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How to Make a Kid’s Apron from Your Old Jeans

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In this easy, step-by-step tutorial, you’ll learn how to make a kid’s apron for crafting and messy play, out of the leg of an old pair of jeans. 

Today I’m going to show you how easy it is to make a durable and adorable kids apron from the leg of an old pair of jeans.

Best Kids’ Aprons For Crafts and Messy Play

These denim kids’ aprons are the BEST for crafting, baking and messy play. Much like the denim bibs I make from our old jeans, these aprons are durable, stain-resistant and will last for years, so they’re perfect for a kindergarten classroom, a preschool or daycare.

How to Make a Kids Apron from Old Jeans

One Pair of Jeans = Two Kids’ Aprons

One pant leg makes one denim apron, so you’ll get two kids’ aprons out of one pair of jeans. The aprons are easy to make, and require only basic sewing skills.

You can make the entire apron out of one pant leg. The pocket on the front of the apron is the back pocket from the jeans and the neck and waist straps are made from the inseams of the jeans. If you wish to trim your apron with colourful bias tape, you will need to purchase that.

You couldn’t ask for a better fabric than denim for a kid’s apron. It washes well, doesn’t rip or tear easily, repels water and stains, and like your favourite pair of jeans, it only gets better with age.

I made the aprons you see here for my daycare kids ten years ago, and they’re still going strong.

kids wearing homemade denim aprons for crafting

I made two sizes of aprons: a small apron for the toddlers and a slightly larger apron for the preschoolers.

I should probably make a few for my kindergarten and up kids because they’ve outgrown their aprons now, and they used to love wearing them.

Denim kids' aprons on preschoolers crafting

I should also figure out how to upload a template for my aprons, but for now, you can do what I do – just trace an apron that your child wears now to use as a template for your denim apron.

Personalize Your Kids Aprons with Fabric Scraps

I personalized my kids’ aprons with colourful hearts (made from scraps of fleece), so they would know whose apron was whose, and to give the children sense of ownership with their aprons.

A set of repurposed denim aprons made from old jeans

As for where I got the jeans to make so many aprons, my daycare families bring me their old jeans for crafting, but you can hit a second-and store, and buy generic brand jeans for a couple of bucks a pair.

Ok. Grab your jeans and I’ll show you how to make these aprons for your kids!

denim craft aprons hanging on clothesline

How to Make a Kid’s Apron from an Old Pair of Jean

Tip: a denim sewing needle is a good thing

I use a Denim Sewing Needle when I’m sewing these aprons.  It’s a sturdy needle, and is less likely to break when you go over seams.  If you don’t have a “denim” needle, use the largest needle you have, slowing down when you go over the thick parts, so it doesn’t snap. 

To Make Your Denim Aprons, You’ll Need:

For your convenience, this post contains Amazon affiliate links.

templates for kids aprons

Make a template from one of your kids’ aprons

I made 2 sizes of aprons for my daycare kids – large for the preschoolers and small for the toddlers.

To make my templates, I borrowed a couple of store-bought kids’ aprons from one of the hooligans, and traced them onto plain paper. You can use newsprint, wrapping paper, poster paper or tracing paper for this step.

Seam allowance:

*If you’re finishing your edges with bias tape, there’s no need to add a seam allowance.

*If you’re finishing your edges with a hem, add 1/4 inch seam allowance.

Kid’s Apron from Jeans – Step-By Step

1. Cut the leg off a pair of jeans at the top of the leg.

2. Cut the pant leg open along the inseam.

kids apron cut out of denim pantleg

3. Centre your template on the open pant leg, lining up the bottom of the template with the bottom of the pant leg.  The hem on the bottom of your jeans will provide a nice finished bottom for your kid’s apron.

4. Finish your edges for the sides and top of the apron. You can either with bias tape, or by turning under once for a 1/4 inch hem and zig-zagging all the way around.

I used the trim off a couple of old, fleece scarves to trim the edges of some of my aprons.  I used the fleece itself to make the hearts for the front of the aprons.

fleece for heart on kids apron
jeans pocket front of kid apron.

5. Rip one of the back pockets off your jeans and center it on the bottom half of the apron. Stitch it in place with a zig-zag.

fleece heart red kids apron

6. If you’re adding a fleece heart, centre it on the top half of the apron and stitch in place with a zig-zag stitch.

7. For the straps, you’ll need to measure your child with a length of string to figure out how long you need to make them.

jeans pant leg cut open kids aprons

The neck and waist straps:

Your straps are going to come from the inseams and the outer, side-seam of your jeans.

