Saturday, September 7, 2013

BBQin' in Style

Has your Hubby ever said something that he thinks is hilariously funny and when you give him the that's-not-funny blank stare, he gets exasperated and announces, "I need a better audience," or is that just me? *sigh*


Humor aside, my Hubby is the BBQ king. He has the slow cooking of juicy burgers, steaks and chicken down to a fine science. We also have a nephew who is a supreme BBQer and I wanted to send him something handmade for his last birthday so I dove into my bag of Hubby's nice-but-discarded shirts, added some quilting cotton and made him a BBQ apron.

I used the basic instructions from the Purl Bee's Adjustable Unisex Apron, then made adjustments to suit my shirt and add the lining.

The shirt is 100% cotton, soft and a little crinkly ...


Cut off the sleeves at the inset line ...


Sew the button placket closed down the front of the shirt ...


Cut the shirt front off in a straight line underneath the collar -- this will be the front of the apron ...


Lay the shirt piece on the lining fabric -- cut around the top and sides even with the shirt (no seam allowance needed) ...


Cut around the finished hem of the shirt with approximately 1" extra to create a hem on the lining ...


Press the lining hemline under twice to the wrong side of the fabric to match the shirt hemline as closely as possible -- this was a little wonky because of the curved hem on the shirt -- then stitch the lining hem down ...


With right sides of the shirt and lining together, sew around the sides and top (I used the serger for this), leaving the bottom (hem) open for turning. Then turn right side out and press ...


Fold each upper side of the shirt toward the lining, press and stitch to make a casing large enough for your apron strings. I did a double line of stitching here ...


I used strips of fabric cut from the back of the shirt to make the apron strings ...


Thread the strings through each side of the apron casings, making sure not to twist. The strings/neck strap are adjustable, depending on whether you like your apron to fit higher or lower. The front ...


The back ...


I personalized his apron by embroidering our nephew's name on a piece of the shirt fabric, then stitched it onto the pocket flap. Even though the shirt front placket has been stitched closed, the pockets are functional ...


Happy birthday, happy BBQ, happy sewing!

So many projects, never enough time ...

2 comments:

  1. I love it:) Sadly I don't think the men in my family would get it though!!

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    Replies
    1. I hear you, Vicky ... Men! Thanks for stopping by!

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