2 hour apron

thrifted shirt and a ridiculous amount of incredibly twee and slightly creepy fabric

first step is to cut straight up the back of the shirt.  i removed the collar as well, but that was an after thought.  i nearly cut through it but then thought i would add it to my fabric stash hording pile for some future project that will probably not happen.  sew the button placket closed and then flip the shirt inside out; sleeves included.

the third picture you can see where i marked a straight line from the shoulder down to the waist, all but removing the sleeves and armscyes.  i marked this after aligning and pinning the bottom hem, and pulling the shoulder seam taut.  and you can see my super high tech sidewalk chalk.  no expensive sewing chalk for me.  serge along the chalk line and open shirt back up, cutting open shoulder seams if necessary to lay flat.

a more experienced wiser sewist would iron stuff at this point.  or well prior.  i dont iron if at all possible.

serge the sides and do a quick rolled hem.  then determine how long the apron will be [mine is a completely arbitrary 17"] and serge across the top.  admire how it looks all nice with finished fray-free edges on both the front and back.  pat self on back. 

cut a 20"x5" rectangle and two 5"x6" pockets.  then gather the top edge to fit within the large rectangle with 1/4" leeway on each side.  pin the crap out of it, sew the bottom side down [make sure the creepy veggies will be right side up!] and then fold over the waistband as if you were using gigantic bias tape.  be sure to fold the serged edge under as well so the front looks finished.

i basically matched up the front and back [folded over the gathered skirt portion] and sewed a line right over the previously sewn back seam.  i also sewed a quick seam across the top so the waistband would lay flat since lazy me didnt use interfacing. 

lay out your pockets and pin in place.  since the green fabric was previously a shirt, i used the boob darts as place markers and aligned the pockets with them.  then the most pain-in-the-ass [and time consuming] part.  cut two 20"x3" strips of fabric and serge the long edge, right sides together, and one end.  then turn the fabric tubes right side out and attach to the waistband.

if you left enough room at the ends in previous steps, it should be easy to tuck in serged edges, pin the ties, and sew shut.  i unpicked a few stitches and of course since i backstitch by sheer habit, those few stitches were slightly north of a goddamn hassle. 

and just cos its hilarious... yours truly modeling the apron.  1950's angry housewife style.  yes that is a rolling pin. 

*edit - i made another after posting this.  it took me an hour.  and not just cos it only has one pocket.  since i basically mucked about figuring out what i was doing [and pausing for pics] it took me much less time the second attempt.  learning curve and whatnot.  but another unworn thrifted shirt put to good use!