Dishtowel Cafe Apron (from Missy and Kimi at ifI could...)

Hi!  We are Missy and Kimi, visiting from our blog if I could....  We are two sisters who share a love of all things cute, crafty, and/or delicious. We used to look at the amazing things that people make and think "if I could..." Then we entered the wonderful (and addicting) world of blogging where we were shown step-by-step how to sew, craft, and cook anything we could possibly imagine. We realized that with a little bit of help from fellow bloggers we can do these things.  We created our blog to keep track of all the tutorials and ideas we loved.  Come check us out and find something that inspires you!  To find out more about us, check here.

Dishtowel Cafe Apron

Today we're going to make the Dishtowel Cafe Apron, so cute and very beginner (truth be told Missy did cry the first time we made these- she's WAY too much of a perfectionist).  I love making these for gifts.  Pair it with a cake box, kitchen utensil, or favorite cookbook (depending on how much $ you want to spend) and you have a perfect gift for a teacher, neighbor, or friend.  Now, on to the tutorial for the Dishtowel Cafe Aprons.

ITEMS NEEDED:

1. Dishtowel

2. Trim (ruffle, ric rac, pom-poms, etc...) same as the width of the towel + 2 inches

3. 1.5 yards of coordinating fabric for the waistband (you will have enough leftover to make another apron)
4.  Matching thread

Cut your dishtowel so that it is 18"

Pin the trim on the bottom of the towel, wrapping it around to the back about 1" on both sides and sew

(yes, I did just change towels... bottom line: did NOT want to go back to the fabric store)

Cut out two 6" strips of fabric.  Each strip is 6" wide and 54" long

Pin the two strips right sides together, end to end, and sew (you have one LONG strip)

Iron the seam open flat

Fold the fabric in half (so your strip is now 3" wide) and iron

Open the fabric back up and iron in all raw edges about 1/2" (if you want to be fancy you can angle in your ends)

Here's just a square corner

Here's one I did with a fancy corner

Fold the strip back in half and press it one last time

Open the fabric strip and place the towel inside, lining the top of the towel with the fold of the fabric.  Make sure the seam of the fabric strip is centered on the towel

Pin the entire strip and sew (using a 1/4" seam allowance- which means you use your presser foot as a guide)around the edge of the strip (bottom, side, top, side)

Ta-Da! All done!