Sewing Shenanigans - Potholder Apron

So I saw this adorable idea on Pinterest the other day.  I don't have a Pinterest account, but I do regularly see "pins" on Facebook and this particular one caught my eye.  An easy apron you can make out of a potholder and a dishtowel?

Color me intrigued.

So off I go to find a cute potholder / dishtowel duo that can serve as my base.  Here's what I found (Walmart for $3!):

The set came with two square potholders, a mitt, three towels and a washcloth.  Not bad for $3.  Material definitely isn't the best, but I figure $3 on a practice project is $3 well spent, especially when I can get several projects outta the pack!

So anyway, I decided to give the project a go tonight after I picked up the pink ribbon you see above.

I cut the towel a little less than halfway through.  I wanted the pattern of little cupcakes to still show up in a way that didn't look odd when completed.  Unfortunately, I underestimated the fabric allowance I'd need to fold over to sew a decent looking seam.  As a result, the lines aren't straight again and I think the cupcakes ended up being on a slight angle.  Meh... gives it some character.  *Grin*

Pinning this way was not my smartest move.

Totally zigged when I shoulda zagged.

From here I decided I should attempt to fold down the corners of my little rectangle so I could sew the potholder onto the towel.  I eye-balled two triangles on either side of the top and sewed them in place.  I didn't take pictures of this part - though I really should've - because I didn't want to stop since I'd finally gotten things working right.

Those triangles taught me the importance of having an iron handy.  I don't think I'd've been able to sew those seams closed had I not had the iron to help me make the creases that would hold down the fabric.  So yes!  Irons really DO make all the difference in the world.  Who knew?

Once the triangles were in place, I took on the potholder.  I measured the seam out to where I thought it should go.  GLORIOUS mistake on this one.  Since I was sewing backside (to keep the stitch colors where I wanted them) I didn't see that my measurement was way off until I flipped the pieces over to view my not-so-handy-work.  I actually laughed.  This is what it looked like:

That's not under the cupcake!!!

Oh well.  I figured I may as well continue making as many mistakes as possible with this one.  Get 'em out of the way so when I try my hand at this again, I won't have so many goofs to take photos of.  Ha ha!

Once the potholder was attached, I decided to put a ribbon across the center as a little belt.  It'd cover the stitching error and would add a touch of cute (as if cupcakes weren't adorable enough!).  


So I grabbed the ribbon and was pleasantly surprised to find that it folded out into 2 inch fabric!  It's not real ribbon... it's something called bias tape.  Worked for me!  

So I unfolded it out and cut a center piece for the belt.  Again, I eye-balled it since I'm not really sure what I'd be measuring anyway since I didn't start out with any sizes.  I then folded those and sewed the ends into place. 

Note to self: Choose ribbon that is actually opaque next time.

I decided against sewing the belt down the center because after I secured both sides, it actually sat pretty flat against the potholder.  I felt that adding a sewing line would be silly. Granted, I would've gotten practice sewing in a straight line, but I think it looks cute enough without the line and I do plan to give this to my niece.  


Anyway, after the belt was secured, I attached the ribbons to tie in the back and around the neck.  Those were simple enough.  Once completed, I was pretty pleased with myself.  It took me about an hour and a half to accomplish (mostly because I was fighting with my machine), but all in all, this was a really good practice run and I learned a few new things about my machine and the sewing process.  Plus, I feel like I'm an expert threader now that I've had to do it about a bazillion times.

Win-win, right?

Here's the trial run apron.  Can't wait to see what the 2nd one looks like!

I sincerely hope a year from now I have enough practice that I can look back at this photo and cringe in horror.  Right now, though, I'm basking in my success, even if it's the messy sort.  :)

I think I'm gonna do blue ribbons for the ties next go around...