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Sew Liberated Child’s Apron

My son is starting Kindergarden on Tuesday. He has not been to school for longer than an hour, so I’m hoping he can hang for 7 hours a day. But he’s super excited about it, and that’s what counts. I’m a little sad about it, but it’s not about me, so I turned to a little sewing to fix that. 🙂

The supply list for school included an art smock, apron, or old shirt to cover up clothes when painting. When my husband heard that I was planning on making art aprons for the kids (because my daughter needed one too), he said what the heck and that boys don’t wear art aprons, they wear old shirts. What the?!? The kids had already chosen their fabric, so I plowed ahead.

I used the Montessori Child’s Apron by Sew Liberated, which is a free pdf pattern. This pattern is appropriate for children ages 3-6.

Fabric – Joann’s had their character fabric on sale this week, so the kids chose Hello Kitty and Spiderman…big surprise there! I actually like the new Hello Kitty fabric that they had there a whole lot, it’s super cute. The pattern calls for 1/2 yard of fabric. I altered the pattern to include front pockets, so if you’re going to do that, you might want to get slightly more fabric, especially if you’re fussy cutting like I did. Besides the fabric, you’ll need 2″ of velcro and 15-1/4″ of elastic (3/4″).

Pattern Pieces – There is only one pattern piece, and there is no taping needed! It is helpful to trace the pattern piece onto newsprint, since you will need to lengthen the bottom by 9″. I used Pellon Tru-Grid, which made it extremely easy for me to add the extra 9″ at the bottom.

Illustrations/Instructions – There is an illustration for just about every step, and the instructions are very detailed. I looked at apron patterns for awhile before I decided on this one. I chose this pattern because I liked the elastic strap around the next, which would make it very easy to put on, yet still maintaining a snug fit. Since neither of my kids can tie a knot yet, I appreciate the fact that this apron closes via velcro; will make it easy for them to put on themselves.

As I mentioned already, I just added the front pocket with dividers – I made two 3″ dividers in the pocket and many 1″ ones. I thought it would be kind of cool to have space for larger things and also for individual markers or brushes. Adding the pocket was really easy.

Conclusion – This was a great project. If you’re a beginner, you’d definitely be able to complete this, and it’s a nice introduction to inserting elastic and sewing on velcro. Plus it’s harder finding cool things to sew for little boys, so my son definitely appreciated having something handmade just for him.

Seriously…please tell me all the boys in my son’s class are not going to want this apron! Tell my husband he can suck on that t-shirt idea, heehee.

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16 thoughts on “Sew Liberated Child’s Apron

  1. Johanna says:

    I forgot about an art smock this year! This would be perfect. Thanks!

  2. Sandra :) says:

    I love that pattern – I made one for my g-nephew’s 4th birthday this year – I used the royal blue rocket fabric from Joanns 🙂 Your models are adorable, and look very happy with their new art smocks!

    I’ve been making messenger bags to donate to a local counselling centre – I made several boy ones, which my husband and sons pronounced to be … PURSES. Yep – they keep calling ’em purses, so I’ve been trying to “man them up” with manly embellishments – I’m looking for boogers ‘n toots fabrics, but so far – no luck!! 😉

  3. Lynne says:

    My DD wore old shirts – but that was before I returned to sewing! It might be different if she was as young and adorable as your two in their very smart aprons.

  4. Amy says:

    Love the aprons! Funny, I just posted a very similar post about the art smocks I made for my kids (and new Kindergartener!): http://formworkdesign.blogspot.com/2012/08/back-to-school.html
    Then I saw your post in Blogger!

    Hope your son has a wonderful time in Kindergarten!

  5. Holly says:

    I love this pattern! I made my daughter one and then have given it as birthday gifts. It was also great for the preschool’s silent auction. Your kids look very happy with their art smocks!

  6. Fantastic – your husband dares to battle against Spiderman? Oh the mad man!

  7. Mermaid Sews says:

    So cute, and I agree with you, boys can wear aprons.

  8. Katy Cameron says:

    Sure, what does your husband know, he was a boy in the olden days ;o) Hope the boy has a great first day :o)

  9. mherath says:

    My grandsons (twins) wear aprons when they help cook at home and will wear them at school too.

  10. Jamie Lee says:

    The apron is awesome! Your husband should know better!

  11. Oh these are so cute Sara! Great aprons!

  12. Gene Black says:

    Your son’s art apron looks totally BOY Friendly. It doesn’t look feminine at all. And by the way, all the male professional artists I have taken classes with used an apron! So he is in good company!

  13. Thanks for posting this review. Because of your post I just made one using this pattern. It was such a good, well documented and EASY pattern. Thanks – and YES, your kids look great in their aprons and I think every boy in his class will want one!

  14. JOHANNA MEZA says:

    Where can I get the pattern? Please

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