When I saw this pillow case at the thrift store, I thought it already looked like an apron. Pillowcases and sheets are so easy and fun to recycle, so many possibilities. There are a lot of pictures so it may seem complicated, but this is honestly the easiest thing I’ve ever made. It would be a great project to introduce kids to sewing because it’s mostly sewing straight lines. I just included a few sewing tips of things I wish I’d known when I first started sewing that I picked up along the way.

Here’s how I made my apron;

Materials needed: Vintage pillowcase and sheet, sewing machine and basic sewing supplies

1. Create waist and ties

Cut a piece of sheet 5″x80″. This happened to be the width of my sheet, which was a twin sheet.

Iron the long edges of fabric strip in about 1/2″ (fold toward wrong side of fabric). I just eyeballed it and ironed a 12 ” piece at a time.

Then fold in half and iron

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Now, fold the ends in toward the middle fold like a paper airplane and iron.

Refold and iron, this will give your apron ties tapered edges.

Now, fold the entire strip in half so that tapered edges meet and iron. This is to mark the middle.

2. Attach waist and ties fabric strip to the pillowcase

Fold the pillow case in half (the long way) and iron to mark the center fold of the apron. Match the center of the waist fabric strip to the center of the pillow case.

Open up the folded waist strip and place the closed part of the pillow case inside the fold .

Fold over and pin

Start at the tapered end and sew down the entire strip about a 1/4″ seam. Back-stitching at beginning and end.

**Tips: Slow down when you get the waist part over the pillowcase because the pillow case can be a bit thick on the edges. Roll the fabric in to get it under the arm of the sewing machine. Remove the pins as you sew.

**Tip: Pivot at the corners. To pivot, just make sure the needle is inserted at the point where you want to turn, lift presser foot and turn fabric. Then, put presser food back down and begin sewing again.

Now, sew the top part of the waist strip. Backstitching at beginning and end.

Step 3 Make the pocket

Cut 2 pieces of fabric that are about an inch longer and wider than you want your pocket to be. Mine are 16″x 9″ inches.

Put the 2 right sides of the fabric together and sew around edges about 1/4″, leaving a small opening. Backstitch at beginning and end. Turn right side out and iron.

**Tip: When ironing, pinch and roll edges open seams while ironing to create a nicely squared piece.

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Tuck opening in and iron. Fold piece in half and iron to mark center.

Match ironed center lines and pin pocket in place.

Begin sewing at one end and sew around bottom and other side (but not the top), pivoting around corners. Backstitching at the beginning and end. Be very careful not to catch your waist ties when sewing on the pocket. Then sew a line down the center of the pocket to create two pockets.