Kitchen Towel to Apron

Does anyone else have a favorite kitchen towel? Like, one that you use until it's absolutely filthy and you HAVE to wash it, and you're just waiting for the laundry to get done so you can hang it right back on the oven door? Well, we could just about make a quilt with the number of kitchen towels we have stuffed into our drawers, but I only ever use 3 or 4 of those. And only those 3 or 4. So I'm trying to find a better life for the dish towels that don't get used otherwise.

Now, I also happen to lack a proper kitchen apron. Not a cute, frilly apron that you're worried about getting grease splatters on because it's so beautiful. A real, simple, no-nonsense apron that you can wipe your hands on even if they're covered in eggs or bacon grease. In other words, a kitchen towel! Ah-ha, I did have a point after all, didn't I?

So, how to turn a plain kitchen towel into a handy apron that not only covers your clothes but can withstand heavy use? Easy!

The finished kitchen towel apron

Supplies:

Kitchen Towel (hold it up to yourself to make sure there's plenty of coverage)

Bias Binding (about 90")

Thread

Sewing Machine

Scissors/Rotary Cutter
Ruler

Decorations/Pocket material (optional)

Short supplies list, eh?

I decided to use a kitchen towel that had a waffle-pattern to it, in hopes of catching more of the inevitable mess I make while cooking. The bias binding was homemade out of some old cotton print I had stashed away somewhere. I decided on the length so that it would be long enough to go over my head and tie in the front after wrapping it around the back once. I like my aprons pretty secure.

Finished tie

To make the tie out of the binding, just fold the ends in and sew around the whole length with roughly an 1/8" seam allowance. And the apron tie is done! Set aside until the rest of the apron is finished.

1/8" seam allowance

I also opted against adding a pocket to this apron, because really, I have about a bazillion places to rest a hot spoon that don't involve burning myself with it. And it would just take up that prime grime-wiping real estate. So, on to the measurements!

My towel was a bit long when I held it up to myself, so I decided to shorten it at the top a bit. You can just fold the bottom and hem it that way if you'd prefer, but I wasn't missing out on a whole lot of extra material, so I figured snipping it off was easier. Once you've got the length figured out, measure yourself from where the top of the apron will be to your waist (natural waist, mind you). Make a mark at either side of the apron and make another mark 2" up from there. Now draw a nice curve from that mark up to the top, so that about 2" is taken off the upper sides. See the photo below for clarification.

All my marks made before I cut the fabric

Cut along the marks you made (the rotary cutter and mat are helpful here, but by no means necessary). The top of the apron should look like this:

Cut up and ready to sew

If your fabric is on the shifty side (my waffle-pattern kept stretching and worming its way away from me), I'd suggest finishing up the edges with a zig-zag stitch or serger if you have one. I do, so I went ahead and serged the armscyes (those curves) and the top. Try to stretch the armscyes out when you finish those edges, because the looser they are now, the easier they will be to roll over later. If you don't understand what I mean yet, don't worry, you will.

Turn over the top edge about 1 inch and sew it down. I used a zig-zag stitch, but if you have a more stable fabric a straight stitch or decorative stitch would be lovely, too. Oh, and make sure you fold the raw/finished edge over to the wrong side of the towel. Don't want to be seeing that on the outside of the finished product later, do we?

Stitching the top down

Here's the top all sewn down:

Finished top

Now we pin the armscyes in on the wrong side as well, leaving enough of a gap for our bias binding to slide through once we've sewn it down. This part is a little tricky, but thankfully it's only a short distance. Ironing the curves in place before you sew may help as well. Note that the very top and bottom corners don't meet the outside edges of the towel. That's fine. These tubes just guide the tie.

Tie tubes pinned down

Sew the tubes in place using whatever stitch you like (I went with the zig-zag again) and if you haven't already, give the whole thing a good pressing. I also sewed from the very top edge of the towel to the bottom side edge as though there was tubing all the way. I just thought it would look better from the front.

Wrong side of the apron

From the front it looks like this:

I know it got a bit dark... we had an unexpected thunderstorm for the past hour

Now attach whatever other embellishments or decorations you would like to the apron front (being careful not to sew shut the tubes). If you want pockets, add them now. Trim? Knock yourself out! On the other hand, adding sparkly writing should probably wait until the very end. Glitter gets messy.

Once that's finished, simply wiggle the bias binding tie you made through the tubes via a safety pin, and voila! The tie should be evenly divided between the two sides, with an adjustable loop at the top to stick your head through.

There's other ways to do it, but this works for me

And now we have a purposeful kitchen towel for an apron! No more scrubbing T-shirts and tank tops with stain-remover after making BLTs for DH and myself! (Yes, that is the second time I've mentioned BLTs in a post... tomatoes are growing like mad in our garden, and we're not super creative apparently).

Just finished

Even though it's simple, the color and contrasting tie make it pretty to look at in my opinion. And the tie is just long enough for me to tie it in the front. Which just makes the apron fit better, I think.

Ready to get messy!

Please let me know if there's anything I've skipped, and I'd love to hear in the comments if anyone is as crazy as I am with kitchen towels! Enjoy your new apron!

Happy Sewing,
Lea