Baby Apron and Chef's Hat

This was a fun project! It was one of those rare deals where I didn't have to do any seam ripping or starting over - love it! This will be Cadence's Halloween costume, and then she can wear it anytime while we cook or bake together.

This isn't really a detailed explanation or tutorial, but I did include some general instructions for the apron.

First I traced the shape I wanted on newspaper, then cut it out of nice sturdy fabric. I used canvas so I wouldn't have to line it or anything.


For the ruffle I measured around the outside and cut about a four inch wide piece of fabric double the length measured.

Fold the ruffle in half, wrong sides together, and iron flat. Put your sewing machine on the longest stitch setting. Sew down the side with the raw edges, without backstitching. Be sure to leave a long length of thread at the end.

Pull the back thread to form the ruffle, working it until approximately even. Pin in place around the apron, right sides together, raw edges together, and sew in place.

I combined the binding and straps. This time I used a two and a half inch strip, leaving plenty of excess for the ties. Fold in half and stitch down the length, right sides together. Turn right side out. For the top, iron in half and stitch to either side. Trim off excess. For the side pieces, iron in half just on the section you will use as binding. Stitch this part only, so it is attatched on the front and back. Repeat with the other side.

Trim ties to desired length. Fold ends inside and stitch shut.

I used velcro for the neck tie, and left the back tie plain to just put in a bow. I also added a pocket, but technically you could be done at this point.

Cadence modeling her new apron. It is a little big, but I guess that just means she gets to wear it longer :)

For the chef's hat, I used this tutorial from The Tutorial Phone Book. It was easy to follow. I did have to make it much smaller, since it is designed for an adult head, but that was straightforward. I also used binder clips instead of pins to hold the poofy part in place as I gathered it - so much easier!

Since Cadence will only leave hats on if we are outside, we headed out to take some pictures. Can't wait to wear it some more!