Reversible Superhero Apron Tutorial

The awesome vinyl in this post was provided by Expressions Vinyl. All opinions are my own.

My daughter has been obsessed with watching cooking shows and wanting to learn to cook for herself. She has also been on a superhero kick lately. So, I decided to combine the two and create a superhero apron to give to her for her birthday next month. I couldn't decide on one superhero, so I took the apron-making a step further and made it reversible so she can pretend to be Wonder Woman or Batgirl!!

Confession: I got her to try on and pose in the apron by telling her I really made this for her cousin's Christmas present. I can't wait to see her surprised face when she realizes it's for her instead!! Anyone else full of lies around Christmas and birthdays??! #sorrynotsorry

First, you need to choose your fabrics. Your imagination is the limit, but try to simplify things. Do some research on the superheroes of your choice and narrow the color scheme down to three (i.e. Wonder Woman is red, yellow, and blue) and feel free to choose fabrics with some pattern to them! Solid fabric is totally fine to use, but I personally love the look of mixing patterns. Another fun idea is to let your child create their own superhero and color scheme!

Next, you'll need to cut all the pieces out. To me this is really the scariest part - but once it's done it really wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. There are no pattern pieces to cut out, so I hope that makes things a little easier.

Apron Pattern Pieces
**Cut pattern pieces for each side. This list is for one side of the apron. This apron fits my tall 5 year old perfectly, so feel free to adjust measurements to fit your child. The seam allowance is 1/4 inch.

Top: 8.5" x 6"
Bottom: 16" x 12"
Waistband: 16" x 3"
Side Ties: 20" x 3" (cut 2)
Top Ties: 16" x 2" (cut 2)
Ruffle: 30" x 3"

**This tutorial is for personal use only, please!

Line up the top tie pieces, right sides together. Sew along 3 sides, leaving one of the small sides open. Cut the corners at an angle (but not through the thread) and flip the ties right side out. Iron the ties so they lay nice and flat. Top stitch around all three sides.

To create the top of the apron, lay both top pieces right sides together and pin along the side edges. Making sure the tie fabric is facing the right top fabric (i.e. yellow ties facing the red fabric for Wonder Woman), slide the ties in between the top pieces and line the raw edges together and pin in place. Sew the three sides leaving the bottom open. Backstitch over the ties for extra strength.

Flip the top right side out and iron. Top stitch over the three sides (you can leave the bottom open).

Next, make the ruffle. Line up the ruffle pieces, right sides together. Sew along the two short sides and one long side. Flip the fabric, iron, and top stitch the 3 edges. Then, using the longest stitch with the greatest tension, slowly sew the open side closed and create a ruffle (do not backstitch the edges). If you'd like, you can use a different color thread (you'll see why soon).

To adjust the gathers, keep the threads on each side long. Hold one thread and carefully adjust the gathers until the ruffle width is slightly smaller than the width of the bottom pieces.

Place the bottom pieces right sides together and sandwich the ruffle piece in between. Make sure the ruffle fabric is facing the correct bottom fabric piece (i.e. yellow ruffle fabric facing blue bottom fabric). Pin together and sew the sides and ruffle edge. Leave the top edge open.

Flip the bottom of the apron right side out. Iron and top stitch the three edges. You can also remove the thread you used to create the ruffle. Since you didn't backstitch it, you should be able to remove it without too much effort. If you used a different color thread, you can easily see which thread to remove!

Now you need to attach the side ties to the waistbands. Line the waistband piece up with one of the side ties, right sides together. Sew along the short side, then repeat with the other side tie on the other end of the waistband. Now you will have one long piece with the waistband piece in the center. Repeat for the other fabric to go on the opposite side of the apron.

Place the two waistband/side tie pieces right sides together. Sandwich the bottom of the apron in between the fabrics, centering it with the waistband seams. Pin the raw edges together, then continue pinning the waistband along the edges until you get back around to the sides of the bottom apron piece. Starting at the side of the apron bottom on the tie, sew all the way around until you get to the other side. Now the only part of the waistband/side ties that should be open is the bottom edge.

Carefully flip the waistband/side ties around and iron. Now the bottom should be attached to the waistband with the top center of the waistband open. Fold the top edge of the waistband in about 1/4" and iron so they stay folded. Slide the top piece of the apron in the open waistband between the two fabrics about 1/4" and pin in place. Top stitch around the entire waistband/side ties.

Now your apron is completely sewn together!! The apron is ready for use, and you can keep it just like this OR...

Add some superhero symbols with vinyl to really take your superhero apron up a notch!! Expressions Vinyl is my go-to for heat transfer vinyl. I love both the quality and how many types of HTV they carry. The Batman symbol was cut out of Glitter Heat Transfer Vinyl in Blush, and the Wonder Woman symbol was cut out of StripFlock Heat Transfer Vinyl in Lemon Yellow.

I cut out the symbols with my Cricut Explore, so I was done in minutes!

I centered the Batman logo on the black and pink side of the apron. For best results with HTV, press the sticky transfer tape down first to help keep the image in place. Carefully cover with a drop cloth and get your iron heated up - highest heat and no steam. Place the iron down over the vinyl and apply pressure for 20-30 seconds. Let the vinyl cool, and remove the transfer tape. If for some reason the vinyl doesn't stick, cover it with the drop cloth and iron again.

Turn the apron over and apply the vinyl to the other side. You iron the Stripflock HTV the same way, but I found I needed to iron this type of vinyl a few seconds more than the glitter vinyl.

Now that you've dressed up the aprons with vinyl, they are ready for some super baking!! I am so excited for my daughter to open this up on her birthday! She will be ecstatic that she gets to keep it for herself and will feel like a superhero in the kitchen. I'm also sure we'll be creating more superhero aprons in the future...

What kinds of superheroes would your kids like on their aprons?