Placemat Aprons

Here is my finished apron made from a placemat I bought 3 years ago at JCPenny's for 20 cents!

(see a quick variation of this apron at the bottom of this tutorial)

Gotta love a cheap, cute craft, right? And it couldn't be easier to make! All you need is a placemat, some ribbon, a lighter, some straight pins, your sewing machine and some embellishments. (Never mind the silk flowers in this picture- I thought they would be cute and I was wrong!)

Find the center of your apron and measure about 2-3 inches on each side from the center an mark it.

Fold over your corners. When I make this again ('cause I am sure I will!) I will not make them 90 degrees like I did this one because the ribbon ties a little high on Leah's back and not at her waist. I was thinking 90 degrees would look cuter when the stitching comes through the other side... but I used clear thread anyway so it really didn't matter!

Stitch your flaps, leaving enough space at each end so that your ribbon will fit through it.

Tie a knot in one end of the ribbon so that it's easier to feed through

I used my lighter to help me feed the ribbon through- it worked like a charm!

Then I made a pocket and embellished it with some ribbon and buttons.
I burnt the edges of my ribbon so it doesn't fray

Ta-Da!

So easy! So cute!

Another variation for this is to use elastic instead of ribbon for around the neck. This is how I prefer it! Just sew the elastic right onto the top of the apron and add a ribbon to tie in the back. Look at these:

I just had one long ribbon across the center that served as a cute embellishment as well as the ties for the back.

How fun!!!