Tutorial: The Henny Penny Apron

Okey doke. Here is the tutorial for the apron I showed the other day.

I'm calling this the Henny Penny, because I think it'd be perfect attire for collecting eggs in the hen house (that my husband refuses to build) and because it’s a belated gift to this little blog, Penny Carnival, which I failed to say happy birthday to when it turned 2 years old last month. Sorry, Penny!

Here goes ... Let me know if you have any questions.

These directions assume you are using the same fabric for the entire apron and that the fabric doesn't have a particular direction to it. If you want to spice things up, read the ideas for "options" at the end.

I think it's helpful to have an idea of what you're aiming for before you start, so here's the finished apron spread out on my kitchen floor:

You will need 8 feet, 6 inches of fabric (2 yards, 30 inches). That allows for a little shrinkage.

Note: The white- and tan-colored aprons you’ll see here are made from 100 percent cotton muslin, which is perfect for this pattern because it’s lightweight and billowy. You’ll also see that I made the Henny Penny out of quilting fabric, too. "Gingko" from Jessica Levitt’s Timber line for Windham Fabrics. An absolutely gorgeous print. I couldn’t resist. But the muslin does hang a wee bit better.

Wash and dry the fabric. Then lay it flat and make the following cuts: 


One skirt: 44 inches by 28 inches

One bodice: 24 inches by 18 inches

Two side ties: 40 inches by 18 inches

Four straps: 4 inches by 32 inches


Start by making the straps. Place two of the 16-by-32 inch pieces on top of each other, right sides facing. Stitch them together along the two long sides and one short side. 
 


Stitch the short side at an angle, if you like:
 


Trim away excess fabric to reduce the bulk. Now turn the strap right side out:
 


Use some sort of turning tool to poke the corners out as much as possible. Knitting needles work great. 

FYI: I used two different color fabrics for the "right" side (white) of the strap and the "wrong" side (tan) of the strap to illustrate how to assemble the apron toward the end of this tutorial. Your straps will probably be the same color on both sides.

Iron the strap so it lays flat. There's no need to finish the raw ends, but you can if you want.


Repeat with the other two strap pieces. Set your finished straps aside for now.

Moving on ... to the bodice and ties.

You could cut the bodice and ties out of one long piece of fabric that's 104 inches long by 18 inches wide. Dividing the bodice into three sections saves you money at the fabric store, though, and it doesn’t affect the look of the finished apron.

Set down the bodice piece on your table, right side up. Set one of the side ties on top of it, right side facing the right side of the bodice so that the two 18-inch sides line up. Pin that 18-inch side together and stitch.

Repeat with the other side tie and the other side of the bodice so you now have a piece that's 18 inches wide by about 103 inches long (a bit shorter because of the seams).

Hem around all four sides of the bodice/ties piece, folding the edges of the fabric over twice and pressing with a hot iron first so the hems don't fray.
 



Set aside the bodice/ties piece.

Now for the skirt.  

Hem the two short sides and one long side of the skirt, just as you hemmed the bodice/ties section (by folding the fabric edges over twice, pressing and then stitching).

Set your sewing machine to the longest stitch length. Now stitch along the length of the skirt's remaining long side (the one that isn't hemmed), about 1/2 inch from the edge. This will be the top of your skirt--the part that gets attached to the bodice.

Tug on the ends of that thread to gather the skirt top. Keep tugging and gathering until the top of the skirt is now 22 inches across instead of 44 inches. Tie the two ends of the thread with double knots so the gathering you just created stays put.

This is how your skirt should look now:


You’re almost done. Let’s assemble the apron now.

1. Place the skirt on the floor or table WRONG SIDE DOWN 2. Place the straps on top of the apron so that the right side of the straps (if it matters) is touching the right side of the skirt. The straps should have a gap of 11 inches between them. The raw edges of the straps should sit slightly past the raw/gathered egde of the skirt and the sewn ends of the straps should be stretched out near the bottom/finished edge of the skirt.

3. Now place that long bodice piece on top of the straps, right side facing the straps. Center it in the middle of the skirt.

