DIY Life

There are so many dish towels out there with adorable prints. I collect Halloween-themed ones, but know lots of people that collect dish towels in general, or with unique prints. But what to do with them?

I happened upon this tutorial, and thought it would be the perfect thing to make for my twin two-year-old nieces, when helping their grandmother out in the kitchen.

The author of the tutorial says that the apron winds up fitting an eight to eleven year old, so if you are making these for toddlers, like me, you will need to make it shorter, and the neck hole a tad smaller.

For this project you'll only need one dish towel, one package of extra wide double fold bias tape, pins, thread, and ribbon or trim.

The project itself is pretty simple, (the hardest part is getting the bias tape right) and an experienced sewer can turn quite a few of these out in no time for gift giving.

Your little one will love this apron so much they will want one for every day of the week.

The lovely ladies at Apronista are giving away a cool, hip apron this week! All you have to do to enter is leave comment on their site detailing which of the amazing aprons you like and maybe even some words about why you deserve said apron.

The creator of this week's giveaway is none other than Sommer Designs. This week she is featuring the waitress type June Cleaver aprons of yesterday with a new, hip twist of beautiful fabrics. These are not aprons for the grungy backside of a restaurant kitchen. Nay, they are works of art to be worn to the front door when you greet guests and even throughout your dinner party if you feel so inclined. The designer, Carrie Sommer, uses fun fabrics in whimsical combinations. The only problem would be settling on just one apron from her collection, you will definitely need at least three!

Be sure to stop by The Apronista and leave a note about which apron you like and why. Who knows, maybe you will be the winner!

There are some crafts that I dream about doing though I know they are way out of my league and entirely incompatible with my lifestyle, but one of the lovely aspects about crafting is that it can inspire dreams and aspirations. One such dream for me is all about aprons. Until quite recently I was unaware of the world of aprons, I thought they were only for chefs to wipe their grubby fingers. Ah, I have been so wrong.

Deanna and Eren of The Apronista have put together a site that is devoted entirely to aprons. Here you can see classic June Cleaver aprons, sassy 21st century aprons and everything in between. There are galleries of devotees who own more aprons that I have children and there are some fabulous tutorials for apron projects. I think my favorite is the no sew apron that you make out of old blue jeans. The result looks cute and functional, and I love the fact that it requires no thread.

After poking around The Apronista, I have come to the conclusion that aprons are not just for the kitchen. Aprons can be used to carry just about anything ranging from beads to glue guns to small hammers to paint brushes to candy bars. Be sure to stop by the site for some viewing pleasure and some apron inspiration.