surprised. Especially the 2 older girls. I have been teaching them to sew., and I may just let them make their own aprons. They have made a lot of straight sewing like pillows, so this pattern will be perfect for them to do. Thank you so much for sharing your ideas. Hope you took a lot of pictures of the birthday girl.
Great idea,GREAT instructions and wonderful pictures…inspiring!
What an absolutely great idea for a party and such a cute apron as well…wonderful and creative!!!
Thankyou all for the great response, I apprecaite it. I would like to say, the cooking/decorating party was a big sucess. Callie was thrilled with the apron, as was the other kids.
Becky, I love my futura machine, have never had a problem with the tension, so I dont know what to do for it, have you tried to call the 1-800 singer hotline?? those ladies are always so nice and helpful,when I have a problem..
I dont have a size for adult, but am sure you would just cut the length you need for an adult and the width, and then cut out the 1/2 moon shape for the front?
Hope this helps.God bless.Judy
Great Idea! Why don’t “double the idea” and embroider the other side too before sewing the wjole shebang together? Say Thanksgiving / Christmas when almost every child turns into a kitchen helper. And its one article we can embroider names on without the fear of a stranger viewing….
That is such a great idea !! I’m going to use it for my grandaughter’s next party. She also loves to cook. I’ve always known how to make the aprons. But, it has been a long time since I’ve thought of them.
Thank you
LouAnne
Really cute aprons. I about your comment about “Can you make a “plain” …..?” had me smiling. I know that word is not in our vocabulary as far as sewing goes.
I have a futura also. There is a yahoo group specifically for futuras… FuturaEmbroidery … This group is ran by trained experts on the Singer Futura CE150, CE250, CE350, XL6000, XL5000 and Futura CE100, CE200. They are very knowledgeable & helpful.
This is so beautifull. Lucky little girl. Keep up the good embroidery
I have made reversible aprons like this, with holiday themed fabric on either side, like patriotic and Christmas. Instead of 2 ribbons for neck, try putting a tab with 2 d-rings or 2 small plastic rings on one side to make the neck opening adjustable.
Great Idea!!!! I think I will do for pre-k at school.
I really love this idea, and I admire everybody that try new things, that is creative, thanks for sharing this idea with all of us. Love
Acelia – Orlando Florida
What a wonderful idea! I wish I would’ve done something like this for my oldest daughter’s birthday… she turned 10 last week. I just might use the idea for one of my other daughters’ birthdays. Next year they will be 3, 5, 9 & 11. It would be perfect for any of their birthdays. I just might HAVE to do it for each of them.
I make adult aprons from tea towels – divide one short edge in three, and fold the corners in at the division points so that you have two diagonals. Stitch a 3/4″ wide “channel” along each diagonal edge, leaving the ends open. Thread 5 – 6′ of 3/4″ wide heavy satin ribbon or cotton tape through the channels starting at the wide part up to the narrow part, then through the next channel from the narrow part to the wide part. The diagonal channels allow you to adjust the neck ribbon by sliding up or down for bigger or smaller, and you only have one set of ties to tie. This must be the quickest ever apron to make.
I commented at the top and this year we made this pattern for our apron. It was the hit of the sewing day. I used the part we cut out to re-sew into pockets. We used contrasting fabrics, front and back different, some made two tone pockets others used contrast and a few matched the same to same. It makes a couple of different size pockets too depending on how long the cut out is. I sized them by the waist. We held up the fabric and ‘pinched’ their natural waist. That is where we put the plate for the curve and then straight up from there. It worked wonderfully and all sizes ended up being ‘custom’ fit to all the different sized girls there. One was almost 6 ft. tall and one was only 8 and short. They all fit with 1/2 yard of two fabrics. Thank you so much for this pattern. Its a keeper. So many places to add your own touch with embroidery or rik rak or trims too.
Jeannette in N. Texas