How to Make an Apron from a Pillowcase

Repurpose your bedroom linens into a kitchen smock

Repurpose: Pillowcase to Apron Once a year, a local San Francisco movie theater plays the 1965 musical The Sound of Music. There's always a raucous crowd, with everyone singing along and booing the Nazis. I've probably seen the movie seven times.

Julie Andrews's Maria, the nun turned governess, is one of my all-time-favorite film characters. She comforts the frightened von Trapp children during a thunderstorm, expertly counsels the eldest daughter, lovesick Liesl, and runs as fast as the two adolescent boys, Friedrich and Kurt—all with unrelenting cheerfulness.

When she learns that the children don't have clothes to play in, and that the curtains in her bedroom are about to be replaced, the solution is obvious—she fashions the drapes into a set of seven romp-worthy garments. Unaccustomed to luxury, she gets what Captain von Trapp is too proud and rich to understand: Perfectly good fabric should not go to waste.

Taking a page from Maria's playbook, I looked through my overstuffed linen closet for some fabric to repurpose. I picked a couple of slightly worn but nicely patterned pillowcases that I had stopped using years ago. With a little trimming, I shaped one into the body of an apron, and used the second pillowcase to cut out a neck strap and strings. Then, I sewed them all together. Now I just need to find my recipe for crisp apple strudel.

By Wendy Becktold

February 11, 2016

What You’ll Need:

Two identical pillowcases
Sewing machine
Sewing supplies: thread, scissors, measuring tape, pins
Pencil
Ruler
Cutting mat
Cutting wheel
Iron and ironing board

Iron the pillowcases to smooth out any wrinkles. Cut off the trim (about 4” wide) on the open end of one pillowcase. You’ll use this to make the neck strap.

Measure about 4” from the side of the same pillowcase, and cut one long strip (essentially two layers of material connected by the original side seam). Repeat on the other side of the pillowcase to get another long strip. These strips will become the waist straps.

Fold the long edges of the strip in toward each other (about 1 cm) and pin. Sew along the edge of the strap. Repeat with the second long strip. Iron both straps to get a nice, crisp look.

Fold the raw edge of one end of each waist strap over twice so that the uneven material is tucked under. Pin and sew. (You only need to do this on one end of each strap. The other end will be sewn into the apron.)

Repeat step 3 to make the neck strap. (You don’t need to do step 4 since both ends of the neck strap will be sewn into the apron.)

Now that you’ve made your neck and waist straps, you’re ready to make the body of the apron. Turn the second pillowcase inside out and fold in half the long way, making sure all the edges line up. At the top (the closed end) mark a point about 15 cm from the fold.

Draw a curve from the mark you just drew down to the side of the apron. I traced an oval bowl to get a steadily curving line. I ended on the side of the apron about 12” down from the top.

Cut along the line you have just drawn and unfold the pillowcase. Pin the two pieces together.

Sew the curved sides of the apron (about 1” in from the edge). Insert the straps (leave about an inch sticking out), pin in place, and sew.

Repeat the process for the neck strap: Make two small slits where you want the straps to go at the top of the apron (in just one piece of fabric). Slide the strap in, pin in place, and sew a line all the way across. Go back and forth a few times at the straps. If need be, trim away the ends of the strap.

Turn your apron right side out. Iron it, and pin the two pieces of fabric together at the bottom. Then sew them shut. Iron your apron one last time to get rid of any remaining wrinkles, put it on, and start baking.

Difficulty Level: 5

Construction time: 6 to 8 hours

You need basic sewing skills, but no fancy stitches are required.

Based on a project from runcibledays.blogspot.com.

Wendy Becktold is the former senior story editor at Sierra. Follow her on Twitter @wlbecktold.