Apron #2: 15 Minute Dishtowel Apron

This one is so easy its ridiculous...I mean, seriously...as long as you know how to operate a sewing machine and are allowed to handle sharp objects by yourself...you can make this in 15 minutes!

You need: 1 large dish/tea towel and a long piece of sturdy ribbon that won't fray easily (I used about 2 yards - measure the ribbon right on your kid, as it needs to be long enough to go around their neck, down their sides and tie in the back

Hold the towel up to your kid, centering it on their chest and holding it at about the level it should sit when finished. Use a pin to mark about an inch in from their armpit, and another to mark their waist level (if you mark a bit lower than their current waist area, the apron should still fit as they get a bit taller!).

Fold the towel in half, lengthwise, and using a rotary cutter (or scissors), cut from pin to pin, making a curved cut (don't worry - you'll be able to eye ball it, but if you're totally chicken, draw the line or use pins to mark where you want to cut):
When you open it out, it'll look like this (see? it already looks like an apron!):

If you have a serger, serge the raw curved edges, otherwise use a zigzag stitch along the raw edges:

Then fold it over (on the backside of your towel) about an inch and sew along the serged edge (you're making a channel to thread the ribbon through, so make sure you don't sew the ends shut!). I let my kids help me "sew" this part:

This is what you'll end up with on both sides:

Hook a safety pin to one end of your ribbon. Thread it up through the side channel on one side, around the top and back down through the other side:

Put the apron on your kid and adjust the ribbon so that the ties are equal length and the neck part fits. When you have it how you want it, sew a few stitches by hand through one of the top corners, tacking down the ribbon on one side only. This way you'll still be able to adjust the neck opening, but the whole ribbon won't get pulled out of wack every time your kid takes it on and off.

If you're feeling particularly tricky (and the back of the dishtowel isn't ugly), you can fold up the towel from the bottom and sew up the edges to make a pocket. Then sew straight vertical lines from the fold to the top of the pocket to make smaller pockets:

All done!

Tip: To keep the ribbons from getting pulled out of the channels, you can tie a large bead (like those big wooden ones they give little kids to play with at preschool) or tie huge knots on the end of each ribbon.

Lucky for you, these only cost a buck or two, and a minimal time investment, so you'll feel just fine about your kids totally yucking them up! You can throw them right in the washer, or you can make more!