Bath Towel Apron: Vintage Tutorial

I have two goodies for you on this page, these were suggested as a gift for new mothers since they not only help keep mom dry during baby’s bath time, but will also be soft against baby’s bare skin. Here’s the first pattern…

Supplies are very basic and with some clever cutting of a large bath towel, this turns into something quite useful (and pretty) for new moms.

Bath Towel Apron

Materials Needed:

Plain Bath Towel (27″ x 42″)
Chintz (1/2 yard)

Directions For Cutting:

Cut away hems on both ends of towel.
Skirt: 1 piece, 26″ long x width of towel (27″)
Bib: 1 piece, 10″ x 13″
Pocket: 1 piece, 7″ x 8″
Chintz: 7 strips each 2 1/2″ x 35″ or 36″

Directions:

On one 27″ end of skirt, place right side of one chintz strip on wrong side of towel, edge to edge, stitch. Turn to right side on seam line, press, stitch close to edge. Turn free edge 1/2″ to wrong side, edge stitch to towel.
On opposite end of towel, mark center of width. Gather this end to measure 22″.
Piece chintz strips to make 2 strips, each 2 1/2″ x 54″.
Place 1 strip on unfinished end of towel, right sides together, edge to edge, match center of strip to center of towel. In same manner, place right side of other long strip on wrong side of apron, edge to edge. Stitch 2 strips together along top side, including the apron, across ends, and on under side as far as sides of apron. Turn tie ends to right side and press (middle section is open and raw edges are turned in).
To make bib, apply strip of chintz to two 10″ sides and one 13″ side as in step 1. (Pleat corners diagonally to make strip lie flat.) On untrimmed side, 3″ from center front, make 1/2″ pleat on each side of bib. To sew bib to apron, insert bib in opening, matching centers. Baste and stitch all around band close to edge.
To make strap for bib, cut a chintz strip 2 1/2″ x 20″. Fold in half lengthwise. Stitch around one end and lengthwise edge, turn. Turn in raw edges at end and slip stitch. Attach ends to top corners of bib.
For pocket, cut a chintz strip 2 1/2″ x 7″. On one 7″ edge of pocket, apply chintz as in step 1. Turn raw edges of pocket 1/2″ to wrong side. Apply pocket to apron in desired position. Stitch around 3 sides, close to edge.

Source: The New Encyclopedia Of Modern Sewing (1946)

Here’s another one from my collection…

Vintage Bath Apron Design

This apron provides protection not only against splashing water but also, across the shoulders and back, against baby’s drooling.

Cut in one piece it is easy to make, and is especially attractive in white outing flannel with contrasting touches of baby pink or baby blue.

Materials:

STAR TWIST Mercerized Thread to match bias binding
1 skein STAR SIX STRAND Mercerized Embroidery Cotton–Pink or blue
1 1/2 yds. outing flannel
Scrap of pink or blue percale
4 yds. pink or blue bias binding

Directions:

Cut according to diagram below.
Bind neck and apron’s edge with bias binding skipping the bottom of the back.
Hem top of pocket. Edge pocket’s sides with bias binding and stitch in place.
Gather bottom of back to 10″ width. Cut tie-belt 3″ wide–2 yds. long. Fold along entire center length. Turn in raw edges. Sew along bottom of the back, leaving equal lengths to tie in front. Stitch rest of belt.
From pink or blue cut 2 bows. (Actual size of outline under the printing on template below.) Applique to skirt. With pencil, write word “Baby” on skirt. Go over pencil lines with chain stitch using embroidery cotton. Parts of bows may be outlined, too, with chain stitches.

Download

Click on the image to view a larger size of the pattern, right click on it to save to your computer’s desktop. Here’s the pattern booklet introduction page which explains how to make the pattern pieces.