How to Make an Owl Apron

Last week I was brainstorming and thinking of ways to introduce my youngest into the kitchen. The thing is, she is already in the kitchen. Several months ago I made her this cute step stool, and since receiving it, she has used it to get things she needs. It’s in front of my fridge where she recently grabbed a juice box.

Have I ever mentioned she’s independent? She loves to be in the kitchen when I cook, so I thought I would introduce her with a little gift, this cute little Owl Apron.

DIY Owl Apron Pattern

There are rules she must follow to be in the kitchen. Safety first! She is NOT allowed near the stove, and she knows that a furnace is an off-limits place for her until she is a little older.

She is allowed at the counter, and I love when she likes to jump in and help me add things into a mixing bowl. I seem to cover everything in cheese these days, and it’s one of her favorite things to do.

She loves to be in the kitchen when I cook, so I thought I would introduce her with a little gift, this cute little Owl Apron.

What do I need to make an Owl Apron?

Let’s get started with my little owl apron by downloading the pattern and grabbing the supplies needed. When finished you should have an apron that will be a bit large for a 3-year-old (which is who I made this for) and perfect for a 10-year-old, so this apron should be with us for a while. This pattern is for personal use only…not for sale. If you create and post about this, please link it back to this post where it originated.  OK, let’s get started!

• owl face, eyes, and nose pieces
• owl feather pattern
• Six fabrics 1/2 yard each (this can make two full aprons)
• 1/4 yard fabric for the owl face
• One roll grosgrain ribbon
• wonder under
• Two fabric Yo Yo’s (optional)
• iron
• sewing machine and supplies (scissors, seam ripper, etc.)

How do I make an Owl Apron?

1. I began by taking my fabric pieces and cutting eight feathers from each pattern. (You will have 48 feathers by the time you cut all of these.) You will take 2 of the feathers and place them right sides together. Then sew a straight stitch around the rounded portion of the feather, leaving the straight edge open. Turn your fabric right sides out, and then iron.

2. You will then sew a straight stitch around the entire feather pattern including the straight edge to seal it up. You will do this for all of the feather pieces until you end up with 24 feathers, four from each swath of fabric. (see below)

3. After I had all of my feathers made, it was time to start working on the owl face.

4. After cutting out two pieces for the face, I grabbed the wonder under and attached it to one of the fabric pieces for the face (on the wrong side). I wanted to use something that would make the fabric a bit stiffer, and wonder under seemed to be the perfect solution. Now set this piece aside.

DIY Owl Apron

5. Before sewing the two face pieces together, take the other face piece and start working on the eyes and nose. For the eye and nose pieces, you will want to place wonder under on each of these as well. I took the eye and nose pieces and put them on the face where I wanted them set. I ironed them in place, and then placed a zig zag stitch around them.

6. For my stitch, I set the width at 7.0mm and length at 0.5mm with the tension set at 4.0. This gave it a nice long stitch. I did this for both large round pieces but left the third smaller piece off since I decided to use the fabric Yo Yo’s.

7. I then placed the pieces wrong sides together, sewed all around the piece, but left the are between the ears open. I then turned the pieces so that right sides were out, ironed them flat, and then placed another straight stitch around the edges of the face. I then set the face piece aside.

8. Now it’s tine for the body of the apron. I cut a part of my leftover blue fabric to 16″ x 21″ and then made 1/4″ seam around the entire piece.

9. Next, take a printed fabric piece and cut it 3″ x 20″. Place the fabric right sides together and create a straight stitch down the length to create a tube. You will then pull it right side out.

DIY Owl Apron Pattern

10. Once you have it right sides out as a tube, iron it flat and then place on your 16′ x 21″ piece. You will place it 2″ from the top and 1/2′ inside, so that is is in the middle of your fabric. Pin in place, and then place a straight stitch on the top and bottom of the tube.

11. I then took my ribbon and placed it through the tube. This is how we will tie the apron around the waist.

12. After the ribbon is place, it’s now time to add all of our feathers! You can place these anyway you like, but just like anything you make, I would lay it out first to make sure you are happy with the result.

13. Now it’s time to add them to the apron back. I pinned the bottom row and then placed a straight stitch across the entire apron. I did this for all four rows until I was finally at the top. Now you should have an owl apron, minus the head. (Which BTW, would be a super cute apron all by itself for an adult version that goes around the waist!)

14. I then pinned the head to the apron body and sewed them together. (Starting to look like an owl apron!)

15. I then added the fabric Yo Yo’s and a couple of little buttons for the eyes. I sewed more ribbon to the back of the head for the top tying piece, and finished! (Whew!)

This apron really reminds me of her Owl Halloween costume we had her in just two years ago. She really was such a cute little owl. I made this apron a little on the big size, but because it’s so big, it will be with her for years to come.

The neck and back ties are for easy adjustment so that we can adjust those as she gets older.

I had a lot of fun creating this pattern, and I am looking forward to seeing what super fun colors and ideas others come up with when using it. Make sure you also grab the free printables here, here, and here for the My First Recipe Book that go with this tutorial. Ready for some “Glamour Shots”?

She’s like me in the kitchen, all business…

I know she has so many things cooking in that little brain of hers…sometimes she just amazes me with her toddler wit!

If you notice the title of this post was My Little Owl Apron & Confession….well here is the confession. I literally just created this apron over the weekend and I can barely sew.

I mean, seriously, anything more than a straight line or a zig zag stitch and I am all “deer in headlights”. However, I am determined to learn to sew better, and learn more!

With that being said, I am making my first quilt in a couple of weeks and I am SUPER excited. I hope to create a few more fun projects like this one soon, and until then…grab this pattern and see what you can do with it! Just please don’t start selling these, it’s for personal use only.

Oh, and if you make the Owl Apron with this pattern and post, please link it back here to the original, I would love to see what you make. Thanks!

You might also like this Owl Printable.