See the picture right above?  See the seam on the left and the seam in the center of the photo above?  Those are the seams I’m talking about. They’re nice and thick, and easy to snip out.

neck strap kids apron

8. Cut along side the outer seam all the way up the pant leg, and then trim to the right size.  No need to finish the edges or ends of this piece.

Sew one strap to the top of the apron, and one strap to the waist of the apron.

sewing strap on kids denim apron

Stitch some velcro to the straps and and to a spot on the backside of the top of the apron and to a spot on the backside of the waist of the apron.

And here’s the finished apron!

kid's craft apron made from denim pant leg

The front pocket comes in handy for stashing googly eyes, glue sticks, crayon and all kinds of crafty odds and ends. 

And that’s all there is to making a kid’s apron from a pair of old jeans!

You nowhave a durable, re-purposed denim apron that’s just perfect for a crafty child or a messy little artist!

kids putting on repurposed denim aprons

To wash my kids’ aprons, I just toss them in the washing machine with a 1/4 of my homemade laundry detergent.

kids craft aprons made from old jeans

More Easy Things to Sew for Kids:

Repurposed Denim Bibs

Extra Large Flannel Receiving Blankets

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Comments

  1. Maranda

    These are so super adorable, I love them! It’s making me wish there was one under the tree for ME!

    I’m not an experienced sewer but I’d love to give this project a try. The velcro on the straps is genius BTW.

    Reply

    • happyhooligans

      Easy-Peasy, Maranda! You can do this with just some basic skills. Trust me, I don’t have any advanced sewing skills. Straight lines are my forte. lol

      Reply

    • myrna

      thankyou so much for sharing this awesome idea,i have a child that is learning to sew and its perfect for her..we love this idea

      Reply

  2. Cerys @ Rainy Day Mum

    These are gorgeous – I have some jeans in my cupboard that I have shrunk out of and may have to make some for J and T’s friends this year so hard wearing and having the pockets as well (Gardening aprons maybe?)

    Thank you for linking to Made with Love

    Reply

  6. Kerry

    My son has a ton of jeans with holes in one knee…the leg with the hole will be cut into squares for a quilt & the other leg will be made into aprons!

    Reply

    • happyhooligans

      Perfect! Between the aprons, and my repurposed denim bibs (did you see those too, Kerry?), I actually quite like it when my son blows a knee out of his jeans now!

      Reply

  7. Dee

    I recently made a similar apron from my husbands jeans (he passed away 6 mths ago) for my granddaughter…. I also cut the bottom end (about 5 inches) of one of his neckties and used as a pocket and the remaining piece of tie I used as bias for edging around the apron. It is something that she will use and will keep forever.

    Reply

    • happyhooligans

      Dee, I think that is absolutely beautiful. What a wonderful reminder your granddaughter will have of her grandfather ever time she wears that apron. How lovely.

      Reply

  10. Joanna Perez

    I made one for me and making another for my partner in sunday school. I have planned to make 8 for our kids in school and now my old daugther wants one too! are a big hit! thanks for share, from Venezuela
    Joanna

    Reply

    • happyhooligans

      That’s great! I’m so glad you’re having such success with the aprons, Joanna! I’ve only made them for the hooligans… I guess it’s time to make one for myself too! So happy you’re enjoying our ideas! 🙂

      Reply

    • happyhooligans

      You’re so welcome, Kristie. Those aprons are one of my all-time favourite sewing projects! I’m glad you enjoyed the post. 🙂

      Reply

  12. lara

    I love this, it may be a project for me for Daycare and for Sunday School (don’t need that a lot), One question, are there straps for around the waist as well?

    Reply

    • happyhooligans

      Yes, a neck strap and a waist strap, Lara. Sorry – I didn’t photograph the waist strap, and it’s mentioned in the post, but it doesn’t stand out, so you probably just missed it if you were skimming through the tutorial. Glad you like them!

      Reply

  14. Lisa

    I love this! I am an ok sewer but could definitely pull this off and look like a pro:) I don’t have scarfs, but could use some old fleece pajamas for the heart!

    Reply

    • happyhooligans

      There isn’t one, sorry, Ruth. I’m not tech-savvy enough to put one of those together. As I mentioned in the tutorial, I simply traced a child’s apron to use as a template for this one.

      Reply

  17. Sandi Marklew

    instead of hemming the outer edge 1/4 inch, do a zigzag stitch in a color that is similar to the golden stitching around the pocket and hem, and then let the edges ravel down to the stitch, cutting off long strings as it gets washed and ravels. even easier for a beginning sewer… cute project, can’t wait to do one!

    Reply

  18. Colleen

    I want to try these for teenager girls at girls’ camp. I’ll be looking for some huge jeans at yard sales in the Spring, I guess. Maybe they could even use permanent markers and sign each other’s aprons.

