Review 8: Amy's Apron by Wholly Kao

Apron in this photo made by Stephanie of Sew Cozy

This is for all of you who enjoy spending time in the kitchen whipping up a batch of something yummy! Here's a review of a cute apron DIY that has a slight vintage twist that I found on Wholly Kao's blog. Click here to see the full tutorial.

Creator: Esther of Wholly Kao

Timeline: ~4 hours

Estimated cost: 10$
1/4 yard cotton print: 0.56$ (2.25$/yd) at Mardens - Heart shaped top
3/4 yard cotton solids, various colors: 5.39$ (7.19$/yd) at FabricVille - Bottom apron
1/2 yard muslin: 3.60$ (7.19$/yd) at FabricVille - Fringe

Difficulty level: Intermediate sewer. Some difficulty to alter the pattern to fit properly.

Comments: 
I love the finished product of this apron! But, I did have a few sizing issues. I'd like to know what dimensions Esther cut her fabric for the apron pictured in her tutorial. I was forced to tailor the apron after if was done so that it would fit me right.

Here are the dimensions I used where the tutorial indicates to cut the fabric to the size that fits you best.
- Heart shaped top: 14"x10" (see pattern bellow)
- Bottom apron: 36"x18" (I sewed together 9 strips of 5"x18" with a 1/2" seam allowance)
- Neck strap: 20" long (when sewed on the apron, it measures 19")
- Ruffles: ~12' long (surprisingly long, but I needed every bit of it and they really add that special touch!)

Waist strap: Two problems.
1) 50" long was not long enough. With this length, I'm forced to tie the straps into a knot at the back. I would have preferred to have it long enough to tie into a bow at the side-front (maybe ~85" long would have been better).
2) The height of the muslin and cotton straps didn't match up (the cotton was taller than the muslin). Here's how I cut them:
- MUSLIN waist strap: 50" x 5" (like the pattern suggests)
- COTTON waist strap: 50" x 2.25"

I had to create pleats on the heart shaped top to adjust the fit. With the pattern bellow, you shouldn't have to!

I really struggled with the heart shaped top. So to help you guys out, here's a pattern of the heart shape I ended up with! Hopefully this will save you some time when you make your own Amy Apron. :)

Amy Apron Heart Shaped Top Pattern by Sew Cozy

The ruffles took me longer that I expected, so if you don't have a great amount of patience, I'd recommend buying some pre-made ruffles at the store like the tutorial suggests. Also, turning the straps inside out with no method was just plain ridiculous of me. Here's a little guide to turning fabric tubes inside out so you don't waste your time like I did!

Notice the handmade ruffles. I think they turned out pretty good! :)

And that's that! I can't wait to make a second one of these cute aprons now that I found a few tricks to go faster. And I'm working on a some oven mitts to go with it (I'll share that next week). Thank you Esther for the adorable Amy's Apron tutorial! :)

-Stephanie