Retro Apron

This Thanksgiving Betsy is hosting at her house in Seattle, so I had to come up with a great

 Hostess Gift for her! Voila- a retro apron!

 

 

I got the cotton from Hart's Fabric in Santa Cruz and used bias tape to edge around the outside.

The pattern I modified from a Decade's of Style: Val's Kitchen apron.

It came with a full apron version, but I cut off the top and made a half apron, so easy! It has a pocket for utility and is totally washable which of course is a necessity!

Her kitchen has a lot of neutrals and olive green natural colors, so I figured a little punch of color would brighten things up and definitely make fixing our Thanksgiving feast a treat!

I also made a set of coordinating napkins because you can never have too many! 

Here's a quick tutorial on how to do the clean mitered corners:

 

 

I made my napkins 18" to start, so 1 yard of fabric got me 4 napkins. Since the hem is about 2 1/2", they end up being smaller, but a perfect dinner napkin size!

First: fold one corner in half so the raw edges line up.

Next fold the tip of the corner down so that the raw edges line up, and there is 2 1/2" from the raw edges to the folded edge.

Next, mark where to start sewing 1 1/2" from the folded edge.

Only sewing through the two folded layers, sew a line starting at the pin (1 1/2" from folded edge) stopping at the folded edge. Your seam should be perpendicular to the fold as shown.

Now trim the triangle point above the stitching. (no need to finish your seam allowances since it will all get trapped inside the corner!)

 

Next turn the corner right side out and press. I used a large knitting needle to help poke out the corner

Then fold under the extra allowance that is not sewn down and pin the hem close to the fold as shown

Top stitch close to the fold.

 

I mitered all my corners before sewing the final hem, so that I could go all the way around the square at once! Then I pressed one more time with steam and there you have a simple but stylish gift!