Adventures in sewing, baking, pharmacy school, and other things life throws at me: Apron Skirt Tutorial Size: 3 years old

I love the way the apron gives another dimension to this skirt. It is such an adorable look and it is so easy to make you’ll want to make one for every little girl you know!

Please note that this was an experiment. I took an existing skirt pattern and adjusted the size of the skirt pieces to lessen the bulk of the skirt, increase the size of the hem, and to include the addition of the apron. The size I chose was for a 3 year old girl. I haven’t created a list of measurements for all sizes, so for now, you can use these measurements as a guide in creating smaller or larger pieces. In the future I’ll post the new measurements as soon as I have tested that they do indeed match up accordingly.

Enjoy!

All seams are 1/4". Measurements are in inches.

First, cut out your pattern pieces:

Cut 2 for Main skirt: 18” X 7.5” (contrast 1)

Cut 1 for Yolk: 12.5” X 5.5” (contrast 1)

Cut 2 for Hem: 18” X 7.5” (contrast 2)

Cut 1 for Apron piece: 14” X 9.5” (overall size) (contrast 3)

Cut overall size of apron if you do NOT want a contrasting band on the apron

Cut the following pieces if you want a contrasting band on apron:

14” X 7” (contrast 3)

14” X 1.5” (contrast 2)

14” X 2” (contrast 3)

For the elastic, I used 3/4" X 18". You can also measure the waist of the child and add 1".

With right sides together, sew the 2 Main Skirt pieces together at the short end of the cut. Do this for both short ends. At this point you can either serge or finish the ends however you want.

Next, sew 2 Hem pieces together at the short end of the cut (same as the Main Skirt). You do not have to finish the edges on the Hem because we will be folding them in.

With right sides together, sew the short ends of the Yolk together.
Just like the Main Skirt, you can serge the end or finish it however you please.

Next, match the unfinished ends of the Hem, wrong sides together, and press. Be sure to match your seams. Do this around the entire Hem.

When finished, it should look like a giant headband that would fit Godzilla if Godzilla had hair…and was real.

Now for the Apron. If you do not want a contrasting band on the Apron, then go ahead and hem one of the 14” edges and the two adjacent sides.

If you chose a contrasting band then with right sides together, attach the14” X 1.5” (contrast 2) band to the 14” X 7” (contrast 3) piece. Finish the edges (the part you just sewed) however you prefer and iron seam down. With right sides together attach the remaining 14” X 2” (contrast 3) Apron piece to the existing piece you just sewed together. Finish the edges however you prefer (again, the edges you just sewed) and be sure to iron your seams down. Top stitch both sides. Now hem the 14” side of the apron and the 2 adjacent sides.

With right sides together and matching seams, match the unfinished edge of your Hem with the unfinished edge of your Main Skirt. You can serge the two pieces together or finish it off however you prefer.

Once attached, top stitch the Main Skirt and Hem portion. Top stitching makes your piece look professional and finished.

Now for the fun part: ruffling. You can ruffle the skirt however you please. I actually have a ruffler foot. Have I used it? Don't be silly, I've had it for 4 months and still have no clue as to its uses, so I ruffle the way I’ve always known to: gather stitch the top portion of the Main Skirt piece and pull the thread to gather. I usually gather stitch each side separately. This enables me to evenly distribute one side instead of an entire skirt at a time.

With right sides together, attach the Apron to the Yolk of the skirt, 1" from the the Yolk seams. You will need to lightly pleat it.

Now with right sides together, attach the ruffled skirt to the Yolk making sure that the ruffles are evenly distributed (you wouldn't want a left-heavy skirt, would you?) and stitch, finishing off the edges in what ever manner you fancy.

Once the skirt is attached to the yolk, do I really need to tell you to top stitch? Nah, you know.

Fold in a 1/4" on the top, unfinished side of the yolk. Press, then fold over again to accommodate whichever size of elastic you are using. I used a 3/4" elastic so I folded the fabric over just at 1". Stitch all around leaving a 1" opening to insert the elastic. The easiest way I found was to attach a safety pin to the end of the elastic and pull it through.