Heart Apron

Hey fellow ghouls and creeps! When I first began to sew, I found the prospect of drafting my own patterns super daunting, so I relied a lot on store-bought patterns. I used these patterns to make projects at varying degrees of difficulty and overtime I became more familiar with the garment assembly processes. My mom taught me the ropes on how to read a pattern envelope and the instructional sheets on the inside, and today I want to do the same for you! Today as part of the tutorial we’ll be getting into the breakdown of commercial sewing patterns! We’ll be going over what information to note when buying materials and when you begin sewing your project.

There’s also some super minor alterations that I made to my apron that I’ll also be reviewing. This includes how far the apron wraps around onto your sides, and the dip shape near the waistline. I also included a liner to ultimately make the apron more durable. The apron ties I made skinnier because of personal preference. The heart pocket is my own addition as well, which can easily be omitted. Let’s get started!

I rated the Heart Apron project as being moderately difficult. This is because the heart pocket, specifically the heart ruffle, could be challenging for novice sewers.

*Important note: Even though we will be reviewing the information on the pattern envelope and using McCall’s pattern #5720, make sure to purchase materials based on the below supply list!

If you are familiar with how to read commercial sewing patterns, skip ahead to step 1!

How to Read a Commercial Sewing Pattern:

Let’s start with the front of the pattern envelope! Important information that you will want to take note of is the size range that that specific envelope includes. This will be located typically along the right side with the pattern number. Since this pattern is for an apron the size range is much smaller. Consequently, the size is notated as OSZ, meaning that the pattern is one size fits all. The other information to note, are the garment options included in the envelope. The photographs on the front of the pattern will let you know what garments can be made with the pattern pieces inside.

Moving to the back of the envelope (see image below), you will see your sizing information, how much fabric you need to purchase, what notions(things like thread/buttons/trim), and suggested fabrics. Suggested fabrics are located near the top, and provide material options that would be suitable for that garment/project.

Under suggested fabrics, you’ll usually find how much fabric you need to purchase. This information is situated in a grid layout determined by the size and the style option you have chosen. On this pattern, the size is found above the grid. Simply locate your size, and follow the column down to the apron style you would like to make.

For this tutorial, I went with apron B in a size small. The fabric amounts are also dependant on the width of your material (most fabrics are either 45″ or 60″ wide). Pro-tip: Don’t fret if the width mentioned on the end of the fabric bolt is 42″ or 58″! The 42″ fabric will work as a 45″ width and the 58″ will work as a 60″ width. I picked two quilting cottons with a 42″ width, so going off the pattern I would have purchased 7/8 yard of my primary and 5/8 yard of my contrast. Because we are going to line our apron, these quantities have been adjusted so refer to the supply list above when buying material.

You’ll also see stars next to the fabric widths which represent if the given fabric quantities are with nap/ without nap/ with or without nap. A fabric’s nap is the raised surface on certain materials (like faux fur, velvet, or moleskin), if a fabric has a sheen to it (like satin, charmeuse, or sateen), or has a directional pattern. If your fabric has a nap, you want to cut your pieces in the same direction so that the material appears the same when sewn together. Make sure to look at all the rows for your selected apron. There should be lines dividing the different apron styles.

Under the fabric purchase grid, you’ll find the notions section. Find your apron style to determine what trims, buttons or thread you may need. Although there are trims and buttons listed for apron B, I did not include these in my apron design.

When looking at page 1 of the instructional sheets on the inside, you’ll see technical drawings of each apron option.

Under the technical sketches, you will see a pattern piece breakdown of which pattern pieces you need to make your apron. For apron B, pattern pieces 7-11 are needed. Because I made my own ties and pocket, I did not retrieve pieces 9 or 10.

When cutting your patterns from the tissue paper, be careful to cut the right pieces for your size. There will be two sets of each piece, one for adults and one for kids. Pro-tip: As you cut out your pattern pieces, don’t worry about cutting them out directly on the line!

A pattern markings key can also be found on page 1, in addition to general cutting details and instructions. Make sure to review the pattern markings on the individual pieces before cutting out your apron!

You’ll then get to the cutting layouts, beginning with a key, showing what certain shading represents on your apron’s cutting layout.

When determining which cutting layouts are relevant to your project, first look for the width of your material, if that layout is nap specific, and then the size of your apron. If all this information matches with your selections, then follow the instructions of the cut layout and cut your material! *Important note: If you want your side fronts to contrast your front and liner pieces, cut piece 7 from your contrasting fabric!

Be sure to exempt pieces 9, 10, and 11 if you’re wanting your apron to look like the one featured in this tutorial. Also cut two of piece 8, so that you have one as your apron liner. After cutting all your pieces you would normally continue to the assembly instructions for your specific apron style, but this time, I got you from here!

Step 1: Cutting your Apron: If you followed along for the commercial pattern tour above, you should have two of piece 7, and two of piece 8 (one shell and one liner). If you skipped ahead, no worries! Take the time to cut pieces 7 and 8 from McCall’s pattern 5720. *Important note: If you want your side fronts to contrast your front and liner pieces, cut piece 7 from your contrasting fabric!

