Anthology - 2011 Winter Gift Guide

1. Wash the apron and contrasting
waistband fabric to allow for shrink-
age, and then iron both.
2. Using the rotary cutter and a
ruler, trim 7½" on one side of the
apron (Figure 1). This will allow the
name and the utensil graphic to
be visible from the front when the
apron is worn. For a seam allow-
ance, fold over ½" on the cut side.
Pin in place and iron. With a sewing
machine, stitch your new hem. Trim
the tie from the cut portion of the
apron and reattach it to your re-
sized apron with a sewing machine.
Iron the apron.
3. Print out the utensil stencil on
8½" x 11" paper. For the recipient’s
name, type out the name in a font
you like (we used School Script)
and print it out on 8½" x 11" paper.
Lay your piece of freezer paper on
your cutting mat, plastic-side down
and secure with masking tape on
two sides. Tape the artwork on top
of the freezer paper. Carefully cut
out the shaded areas of the utensil
stencil with your craft knife, making
clean cuts through the artwork and
freezer paper and replacing your
blade frequently (Figure 2). Do not
discard the three cut-out sections
of the slotted spatula. Also, if you
make a mistake and accidentally
cut past the shaded area, don’t
worry—you can re-join the cut
when you iron the freezer paper to
your fabric. Repeat this process for
the name stencil.
4. Lay your apron, right-side up,
on your ironing board. Position
the utensil stencil on the left side
of the apron. Secure it with two
pieces of masking tape. For the
three cut-outs within the slotted
spatula, position them within the
spatula’s outline (Figure 3).
Carefully place your press cloth
or dish cloth over the stencil, being
sure the cut-outs within the slot-
ted spatula remain in place. Set
to medium-high, iron in a smooth
continuous motion. If an air bub-
ble appears in the stencil, lift the
edge of the stencil and smooth it
down to push the air out, and iron