Tea Towel Apron Tutorial
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In today’s blog post, you’ll learn how to sew a tea towel apron (dish towel apron). This type of half apron is a great beginner project that is perfect for anyone who wants to learn how to sew. Plus, it’s a lot of fun! So gather up your supplies and let’s get started!
Aprons in the Kitchen
Aprons have been used in the kitchen for centuries. They are a great way to protect your clothes from spills and stains while cooking. Aprons are very practical and can be used for a variety of activities, not just cooking!
I personally love this type of dishtowel apron when baking or just cleaning the kitchen. It is so convenient to have a dishtowel available at my fingertips to wipe food from my hands or to dry dishes.
Why Sew a Tea Towel Apron
- Easy – Tea towel aprons are so easy!
- Beginner-friendly – This project is perfect for beginners, anyone learning how to sew, or just wanting a fast project. All there is to this simple half-apron project is a bit of cutting, pinning, ironing, and straight-line sewing.
- Fast – You can whip up one of these tea towel aprons in just about 25 minutes. Since you are using a premade dish towel, the edges and hems are already done, which saves so much time and extra work!
- Fun – There are so many adorable dishtowel colors and prints available, you will have a blast just trying to come up with a towel and fabric combination.
- Makes a great gift – A dishtowel apron makes a great handmade housewarming gift or gift for the cooks in your life!
Looking for a full-size apron pattern?
Check out this free Apron Pattern. (It is a full-size apron, and the pattern comes in 3 sizes.)
What size tea towel is best for an apron?
When it comes to tea towels/ dishtowels, there are tons of different sizes available. For my apron, I used a solid waffle weave kitchen towel from Crate and Barrel. (These are really nice and so absorbent.) It is 18 inches by 28 inches and is really the ideal size for a tea towel apron. If you don’t already have one on hand to use, Amazon has a bunch of cute ones and I always find good ones at Home Goods and Tj Maxx.
Easy to Personalize
Not only are these a snap to sew, but if you use a plain tea towel, there are so many ways to personalize the apron. You could add a pocket, decorative pom-pom trim, ribbon, contrasting fabric, embroidery designs, or maybe a cute kitchen-themed vinyl design.
Pin this project for later
How to make a Tea Towel Apron
Now that you know a little bit more about the apron, it’s time to gather your supplies and get started on your own tea towel half apron. Here’s what you’ll need:
Materials needed
- 1/2 yard fabric
- Tea towel/dish towel
- ruler
- rotary cutter
- pins
- iron
- basic sewing supplies
Tea Towel Apron Sewing Instructions
Tutorial Notes:
- WOF = width of fabric.
- RST = Right sides together.
- Scant quarter-inch = a measurement that is ever so slightly narrower than one 1/4″ inch.
Skill Level:
Beginner-friendly
Time Needed:
25 Minutes
Step 1: Create the fabric ties.
Cut fabric into 3 – 5 inches by WOF strips.
Cut two of the strips 30.5 inches wide and one strip 20.5 inches wide. This will give about an 80-inch fabric tie. If you want a longer or shorter tie for your tea towel apron, you can add or subtract fabric as needed from the 30.5-inch strips.
Line up strips, rights sides together, with the 20-inch wide strip in the middle and sew together with a 1/4 inch seam allowance.
Fold edges of the tie over 1/4 inch and press. Fold the tie in half and press. (Pin if needed.)
Step 2: Create pleats in the tea towel.
To create the pleats, mark the center of the towel with a pin.
Then add a pin every 1.5 inches along the top of the towel to the right of the middle mark and to the left.
Starting at one edge of the towel, Skip the 1st pin at the end, bring the 2nd and 4th pin together. Fold the fabric flap over and pin or secure with a clip.
Skip the next pin and repeat the pleating process. Secure the pleat with a pin or clip, making sure the pleats are facing the same direction.
Skip over to the other edge of the towel and repeat. But on this side, you will have the pleats facing the other direction. This method gives you a nice flat section in the middle of the apron.
Take your towel to the sewing machine and sew a wide basting stitch over the pleats to hold them in place. (About a scant quarter inch from the edge.)
Step 3: Sew The fabric tie to the dish towel.
Line up the center mark on the towel with the center mark of the fabric tie.
Unfold the pressed edge of the fabric tie and line it up with the edge of the tea towel. Sew the tie to the towel, right along the fold line.
Flip the tie up, and over to the other side of the towel and pin it in place. Starting from the edge of the fabric tie, sew along the bottom of the tie, 1/8th of an inch from the edge. Sew from edge to edge.
That is it, your tea towel apron is done. Try it on and take some pics
Did You Sew This Tea Towel Apron?
If you end up sewing an apron, be sure to come back and leave a star ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating and/or a review in the comments section below. If you share an image on Instagram, be sure to tag me and use #scatteredmompatterns! You can also share an image to my private Facebook sewing group!
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Feedly, Bloglovin', your favorite feed reader, or signing up via email and have new posts delivered to your email box each week!Tea Towel Apron Sewing Tutorial
This Tea Towel Apron is quick to sew - less than 25 minutes with this simple tutorial! A perfect project for beginners and makes a great handmade gift idea.
Materials
- 1/2 yard fabric
- Tea towel/dish towel
- ruler
- rotary cutter
- pins
- iron
- basic sewing supplies
Instructions
Step 1: Create the fabric ties.
- Cut fabric into 3 - 5 inches by WOF strips.
- Cut two of the strips 30.5 inches wide and one strip 20.5 inches wide. This will give about an 80-inch fabric tie. If you want a longer or shorter tie for your tea towel apron, you can add or subtract fabric as needed from the 30.5-inch strips.
- Line up strips, rights sides together, with the 20-inch wide strip in the middle and sew together with a 1/4 inch seam allowance.
- Fold edges of the tie over 1/4 inch and press. Fold the tie in half and press. (Pin if needed.)
Step 2: Create pleats in the tea towel.
- To create the pleats, mark the center of the towel with a pin.
- Then add a pin every 1.5 inches along the top of the towel to the right of the middle mark and to the left.
- Starting at one edge of the towel, Skip the 1st pin at the end, bring the 2nd and 4th pin together. Fold the fabric flap over and pin or secure with a clip.
- Skip the next pin and repeat the pleating process. Secure the pleat with a pin or clip, making sure the pleats are facing the same direction.
- Skip over to the other edge of the towel and repeat. But on this side, you will have the pleats facing the other direction. This method gives you a nice flat section in the middle of the apron.
- Take your towel to the sewing machine and sew a wide basting stitch over the pleats to hold them in place. (About a scant quarter inch from the edge.)
Step 3: Sew The fabric tie to the dish towel.
- Line up the center mark on the towel with the center mark of the fabric tie.
- Unfold the pressed edge of the fabric tie and line it up with the edge of the tea towel. Sew the tie to the towel, right along the fold line.
- Flip the tie up, and over to the other side of the towel and pin it in place. Starting from the edge of the fabric tie, sew along the bottom of the tie, 1/8th of an inch from the edge. Sew from edge to edge.
- That is it, your tea towel apron is done. Try it on and take some pics
