Harvest Gathering Apron Tutorial

I’m incredibly excited to share this tutorial with you today! After mentioning that I was in the market for an apron that would be long enough to accommodate impromptu garden harvests, I was introduced to the concept of a gathering apron. Obviously, I immediately loved it! A harvest gathering apron is perfect and better than what I was looking for!

But if I’m to bother with wearing an apron, it must have a bib. I’m not the tallest of ladies and if an apron is to protect my clothes, the bib covers the area most prone to splashes for me. The skirt is long to allow for plenty of room in the gathering pocket and lined with muslin for strength for bringing in those big garden harvests.

Combine the functionality of this gathering apron with the compliments I’ve been getting around here on the beauty of it,  and I may finally have enough reason wear aprons more consistently! Until now, aprons have only served as a handy towel for me, but I often have a towel on hand. And apparently, I’m too lazy to pull one of the wrinkled balls out of the drawer in which they reside. (To remedy this, I’m going to attach a hook to the side of my hutch to hang these on.)

While this tutorial includes the instructions for lining the skirt portion of your gathering apron with muslin to make it a bit more durable, I no longer line mine. I found it just added to the weight when I was gathering and over time it shrunk at a different rate than the cotton so it doesn’t press nicely anymore.

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Download FREE instructions for an unlined Gathering Apron HERE.

These directions aren’t as detailed, but it does have the instructions outlined in the most efficient workflow. It combines steps into groups that are done at the ironing board & at the sewing machine so there isn’t so much going back and forth. I would read and understand the tutorial first, but this sheet will help you so you’re not scrolling all around the post looking for the next step. 

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Harvest Gathering Apron Tutorial

Materials

• 2 ½  yards of fabric
• 1-yard muslin, optional
• 50″ length of 3/4″ grosgrain ribbon.

I chose this fabric from Hancock’s of Paducah –

Cutting the Fabric

For this step, you’ll need your waist measurement at your natural waistline where you’ll tie your gathering apron. 

• Skirt: Cut 1 at 30″ x 40″
• Lining: Cut 1 at 30″ x 40″
• Bib: Cut 1 at 14″ x 40″
• Waistband: Cut 2 at 4″ X your waist measurement divided by 2
• Tie Ends: Cut 2 at 4″ X 35″
• Necktie: Cut 2 at 2″ X 35″

Skirt

•Pin the right sides of the skirt and muslin together on 3 sides only, leaving the top open.

•Stitch the seam of the 3 pinned sides.

•Trim seam & clip the corners.

•Turn the piece right side out, poking into the corners for a nice right angle. Press.

•Topstitch the 3 sides.

•Run 2 gathering lines across the top at 5/8″ &  1/4″.

Bib

Next, we’re going to make an opening in the top of the bib to run the necktie through.•Fold the 2 side edges under 1/4″, press and fold in again 1/4″, press & pin.

•Fold under 1/4″ on top edge. Press.

• Fold the top edge of the bib over 1 1/2″. Press & pin.

•Stitch up one side,  just to the bottom edge of the top fold, across the bottom edge of the top fold, turn and stitch down the other side.•Stitch 3/8″ across the top edge of the bib… leaving an opening for the necktie to slip through. (This step simply makes the gathering on the top of the bib look neater when the gathering apron is finished.)

•Run 2 gathering lines across the top at 5/8″ &  1/4″.

Necktie & Tie Ends

•To sew the necktie end and tie ends, fold each in half lengthwise then stitch a 3/8″ seam allowance, sew across one short end (I did the tie ends on a diagonal), turn, and then down the long end, leaving the other end open for turning.

•Clip corners, turn right side out, and press.

•For the necktie, slipstitch the open end closed.

Assembly

•Pin the open ends of the tie ends 5/8″ from the top of one waistband section (we’ll call it Waistband #1), raw ends even. Baste.

•Hem Waistband #1 sides by turning in 1/4″, pressing, turning in a 1/4″ again, pressing again. (On the piece with the tie end, be sure to hem on the back… away from the tie end.)  Stitch.•Pin Waistband #1 to the gathered edge of the skirt, right sides together. Pull up the gathers, matching the center of the skirt to the center of the waistband. (Pin the tie ends together towards the middle to prevent catching them in the next few steps. )

•Sew a 5/8″ seam. Press the seam up so that it will be inside the back waistband section and look neat.

•Press up 5/8″ on the bottom, inside of the other waistband. (We’ll call it Waistband #2.)

•Measure and mark in 4″ from the edge of Waistband #2 on each side. Pin the wrong side of the bib to the right side of the Waistband #2 at the marks.  Pull up the gathers, matching centers. (The waistband will extend 4″ past on each side of the bib.) Stitch.

(Note: In the following photos I did not measure in the 4″ and had to go back and pull it out and redo this step. Remember, I sew everything 1 1/2 times?)

•Pin the bottom seamed end of the bib to the top of the Waistband #1 on the skirt, right sides together.  Stitch a 5/8″ seam.

When you fold it open, it will look like this. (Except the bib will in 4″ on each side.)

•Lay the loose waistband flat and pin turned in edge to the skirt/waistband gathered seam.

•Topstitch the waistband on all sides.

Buttonholes

Size them to account for the 3/4″ grosgrain ribbon.
• Sew 2 buttonholes on the right and left bottom corners of the skirt.
• Find the center of the bottom of the skirt and sew 2 buttonholes- 1/2″ to the right and left of center.
•Find the center of the waistband and sew 2 buttonholes- 1/2″ to the right and left of center.
•Open the buttonholes with a seam ripper or pair of embroidery scissors.
•Feed the grosgrain ribbon through the buttonholes in the waistband and tie a bow.

Finishing Touches

•I cleaned up the waistband edges by slipstitching some of the openings.
•Then I removed the basting stitches from the tie ends that were holding them towards the front.
• Insert the necktie end through the opening in the bib.

All done!

Happy Sewing!