Featured Blogger - Lil Buggie Tutu

I am SO excited to share this post with you all today!
Angelene from LBT has made the most fabulous apron!
I am SO inspired! And I will be making one of these for myself!
AMAZING JOB, Angelene!
If you haven't been over there, read this post then go say HI! to Angelene for me!

This is not your mother's apron, but if it is then your Momma is super cool!!! :) teehee

I {heart} this thing

Hello again Allie's awesome peeps!

It's Angelene from LBT (Little Buggie Tutu) checking in again.  

Thank you so much for having me, I am so thrilled to be here!!!  I feel more creative just saying I'm guest posting on

What Allie's Making Now !

 

I hope you have had a wonderful week and are all prepared for the upcoming turkey day festivities.  It seems that I will never be ready but that's the fun of it...at least I say that now.  Ask me again next Friday. ;)

I am a lover of all things bandana (ok, maybe not ALL things but most).  Between the 4 of us (D, me, Bubs and Bugs) we literally have around 60 bandana's.  We wear them ALL the time in all sorts of places.  I have found myself drawn to creating things with them.  The best part is they are readily accessible, you can find them anywhere.  We live in a small town and do not have access to fabric or craft stores, not for miles.  So, to be able to create a wearable piece out of something so inexpensive ($1 usually) and easy to get, not to mention the whole bandana obsession in this house, just seems logical.  Right?  Right! 

Anyway, let's get this party started!  Want to make an inexpensive but super rad apron...out of bandanas???  Well you're in the right place.

Materials

Fabric of your choice - BANDANAs

Coordinating fabric - BANDANAs

Sewing machine, thread, scissors, ruler, stinkin' seam ripper

I used 2 black bandanas for the skirt piece and 1 for the top. 

Since I knew that I would have to piece together 2 of them for the skirt I used the outside edge of the design border as a guide.  I hoped this would make the seam less obvious or at least less ugly.  I pinned the bandanas right sides together along this border and then sewed using that edge as a guide.

When you have finished sewing this seam go ahead and cut off the excess material leaving enough to finish the raw edges.  You can use a ZZ (zig zag) stitch or an OL (overlock), it's whatevs, both work fine. 

***THIS IS A VERY IMPORTANT STEP B/C BANDANAS WILL FRAY!!!

So the seam looks like this when opened up just for reference.

Fold the bandanas back together, right sides, and then cut a shape that looks like this.  It's kind of a U shape, kind of.

This is what it will look like when you open it back up - a distorted U.

Now it's time to fold the waistband down and topstitch it.  I just folded and pressed it using that same design border as my guide. 

*It makes things so much easier if you iron while you sew.  It eliminates the need to pin a lot of times and really helps the sewing process.

At this point I went ahead and created all the pieces with my coordinating fabric, that way it was all done and ready for me when I was ready for them.  My red material is not an actual bandana (though bandana print) but you can do this using bandanas.  I would recommend having 3 to 5 of them on hand depending on how long you want your ties and how ruffly your ruffle will be.  You would just cut strips of these coordinating bandanas to sew together to make the waistband, ruffle and ties for the neck.  Even if you used 5, with the 3 used for the body that is still only $8 for an apron. 

A super cool, unique, easy apron. 

INSANE!!!

Ok, so ruffle.  I cut mine 3" wide and twice the length of the bottom edge of my skirt.  I did leave a little for the SA (seam allowance).  I finished the edge that would be the bottom of the ruffle and then ran a long stitch at the top for pulling it into a ruffle.

Next, I cut the strips for the waistband.  I really wanted it to be long enough to wrap around the front if I wanted to tie it that way.  I of course did not have 100" of material so I cut 1 strip long enough to be the actual waistband part and then 2 shorter strips to sew on each end of the waistband to elongate it.  I wanted my waistband to be pretty tall so I cut my strips 6" wide (with about 1/4" for SA) to give me a 3" waistband.

Pin each shorter piece on to the ends of the long piece keeping them right sides together.  Stitch leaving 1/4" SA.

Press the seam open.  This will definitely help down the road when we are making this long piece a tube.

Now pin your super long strip of material right sides together down the longest edge and sew again leaving a small SA.  Do not sew the ends shut.  Turn your tube right side out and press.  Use a safety pin or knitting needle to assist in turning the tube right side out.

I folded the ends of my tube in to make cute little points.  I think that looks so much better than squared off edges.  Put this aside now.  We won't top stitch it until it's ready to be sewn on the waistband. 

Now the strips for the neck ties. 

I did this exactly the same as the waistband except for the measurements.  This will be slipped through a neck casing so make sure it isn't too wide.  I think that 1-1/4" is just about the widest it can be which is how wide mine is. 

In hind sight, mine are too long.  I will be shortening them later.  Just cut these to whatever length you are comfortable with but follow the same steps we did with the waistband. 

WAY too long!

Now we need to do some work to the top.  I also used a black bandana for the top piece and decided that I would just make a casing for my neck ties to slip through.  A casing is quick and easy and I really like the gathered look at the neck.  I folded the top of the bandana twice, pressed and then topstitched. 

I also folded the sides in, 1x, and topstitched them in place.  I used the outside edge of the design border again as my guide. 

***NOTE***

The waistband, top casing and sides of the top have all been topstitched twice, not one right on top of the other but once along the very top edge and then along the bottom edge.  This helped give some stability.

This picture shows the top piece pinned to the skirt piece.  It is pinned, right sides facing, so that the edge of the design border falls right in line with the design border on the skirt. 

SUK (so u know), you can click on any pic for an enlarged view.

 This is what we have once the top piece is sewn on to the skirt.

Now pin your ruffle to the skirt.  Make sure the ruffle is pinned with it's right side facing the right side of the skirt.  Sew along the edge of the ruffle leaving about a 1/4" SA.  Finish that edge with a ZZ or OL stitch - IMPORTANT!

Flip your ruffle down, IRON the skirt pressing the ruffle down, and then top stitch along the very bottom edge of the skirt.

Now pin the waistband onto the skirt overlapping both the skirt piece and the top piece, the waistband will kinda be straddling both.  Pin good so that it doesn't slip when you're sewing.

You will start at one end of the waistband strip sewing close to the edge.  Start at one edge of the triangular piece and go all the way around nice and slow so that you stay close to the edge and catch all of the pieces you will be sewing over.  Hang in there, it can feel like this will never end. 

Now sew your neck tie piece the same way.  You won't be sewing it onto something of course but you will sew it in the same manner.  Start at one end of the triangular piece and topstitch all the way around.  (Sorry for no pic to show this).  Now slide this piece into your neck casing and

YOU ARE DONE!!!

Put that BEAST on and cook somethin'!!!

Oh my!

She's a way better model than me!

Doesn't she look pretty just hangin' there?

I absolutely love the way it turned out! 

I hope you do, too!!!

Please let me know if you make one of these crazy things and PLEASE send me pics.  I love you all and would totally love to see your creations.

littlebuggietutu@gmail.com

Come visit me, too, please.  I would love for you to become my friends, too!!! 

I always follow back! :)

Thanks again for having me.

Wishing you a Beautiful, Blessed Thanksgiving Day - and EVERY day!!! 

PEACE

LOVE

&

Aprons!!!

A