Instead of cutting out piece 9, use the PDF template below to cut the heart pieces and ruffle for your pocket. From your scrap, cut enough strips measuring 2 1/2″ wide to make two ties 44″ long. These strips will replace piece 10 from the pattern. Instead of piece 11, cut one strip from scrap measuring 2 1/2″ X 23″.

You’ll notice that on the PDF I included templates for the alterations I made to the pattern. The wedge piece for the side front (piece 7) alteration could be cut away now. The waistline dip adjustment I would recommend doing after you’ve sewn together the front (piece 8), the two side fronts (piece 7) and the liner. I’ll address these changes in the apron assembly as well!

Step 2: Apron Assembly: Begin by sewing your front shell (piece 8) to your side front pieces (piece 7). Make sure to match up your notches and sew with a 5/8″ seam allowance.

Fold 2 1/2″ X 23″ piece in half lengthwise with right sides together and press. Sew the side 1/4″ away from the raw edges. Turn your fabric tube right side out and press.

Making sure to not create twists in your neckband, pin the ends 5/8″ in from the sides of the apron at the top. Try the apron on and see how far the apron hangs down at the current neckband length. If the apron hangs too low, make the necessary adjustments with the neckband. Sew 1/4″ from the top of the apron back and forth a couple of times over the neckband ends.

If you haven’t cut the excess from the side fronts, do this before attaching the side fronts to the apron liner with a 5/8″ seam allowance.

Leave an opening in one of these seams of about 4″ to turn the apron right side out later.

After attaching the liner, true up the waistline curves using the template provided.

Flip your pieces so that they are right sides together. Pin them around the top and bottom of the apron and sew together with a 1/2″ seam allowance.

Clip into the seam allowance around the curves. Flip the apron right side out through the opening in your liner seam. Poke out all the corners using a blunt poking tool and press. Slipstitch flip opening closed.

Piece together your strips for your apron ties using the diagonal seam method.

Fold side edges in a 1/2″ toward the center of the strip and then fold strip in half and press.

Finish one end of each tie by sewing a 1/4″ from the end and turning band back right side out.

Edgestitch along strip folds, making sure to catch both layers. Once both ties are complete, pin each tie to a tie corner on the liner side. Situate the end of the tie about a 1/4″ from the side of the apron.

Stitch over the tie end back and forth a few times 1/4″ from the tie end. Fold tie over stitches and edgestitch tie so that the top of the tie lines up with the waist curve. Repeat these steps to attach the other apron tie.

Step 3: Heart Pocket Assembly: Take the two heart pieces that you cut for your pocket and lay one on top of the other right sides together. Sew a 1/4″ around the hearts, leaving a 2 1/2″ opening. Clip around the curves and flip the hearts right side out.

Sew ruffle sides together with a 1/4″ seam allowance at the center. Fold the ruffle piece in half lengthwise with right sides together and press. Finish the ends of the ruffle piece with a 1/4″ seam allowance. Flip the ruffle right side out and pin the pintucks in place. Baste across the top of the pin tucks 1/4″ from the top edge. *Disclaimer: My ruffle will appear wider and rounded in the next couple of steps because this was prior to me adjusting it to the final version.

Pin the ruffle to the bottom of the heart pocket, making sure that 1/2″ of the ruffle edge extends past the bottom of the heart edge.

Take heart pocket and pin pocket to the front of your apron. I positioned mine left of center, 3″ from the tip of the ruffle to the bottom edge, and 5″ from the pocket side to the side edge of the apron. Top stitch 1/4″ from the heart edge, catching the ruffle underneath. My top stitch line extends 2″ past the top of the ruffle on both sides. Pro-tip: Backstitch a few times at both ends of your top stitching line so that the pocket is less likely to detach with wear and tear!

Take your contrasting binding (measuring 1 3/4″ X 16″) and fold each end inside a 1/4″. Fold the binding in half lengthwise with the right side out and press. Line the raw edges of the binding up with the bottom of the ruffle on the backside and pin in place. Attach the binding to the ruffle by sewing a 1/4″ from the edge. If you are unsure how to bind the tip of the ruffle refer to the binding instructions in this tutorial: https://stitchingwitchcrafts.com/halloween-mug-rug/.

Wrap binding around to the front of the ruffle so that binding fold lines up with stitch line. If the binding is tight, simply trim an 1/8″ off the bottom of the ruffle. Pin binding in place and slipstitch to ruffle front.

Create a bow out of the 1/4″ wide black satin ribbon measuring 4″ across. Hit the ribbon ends with a flame to seal. Then hand tack the bow right below the tip of the heart.

Congrats you’re finished! Wear this apron for all your Valentine’s baking and/or crafting, or any time of year really! I hope you found the commercial sewing pattern info helpful! If you have any further questions pertaining to pattern reading don’t hesitate to ask below in the comments!

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Ready for your next project? Here are some tutorials on the blog I think you’ll like! Frame Flip tutorial: https://britnijade.com/frame-flip/, Macrame Wall Hanging: https://britnijade.com/macrame-wall-hanging-w-bones/, or the Spider Web Macrame: https://britnijade.com/spider-web-macrame/. Enjoy!