4. Pin all three layers together. Sew across all three layers twice.

Voila! Your apron is done. Now it’s time to figure out how to wear it.

How to wear the apron.

Here I am in just my dress:

No wise cracks about needing a tan!

Now here's the apron:

1. Hold the bodice against your chest, and then grab the straps and tie them around your neck.

2. Arrange the bodice so it drapes across your chest the way you want it to. Pull the bodice ties behind you, criss cross them behind your back, then bring them tightly around front again. Tie the ties in a double knot in front. They should be partially covering the straps that go up around your neck.



3. Cook something. Anything. Flounce around in the garden. Eat fruit right off the tree. Let the juices drip down your chin. Make love in the grass.

OK. I’m getting carried away now.

Options:

1. For a different look, use more than one fabric. As you can see here, I made the neck straps brown when I used the Jessica Levitt Gingko fabric.

I also could have made the ties (not the center bodice piece) brown to give it sort of a lederhosen look.

2. Pockets are always nice. Add one or two to the skirt.

3. Add some sort of trim along the bottom of the skirt or up the straps. Rick rack, maybe? Ribbon? Bias tape?

4. Embroider or appliqué something onto the skirt. A chicken, perhaps?

5. Whatever you do, DON'T SMILE for camera's self-timer button. What's wrong with me?

This tutorial is for personal use only. Have fun with the Henny Penny. Make it for yourself, for a friend, for charity. But please don’t sell the Henny Pennys you sew. Thanks.

Update: There was a request on Facebook to see the back side of the apron. It pains me to do this, but here it is, folks. Presenting: my rear end.

 

Comments

[Nis]

Suuuuper cute. And I love the list of things you could do in your apron...so very, well, you!

ps You can build your own chicken coop...ask Heathyr, she just did it! :)

[Annie]

I love this so much I can't even tell you! I've been wanting a full coverage apron for a while and I think this is the one that is going to get me to finally do it. It looks like it should be pretty easy to customize the size on this. Also, I really like the raw edges on the ties in the original.

The original in the tan muslin looks old fashioned (in a way that I love) and then the two-toned one looks so modern. I just love that the same apron can look so different. Maybe I'll have to make myself a couple of these :)

[Megan]

Thanks so much, you guys!
Annie, I meant to point out the raw edges on the ties in the original one--thanks for bringing it up. That was a practice apron from several months ago, but I liked the raw edges, too, so I left them there. If you make one (or more), I'd love for you to e-mail me photos or a link to your blog so I can write about it here. Let me know if you have any questions along the way!
Thanks, Nis. Yes, feeling a bit sassy in my flouncy apron today. Same old Cooley. xoxo

[emily]

Out of the ballpark on this one. This is your own design, no? I have a good feeling about this :)

[Elisa]

Well, I might just have to make one of these seeing as I do have a hen house in the garden. Maybe I'll add an egg collecting pocket to it! The fruit trees are a tad young still, but hopefully there will be juice trickling down my chin come autumn...

[Megan]

Thanks, Emily!! Yes, my own design.
Elisa, if you make one you have to send me pictures of you wearing it with the chickens. And an egg-collecting pocket is an excellent idea.

[Cathy Allison]

You have inspired me! Thank you for your awesome ideas! I will post pictures to show you what I can make thanks to you!

[Kristin]

Wouldn't it be nice if we were all a little stuck in the 30's? At least then people would stop looking at me like I'm nuts for boiling water on the stove instead of in the microwave. Love the apron. I think a couple of changes on the backside and it could be a cute zipperless, button holeless (hate those things) sundress too....and hope I didn't double-post.

[sarah vine]

Brilliant! I want to flounce around in a garden in one too...... =0)

[saffiertje]

I have a question. I am in fora missionary tripp to RWanda. And I love to make this apron for selling( the whole amount tof selling will go to the project Mission one 27 ( you can find more here: http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Mission-one-27/196930063729360?sk=info) So I hope to get your permission to make one or two to sell for charity...
With love Miranda

[Erin]

Hi,

Do you think that this design might provide support for the chest? In other words, as a bra kind of? I'm looking for something to wear around the house while working anyway. Thanks.