Featured Fabric: The Blank Quilting Corp. Lettuce Make Peas by Angel Nicole

Designed by: Lindsay Conner

Sewn by: Lindsay Conner

Do you have trouble keeping track of your gardening tools? Sew this DIY Garden Bucket Apron so they’ll never wander off again! We love this sturdy gardening apron, which can be tied around a 5-gallon utility bucket or tied around your waist for a handy sidekick that can carry your gardening supplies. Use it to stash your gloves, pruning shears, weeding tools, labels, seed packets, and more.

This fabric collection is the perfect fit - filled with cute, garden-friendly prints including vegetables, bunnies, flowers, bugs, and gardening tools. By adding heavyweight interfacing to the wrong side of your fabrics, you can turn beautiful quilting cottons into a sturdy fabric with the same qualities as canvas or duck cloth. This beginner-friendly sewing project is a great introduction to sewing three-dimensional pockets, using fusible interfacing, and adding binding for a finished look!

Skills Learned: Machine sewing, using fusible interfacing, adding binding

Skill Level: Confident Beginner

Finished Size: 16” x 12” (40.64cm x 30.48cm)

Fabric Requirements:

Pocket fabric: 1/2 yard (.46m). I used:

• Lettuce Make Peas by Angel Nicole | 3163-44 Yellow Suns, Rainbows and Clouds

Base fabric: 1/2 yard (.46m) or fat quarter. I used:

• Lettuce Make Peas by Angel Nicole | 3156-33 Orange Biased Stripe

Binding fabric: 1/2 yard (.46m). I used:

• Tula Pink Solids – Marigold | MARIGOLD

Heavyweight fusible interfacing:

• I used 2 Packs of the Fast2Fuse Heavy Interfacing (15" x 18" sheet)

Equipment needed:

Sewing machine
Iron
Fabric cutting tools (scissors or rotary cutter, ruler, and cutting mat)
Sewing clips
Thread
Pencil and ruler

Cut and Prepare the Fabrics

Step 1

From the Pocket fabric: Cut 1 rectangle 24” x 8”. Along the bottom edge, mark a dot Mark a dot 4” in from the bottom corners. Use your ruler and a pencil to draw a straight line from each dot to the nearest top corner and cut off the side triangles of fabric to make a trapezoid shape.

Next, cut heavyweight interfacing to match the trapezoid shape; you may need to piece smaller sections together. If you do, simply zigzag stitch over the straight edges to join them.

Use an iron to fuse the interfacing to the wrong side of the Pocket fabric, following manufacture’s instructions. Using your sewing machine’s longest stitch length, baste around the interfaced fabric 1/8” from the edge around the perimeter to secure the layers together.

Step 2

From the Base fabric, cut 1 rectangle 16” x 12”. Next, cut a matching rectangle of heavyweight interfacing. Fuse the interfacing to the wrong side of the fabric, then baste 1/8” from the edge around the perimeter to secure the layers together.

Step 3

From the Binding fabric, cut 2 strips 2.5” x WOF and 2 strips 5” x WOF. Join the 2.5” strips together by crossing the ends over each other and stitching a diagonal line where they intersect, as pictured.

Trim off the ends ¼” past the seam you just sewed, and press open the seam to make a binding strip.

Repeat this process with the 5” strips, trimming off the ends ¼” past the seam you just sewed, and pressing open the seam. Set the 5” strips aside for now.

Sew the Apron

Step 4

Fold the 2.5” strip in half, wrong sides together and press. Pin or clip the raw edges of the folded strip along the right side of the 24” edge of the Pocket fabric. Stitch in place using a scant ¼” seam (slightly smaller than a ¼”), being sure to backstitch at both ends.

Fold the strip around to the wrong side of the Pocket fabric and clip in place. With the right side of the Pocket facing up, stitch along the edge of the binding so that the needle catches and stitches down the folded binding on the opposite side.

Step 5

Take the Pocket fabric and place it wrong side down on top of the Base fabric. The 16” edges should line up along the bottom. Clip the bottoms together. Line up the sides of the Pocket fabric with the sides of the Base fabric and clip them together at each side. Sew the layers together using a 1/8” seam allowance along the sides and bottom of the Pocket.

Divide the Pocket into 3 sections by marking a dot about 5” from each bottom corner along the bottom edge. Stitch a straight line through both layers from the dot, going straight up until you reach the binding, then reverse the stitch and travel back to reinforce it. Repeat to make one more line, creating a total of 3 pockets. Tip: Feel free to use your fingers to adjust the pockets as you sew. They won’t all be the same depth, but you can push a little bit of the fullness to the center pocket to make them more even!

Step 6

Next, you’re going to take the remaining 2.5” folded binding strip and clip it to the left, bottom, and right sides of the apron, with the raw edges aligned. Stitch the binding in place a scant ¼” from the perimeter, being sure to backstitch at both ends. Here are some tips for going around the corners!

As you approach the first corner, stop stitching ¼” from the edge. Turn your needle and stitch a 45-degree angle into the corner.

Fold the binding strip back along the 45-degree seam you just sewed. Use your fingers to flatten it into place, keeping the binding folded at a 45-degree angle as shown.

Keeping that fold in place, take the rest of the binding strip and extend it past the edge of the apron. Fold the strip back over itself making a 90-degree fold at the corner of the apron, and clip it in place. Begin stitching ¼” from the edge along the clipped edge. Continue around the bottom and final side of the apron, leaving the top open.

Step 7

Fold the binding around to the back of the apron and use clips to keep it in place.

Place your apron on the sewing machine, right side up. As you did when sewing the Pocket binding, finish stitching the binding around both sides and the bottom of the apron by stitching right next to the binding through all layers and catching the folded binding on the back side to secure it in place. Move slowly around the corners to catch all the binding.

Step 8

Fold the 5” strip in half and press. Open the strip and fold each raw edge in to the center line and press again. Refold the strip in half to make a 4-fold strap.

At each end of the 4-fold strap, unfold the ends, and fold the short raw edges in by ¼” before refolding them into the strap and clipping in place. This will give you smooth edges on the apron’s belt.

Step 9

Slip the raw top edge of the apron into the opening of the 4-fold strap and clip it in place. It can be centered or slightly off to one side, but be sure to keep at least 18” of strap per side for easy tying later.

Step 10

Stitch the 4-fold strap to the apron by sewing 1/8” from each long edge, turning at each corner and securing those shut along the way. The apron’s belt strings can now be tied together around a 5-gallon bucket, or you may choose to attach D rings to one side to make an adjustable belt for the bucket. You can also choose to wear it around your waist!

We hope you enjoyed this fun and fast project for gardeners and DIYers!

Fabric Details:

To view the complete The Blank Quilting Corp. Lettuce Make Peas by Angel Nicole click here.

To find a retailer near you click here.

Learn more about Lindsay here.