DIY: Pillowcase Apron

I've been doing lots of scratch cooking lately, and I love it, but it's a messy business, and I am a notoriously sloppy cook. (It's a good thing my husband is as anal-retentive as I am messy.) Since I recently acquired a great used sewing machine on craigslist, I've been looking for simple projects to hone my skills, and an apron seemed to fit the bill. I've been lusting after this adorable full-size apron I found in a book at Joann's, but I decided to start with something simple and newbie-friendly. Enter the pillowcase apron.

I love this project because it's not only very simple, but it's also free! While you could actually go out and buy some thrift store linens to make this inexpensively, many of us already have some unused sheets and pillowcases in our closet just begging to be repurposed into something useful. Personally, I have a closet full of hand-me-down linens that have definitely seen better days. I was totally psyched to find a use for them, and even more so to find that my apron wouldn't cost a dime. And with free fabric, I don't have to feel bad about my crooked, haphazard seams!

Here is my sweet little apron:

I've already put it to great use in the kitchen, so those pretty blue flowers are now covered in food stains, but I guess that's the whole point really. In the future, I'd like to make one with a contrasting pattern/color for the apron strings and pocket, just for aesthetic purposes. In the meantime, this one suits me just fine.

Happy crafting!