Tea Towel Apron (for $1.50!)

August 22, 2011 by 16 Comments

I ran by my local Dollar Tree the other day, and picked up some awesome goodies. I grabbed a couple tea towels, and a spool of grosgrain ribbon. For this apron, I used one towel, and half of the ribbon, making a cute little apron for Little Moore. Not only did I whip this baby together in less than 30 minutes – it only cost me $1.50 to make! Woot!

30 min crafts teatowel apron
The apron was a big hit – he refused to take it off to go to bed! Eventually, I was able to get it off of him… I didn’t want to risk him getting tangled in the ribbon and possibly hurt himself.
I’m really happy with how the apron turned out, and will have to go pick up some more towels and ribbon. There’s a certain Southern California Baking Momma with 2 little boys that love to help out, and I have a feeling these would come in handy. Especially for the older of the two who has decided that when he grows up, he wants to be a “boy cake decorator.” Too cute!

Start out with a towel and some grosgrain ribbon from your local $1 and under store.
1 supplies
For my practically-3-year-old, I measured in 4″ on the top, and 7″ down the side. I drew a line down from the top, and in from the side, then traced the curve of the ribbon spool where the lines met. With the towel folded in half, I cut this armhole out of both layers.
2 trace
Using the grosgrain ribbon folded in half, and leaving 12″ of ribbon loose at the top (neck) of the apron, I pinned all the way around the curved edge, the fold covering up the raw edge of the towel.
3 add on ribbon
When I got to the curve, I just stretched the towel more-or-less straight, and kept pinning the folded ribbon.
4 stretch to attach
I stitched the ribbon on, close to the edge of the ribbon, but not too close. I wanted to make sure that my stitching caught both the top and the bottom of the ribbon.
I then folded up the bottom of the towel, and stitched straight lines down each side, and then two extras in the middle to make segmented pockets in the front.
pockets on tea towel apron
Instead of folding over the raw ends of the ribbon and stitching down (which is an option), I just trimmed them with pinking shears to prevent them from unraveling.
I’m off to whip up some more of these!
Filed Under: easy, fabric, fast and cheap, kids, simple Tagged With: , , , ,

Comments

  1. Mandi says
    August 22, 2011 at 3:39 pm

    I love the picture! Very awesome!

    Reply
  2. Jen @ Lita's World says
    August 22, 2011 at 8:43 pm

    I love this!!! I'm so sure my grandsons will love getting these…especially with the pockets so they can carry all their goodies around!!

    Reply
  3. Debra says
    August 22, 2011 at 10:18 pm

    Love love love it…. I'm sure we could make some for ourselves tooo… Love the little pockets in front!

    Reply
  4. Ms Bibi says
    August 22, 2011 at 11:43 pm

    What an adorable little chef you got there. Love the apron….fantastic idea.

    Reply
  5. Lisa Taylor says
    August 23, 2011 at 1:13 am

    Sweet photo. And you are so clever!! If I can't use a glue gun to “sew” it – it doesn't get done 🙁

    Reply
  6. Nichole says
    August 23, 2011 at 1:35 am

    Wow, this is a great craft project. I think it would also be an easy and fun project for students learning to sew.

    Oh and I just adore the career choice of “boy cake decorator” – definitely too cute!

    Reply
  7. Marie Noelle says
    August 23, 2011 at 2:56 am

    I love this idea (and it's cheap, like it even more)! I'll keep it in mind!

    Reply
  8. Alexis Grace of NorthOnHarper says
    August 23, 2011 at 4:53 am

    The photo of the apron is adorable! What a fun project!

    Reply
  9. Meghann @ Fuzzy.Little.Wishballs says
    August 23, 2011 at 12:00 pm

    Great idea! And a person could really get carried away with this. There's so much you could do!

    Reply
  10. Katie @ The Crafty Blog Stalker says
    August 23, 2011 at 3:09 pm

    This is such a great idea! Thanks for sharing!

    I would love if you would come share with my week long link party at The Crafty Blog Stalker! http://thecraftyblogstalker.blogspot.com/2011/08/blog-stalking-thursday-4.html

    Reply
  11. Alex says
    August 23, 2011 at 4:13 pm

    this would be perfect for my son! He's really into cooking & cleaning the dishes

    Reply
  12. samsstuff says
    August 23, 2011 at 6:42 pm

    What an adorable project! It would be a great project for teaching students to sew.

    Reply
  13. Tata says
    February 6, 2013 at 3:22 am

    If you fold back the top corners and sew them down (rather than cutting them off) you get added water absorbency up top, where it often matters.

    Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Dollar Store Crafts » Blog Archive » Make a Tea Towel Apron says:
    February 5, 2013 at 4:27 pm

    […] Do you have a little helper who loves to assist in the kitchen?  If you have half an hour of sewing time and a spare buck or two for supplies, you can make them their very own apron!  The design even features a pocketed front for holding important things like utensils or plastic dinosaurs or whatever other items a junior chef might need to keep close at hand.  Carolina from 30 Minute Crafts whipped this one up for her son and he loved it so much that she had to plead with him to take it off when it came time to go to bed.  Too cute!  [how to make a tea towel apron] […]

    Reply
  2. 10 Kitchen Towel Apron: Easy To Make and Only $1.50 for Supplies says:
    April 18, 2014 at 11:51 am

    […] Second, 30 Minute Crafts shows how she made her apron as well and for only $1.50 HERE.  […]

    Reply

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