Kids' Denim Gardening Apron: Tutorial

Spring is here. The perfect time for getting outside working those gardens. Spring is the perfect time to plant flowers, seeds, and start a vegetable garden. Spring is the perfect time to let your Green Thumb out of it's cage.

For me there is only one little problem. What is the opposite of a Green Thumb?

My Little Men say it is a Black Thumb, because if the plant dies it is black.

Whatever the opposite of Green Thumb is, that is what I have. On both hands. Double the gardening trouble.

In fact, the only plant (besides a vegetable garden...which even that is touch and go) I have managed to keep alive is the set of cacti we have had since Bean's Mexican Fiesta First Birthday.

I have kept them alive a whole month.

I attribute that to a couple of factors.

One: Cacti are pretty hardy. After all they live in the desert.
Two: Cacti are used to neglect. I mean you don't see a wondering nomad pruning, feeding, and watering them now do ya?
Three: Hubby has been seen watering said cacti when they are on the brink of death. Thank you kind sir. They owe you their lives.

See! I really can't say that I have kept them alive. They have stayed alive despite me.

So imagine my shock when my Little Men, especially Oldest, came to me with a desire to plant and take care of their own flowers. Oldest even used his own money to buy some extra seeds and another planter.

We went to our favorite garden store and the boys picked out pots, flowers, and soil. We immediately planted them. I immediately began to worry I was going to kill them.

Middle very vigilantly reminds me daily that the flowers need watering. He reminds me they need the sunlight. They all worry about the wind blowing them over (spring around here is like living in a wind tunnel).

Bottom line, they already seem to be much better gardeners than their mother.

They already have plans to start planting more things. Oldest wants his very own little vegetable garden to take care of this Summer.

I figured with all of this gardening (aka digging around in the dirt) they could use a no-nonsense Denim Gardening Apron just right and sturdy enough for Little Men gardeners. The apron is a convenient place to carry seeds and tools. Plus they have a place other than their clothes to wipe their dirty little mitts.

Lucky for me I have a pretty hefty pile of old holey jeans just waiting to be repurposed.

If you have some old jeans and a budding gardener, this would be the perfect project.

All you need:

several pairs of jeans
thread
(you might need a heavy duty sewing needle if your denim is thick)
a little gardener

First you cut the legs of the first pair of jeans. Next you cut each of the jean legs open at the inside seam.

You trim each piece down to a 14"x11" rectangle. You will have two pieces, the front and back of the apron.

Then you will cut one leg off another pair of jeans and again cut that jean leg open at the inside seam. Then you will trim that piece to 14"x8". This piece will be the front pocket.

The jeans previous  have been children's jeans. For the waistband/ties I used a pair of my jeans.

Cut off one leg of an adult sized pair of jeans, and cut it open. Then cut two strips measuring 3"x26".

Sew the two strips together, right sides facing, with a 1/2" seam allowance.

With the two pieces sewn together you have a long strip of denim. Iron in half lengthwise and then iron top and bottom edges into the halfway point, and then fold and iron again. Basically, you are making your own long strip of biased tape (just not necessarily on the bias).

Set aside.

The next step is to prepare the pocket. Iron one edge down 1/4". Then fold down that edge another 1/4" and iron. Sew along this edge. This will be the top seam of your pocket.

Next pin the pocket to the right side of the front piece of the apron. After you have pinned the pocket in place, divide the pocket in thirds and mark. This will be where you sew down to make the pocket dividers.

Sew the pocket lines. Back stitch right at the top and then continue sewing all the way down in as straight as a line as you can sew.

Now with the front of the apron done, layer the other piece of denim on top, right sides facing.

Pin all around the edges. Sew together with 1/2" seam allowance, leaving a 3-4" gap at the top to turn out the apron.

Turn out the apron.

To sew on the waistband, match the middle of the long strip to the middle of the apron. Open up the "biased tape" denim strip and sandwich the top of the apron into it. Fold over, so the biased tape is covering the top edge of the apron. Pin in place and pin the part of the biased tape that is the ties, in order to sew them closed too.

Start at one tie and sew all long the bottom edge over the apron and to the end of the other tie.

Boom, you are done. One Little Gardening Apron perfect for kids who like to garden.

They stay a little cleaner...noticed that I said a little. I mean gardening equals dirt and dirt and kids are pretty much always going to create some kind of glorious mess.

They will also look pretty profesh and legit. So legit they may start charging you for all their gardening advice and planting services.

Or they may just want you to shower them with praise and accolades for their hard work and beautiful flowers.

Done and done.

I really believe that encouraging kids to garden is a great things. Gardening is a skill that will help them their whole lives.

They will have a greater appreciation for the Earth (a late plug for Earth Day).
Gardening encourages them to eat more fruit and vegetables.
Gardening teaches hard work.
It teaches patience.
Gardening is something they can do with their little hands.
They can see the "fruits" of their labors.
Gardening teaches self reliance.

Just to name a few.

Make them a Denim Gardening Apron all their own, give them some tools, and let them pick out their own seeds and they are sure to get the gardening bug.

Have a marvelous day!

Thanks for reading!

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