Hummingbird Dance Apron

Learn how to create this easy and light addition to your kitchen – the Hummingbird Dance Apron.

Supplies

  • OESD’s Hummingbird Dance by The Hautman Brothers #80121
  • OESD Heavy Weight TearAway stabilizer
  • 1/2 yard fabric for apron skirt
  • 1/2 yard fabric for apron bib (background for embroidery)
  • 7/8 yard coordinating fabric for ruffle, ties, waistband
  • 13″ square piece of lightweight batting
  • 505 Temporary Spray Adhesive
  • 1 set of 3/4″ D rings

Instructions

Embroidery

  • For this project, design #80121-08 was mirrored left/right and design #80121-10 was placed so the tip of the hummingbird’s beak was just at the stamen of the flower.
  • Spray two hoop-sized pieces of heavyweight tear-away stabilizer with temporary spray adhesive and apply to each other and to the wrong side of a 14″ square piece of the background fabric.
  • Place the hoop on the machine and stitch the design.
  • Remove the hoop from the machine and the fabric from the hoop.
  • Carefully trim all the jump threads and tear away the excess stabilizer.

Cutting pieces of the apron

  • From the coordinating fabric, cut a series of strips the width of the fabric (WOF) as follows:
    • 1 – 3″ strip WOF for the waistband. Then cut into 2 – 20″ lengths.
    • 2 – 3½” strips WOF for the waist ties.
    • 2 – 1½” strips WOF for the neck ties.
    • 4 – 4″ strips WOF for the ruffle.
  • From the skirt fabric, cutting on the fold, cut a piece 13″ x 17 ½”. Leaving the fabric folded, place a dinner plate in one corner that has all raw edges and trim around the edge of the plate to round the corner.Hummingbird Dance Apron 1
  • From the pieces left of the skirt fabric cut 3 strips 2″ wide (for borders on bib).

Bib Assembly

  • For all assembly, use 1/4″ seams unless otherwise noted.
  • To make bib straps, fold the 1½” strips in half, selvedge to selvedge and right sides together. Sew the long sides together, turn and press the strips.
  • Cut the selvedge ends of the strips off so that one piece is 10″ long and the other is 15″ long. Set aside.
  • Carefully centering the previously stitched design, trim the sides of the design piece so the resulting width is 9½”.
  • Stitch 2 of the 2″ wide strips of skirt fabric to each side of the trimmed piece, right sides together. Press the seams toward the strips.Hummingbird Dance Apron 2
  • For our project, we chose not to center the design vertically. If you wish to center the design in the background area; center it vertically, trimming the top and bottom to result in a piece 11″ high. We previewed the piece with the 2″ strip placed on the top, stitched it on the top, right sides together and pressed the seam toward the strip. Then the bottom was trimmed to result in a 12½” square.
  • Cut a 12½” square piece from the background fabric and also from the piece of batting.
  • Stack as follows: 12½” piece of batting and embroidered square with the right side facing up. Then place the bib straps ¼” from the sides with the raw edges at the top – 15″ piece on the left and 10″ piece on the right. Finally place the 12½” square of background fabric face down. Pin both sides and the top and stitch those 3 sides, leaving the bottom open and being careful not to stitch the ties in the side seams. Turn and press.Hummingbird Dance Apron 3Hummingbird Dance Apron 4

Skirt Assembly

  • Join the 4″ ruffle pieces together to make a continuous 4″ strip of fabric. Using a bias seam for joining will make ruffling and hemming much easier to do.Hummingbird Dance Apron 5Hummingbird Dance Apron 6
  • Ruffling one edge can be done by stitching two rows of basting stitches on one edge and pulling the threads, but a ruffling foot attachment was used for the sample. The ruffler was set on 1 and the machine stitch length was set at 4.7 mm.Hummingbird Dance Apron 7
  • Place the apron skirt piece on a table right side up. Pin the ruffle, right side down and raw edges even to the sides and bottom of the skirt piece. Stitch in a 3/8″ seam starting the stitching 1″ from the top edge and ending the stitching 1″ from the other top edge. To round off the top edges of the ruffle, a dessert plate was used in the same manner as the dinner plate was used to round the corners of the apron skirt.Hummingbird Dance Apron 8Hummingbird Dance Apron 9
  • Hem the raw edge of the ruffle as desired. A narrow hem foot was used for the sample.Hummingbird Dance Apron 10
  • Complete the final 1″ of the seam joining the ruffle to both sides of the skirt.
  • Make a narrow hem on both sides of the 3½” wide waist ties using your desired method.
  • To finish one end of each tie, fold back one corner and stitch a narrow seam. Turn and press. Set aside.Hummingbird Dance Apron 11
  • The seam may be finished using a serger or a narrow zigzag stitch. Press the seam toward the skirt and edge stitch the seam to keep the seam toward the skirt.
    Hummingbird Dance Apron 12Right sides together, place the raw edge of each waist tie on each end of one of the waistband pieces. The hemmed edges of the waist ties should fit between the seam lines of the upper and lower edge of the waistband. If they do not, gather the ends of the waist ties to leave 1/4″ at the beginning and end of the seams. Also, place each end of the ties so the ends mirror each other.Hummingbird Dance Apron 13
  • Fold the skirt and the waistband in half to find and mark the centers. Gather the upper edge of the apron skirt. Right sides together, stitch the waistband to the upper edge of the skirt, matching centers. Press the skirt edge toward the waistband.
  • Fold the other waistband and the bib in half to find and mark the centers. Layer each piece as follows: Waistband piece (right side up), lower edge of bib (right side up), waistband edge of skirt (face down) matching centers.Hummingbird Dance Apron 14
  • Fold the waist ties toward the center of the apron so that the raw seam edges are on top of the waistband facing. Pin side and upper edges, then stitch the seam. Turn and press the seam. Turn the raw edge of the waistband facing ¼” and either hand stitch or edge stitch with the machine.
  • Slip the finished end of the shortest neck tie into both the D rings, turn the edge back and stitch in place.Hummingbird Dance Apron 15

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