How to Make a Valentine's Day Apron

Valentine's Day is such a fun and loving holiday. It's the perfect time to get into the kitchen and whip up special meals and sweet treats to show all the wonderful people in your life how much you love them. Show yourself a little love this Valentine's Day by making yourself the perfect festive apron to wear as you cook the day away.

To make this apron, you will need:

1 kitchen towel with a pretty Valentine's Day design printed all over it or that looks good held sideways

2-3 Yards of 3-4 inch wide grosgrain or satin ribbon in a color to coordinate with your towel (Grosgrain is stiffer, and will stayed tied but satin will do almost as well, and is quite pretty)

Basic Sewing Supplies

Begin by washing and drying the towel to assure that it won't shrink later on and ruin your work. The determine how long to cut your ribbon. The ribbon will be the waistband of your apron, and the length will depend your waist measurement, and whether you'd like to tie the apron in the back or the front. Cut the ribbon to the desired length and then finish the ends, using fray check, hemming them, trimming on the bias to make a pointed shape (this method does fray a little eventually), or just tying a tight overhand knot close to the end.

Fold the towel in half and use a pin to mark the center of the long side of the towel. Do the same with the ribbon waistband. Hold the ribbon up to yourself with the pin centered on you, and mark your sides, where you'd like the apron to extend when it's worn.

Pin the towel to the ribbon matching the centers. Then pin the ends of the towel at the marked side places on the ribbon. Sew the towel to the apron, making a pleat in each section to make the towel fit the marked section. The extra towel fabric can also be gathered in place by stitching a running stitch along the edge of the towel and pulling it up to gather it to fit.

Because the stitching will show on the ribbon, plan to use very closely matching thread. Another cute choice would be to use contrasting thread in a decorative pattern, if your sewing machine is capable of special stitches.

Variation:

If you cannot find a towel that looks good sideways, one can be cut in half and the two panels sewn side-by-side. This may not make a wide enough piece to make an apron, so a third panel could be added, or a trim of ribbon could be sewn between the two and on both ends.

A plain towel could also be used, such as a plain white bar towel, or a red towel. Make the apron as instructed, then embellish it with felt hearts, ready made sequin or embroidered shapes from the fabric store, pink and red and white buttons, etc.