Learn how to make an apron from IKEA tea towels. Sewing an apron is a great project if you only have 10 minutes on your hand.

Sewing an apron is a simple project that can be finished in an afternoon.

If you stop by the Farmhouse on Boone very much, you know I love a good simple project. This mama right here has four, going on five, little children underfoot, and the last thing I need is three more wingback chairs to slipcover. One was enough for me, until I’m a grandma, thank you very much.

Don’t get me wrong, I really appreciate the satisfaction that goes from crossing a mountain of a project off the list, but most the time that’s just not how I roll. No, I need something that I can whip up in a nap time, clean up the mess, and go on to make dinner.

Every time I am at IKEA, which is a lot for this DIY farmhouse lover, I can’t just walk past the ELLY tea towels without stopping to throw a few packages in the cart. The stripes are the perfect shade of blue. That’s why they show up in just about every kitchen picture I take.

A few months ago, I shared a tutorial for how to sew simple pillows from IKEA tea towels, but I figure why stop there?

This would make a lovely apron for fall. The large pocket is perfect for bringing in the autumn harvest.

Even if you are brand new, sewing an apron is a great project for beginners.

Start with a package of ELLY tea towels. Of course, you could make this from other pretty ones you find too. I usually browse through the selection at World Market when I’m there, because they have some simple, beautify patterns as well.

What makes this project simple is we are able to use the original seams that are already in place in tea towels.

Get the full video tutorial:

You can get all the instructions on the video tutorial, but I like to include them here also, in case you would rather not watch a video.

Lay out your first tea towel flat on your work surface.

Pick one that coordinates nicely with your first tea towels, fold it in half, and place it on top of the first one.

Make sure the outside edges of the “pocket” tea towel and the “main apron” tea towel are lined up.

Pin and sew the folded tea towel in place. This will be the pocket for your apron.

To make the band around the top, cut a 10″ by 102″ piece of coordinating fabric. For mine, I used bleached drop cloth.

Of course, what else would I use? I love the stuff!

Fold it in half and sew all the way down the long side. folding the top and bottom edges out, so the ends will be finished.

After the long side is sewn, use a large safety pin to turn the band right side out, hiding the raw edges inside.

Press and topstitch around all four sides of the band, to keep the seams flat.

Find the center of the band and the center of the apron. Line the two up, and pin in place. Sew the band to the apron, all along the top of the main tea towel.

Last but not least, find the center of the pocket and sew a straight line right through it. This will create two pockets, instead of one really large one.

Try on your harvest apron and go gather veggie, eggs and herbs from the garden, until your heart’s content!

I tried to hide the bump in the other pictures, but I couldn’t hide that 23 week belly from the side view.

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