Tea Towel Apron Sewing Tutorial - a great gift idea!

This tea towel apron is easy to sew from a couple of towels and some basic sewing notions!

My mother has been hinting (and not very subtlely, either) that she needs a new apron. “Do you need a project for a blog post? I SURE COULD USE a new apron… Hint, hint….” The other day I was walking through Target and I spied some tea towels that reminded me of my mom. The colors and the farmhouse style would be so pretty in her 1920’s kitchen. And since she had just hinted to me again about the apron, I had a good idea of what to make for her out of them.

I’ve got a tutorial for you below.

Tea towel aprons are really pretty easy to make. With just a little bit of cutting and some easy seams, I was able to turn the two tea towels into a pretty new apron for her to wear while cooking. I added some extra features on this one because it was for my mom.

A large divided pocket at the bottom will hold a phone or anything else you need to keep close while cooking.

There are D-rings on the neck strap so it’s easily adjustable.

And the waist ties are long enough that you can wrap them around and tie them in the front.

I’ll be honest – I love this apron so much it was hard to give it away. But there’s no way I could steal from my mama, so of course I gave it to her. And if you’re wondering, my mother LOVED her apron!

Here’s how you can make your own tea towel apron:

Materials

2 tea towels, each approximately 18” wide x 28” long (I used these towels from Target.)
3 yards of 1” wide twill tape
2 1” D-rings
Free pattern

Sew the Bib

Take one of the tea towels and cut it in half lengthwise, creating 2 pieces that are each approximately 18” wide x 14” tall. One of these pieces will be the Bib, while the other will be the Pocket.

Take the piece that will be Bib and use the pattern to cut off the top corners. The short side of the triangle pattern piece should be lined up with the top of the towel.

Hem the raw edges with a ½” double fold hem.

To create a ½” double fold hem, first press ½” to the back of the towel. Then, press another ½” over to the back, encasing the raw edge. Sew the hem in place close to the inner folded edge.

Attach Bib to Skirt

The second (uncut) tea towel will become the apron bottom, or Skirt. Turn it sideways (landscape orientation) and then place the Bib on top, WRONG sides together, centered vertically and aligned at the top.

Sew the Bib to the Skirt with a ½” seam allowance.

Trim 1/8”- ¼” from the seam allowance of the Bib. (Don’t trim the seam allowance on the Skirt; we need to keep that nice hemmed edge.)

Turn the apron right side up and press the seam allowances toward the Bib. (The hemmed edge of the Skirt will cover the raw edge seam allowance.)

Sew the Skirt seam allowance down close to the edge.

Sew the Pocket

The remaining piece of tea towel (the other half of the one you cut earlier) will be the Pocket. Cut it so it’s approximately 10 ¼” tall x 18” wide.

When cutting, make sure that you’re trimming off the end that has the raw edge. Don’t cut off any of the hemmed edges!

Hem the raw edge with a ½” double fold hem. All 4 sides of the Pocket piece are now hemmed.

Press a crease down the middle of the pocket. This will be the stitching guide when it’s time to sew the Pocket divider.

Place the Pocket piece on the Skirt, centered horizontally and approximately 4” from the bottom of the Bib. Sew around the sides and the bottom of the Pocket with a ½” seam allowance (or whatever seam allowance has you stitching just past the thickness of the hemmed edges). Then sew around the sides and bottom again, this time with a 1/8” seam allowance.

Using the crease as a guide, sew down the center of the Pocket to divide it into 2 sections.

Attach the Straps

Cut a piece of twill tape 3” long.

Thread the twill tape through both of the D-rings, bringing the ends of the twill tape together to create a loop.

Sew the twill tape & D-rings to the back side of the right corner of the Bib, with the D-rings facing out from the top of the Bib. I like to stitch a box and X to make sure it’s good and secure.