    Reply

  19. Karen

    I would love to make these aprons for my twin grandchildren. I was wondering what if you don’t have a pattern to copy, what can we use? Or how would you make one?

    Reply

    • happyhooligans

      I used a kid’s dollar store apron as a template, Karen. Trace it onto tissue paper or newspaper, and you’re good to go.

      Reply

    • happyhooligans

      I just fixed the link in the post, LaDonna, thank you. For some reason, a lot of the links in my posts have failed. When you click on it now, it will take you to the bib post. 🙂

      Reply

  22. Ruth's all sorts

    Great idea! I recently made a pair of jeans for my 3 yr old from an old pair of my jeans. This would go down well with him too. I found you through #pintorials on Tuesday tutorials at crafts on sea 🙂

    Reply

  24. Jenny W

    Just wanted to let you know that I recently made 8 aprons for the children at my home daycare/preschool. They were super simple and will make a great souvenir of our preschool year as we ventured to cook our way through the alphabet! Thanks for the ideas. Just saw the bibs and think I might have to try those as well.

    Reply

    • happyhooligans

      I’m so glad you tried our aprons, Jenny! Aren’t they so easy? And so cute!! I hope you do try the bibs! They’re so great! We’ve and ours for years, and they wear so well!

      Reply

  25. Becky

    BRILLIANT! I run craft classes and it would be great to have my own stock of aprons instead of relying on parents to bring them! Nice 🙂 THANK YOU!

    Reply

  26. donna ehrenberg

    If you don’t have an apron for the pattern you could use the child’s shirt to get the sizing. lay it flat on some paper and Trace from the under the arm down both shirt sides to how long you want it beyond the bottom of the shirt. make a line from side to side across for the bottom. Now measure in toward the center one to two inches from the under arm end and redraw that line for the angle of the apron front. Make a line straight across from mid height on the arm hole to the same height on the other side(directly across just below where their collar bone would be) this line will be the apron top. Now draw a line from the mid arm end of line to the under arm end of the other line. Now you will have the shape of an apron and can put on ties to size for the child. Ps. I always fold new patterns I draw in half on the center line, this is a check to be sure the sides match. Happy child raising.

    Reply

  29. Bridgette

    terrific Idea. i’m gonna make three for my children. 🙂 I made a denim purse out of a pair of jeans. turned out great.

    Reply

    • Thetesa

      Bridgette how did you make a purse from jeans? I’d love one. I can’t see but I keep trying.
      PS…I don’t know why I can’t see. Some things I give n just glue. Your purse n the aprons I can’t glue so like I said, I keep trying n ruining things. God bless you all who can see. Thank you!

      Reply

  30. Robbie

    I’ve been wanting some aprons for my Sunday School class to protect their clothes when we do a messy craft. This is perfect! Thank you for sharing.

    Reply

  32. Cheryl

    I had to redo the pattern , because of the jeans that I found… I wasn’t able to use the bottom of the leg for the bottom of the apron because of the narrowness of the jeans now… (different style than 2011) Anyway, I used the bottom of the leg hem for the top of the apron him… again , refashioned the pattern to get the seam down the center… the hip part of the leg was really wide enough for the bottom of the apron… I added extra so that I could recreate the doubled over hem. All in all it is good. I have two patterns so that I can adjust to the Jeans that I find.
    I am doing them for my granddaughter’s preschool class… thanks for the idea… I love to recycle denim , so this is another great way…

    Reply

  34. Sarah

    I have just made these out of some jeans that I was going to throw away. Going to donate them to the local church to sell at their Xmas fayre… Great idea HH

    Reply

  38. Deirdre edge

    love the ideas the one about old jeans turn into apron love will be making them for the kids in my area how do I go about joint the class ?

    Reply

    • happyhooligans

      Hi Deirdre! So glad you like our aprons! How lovely that you’ll be making them for the crafty kids in your life. I’m not sure what “class” you’re referring to though. The step-by-step instructions in the post are all that I offer. You’ll be able to make your aprons by simply looking at the photos, and following the steps in the post.

      Reply

  39. Sharon

    Would you consider making one of the child craft aprons? If so, what would you charge? I have a 5 year old Granddaughter that would love one with either a red or pink heart. Please let me know whether you would make one for me or not. Thank you so much.

    Reply

    • happyhooligans

      Hi, Sharon. I’m sorry, but I don’t make the aprons and sell them. With the number of requests I get, I’d have to start up an apron-sewing business. lol Is there friend or relative who you could ask?

      Reply

      • Wendy S.

        Do you happen to have the measurements of each apron you make? (length and width). I don’t have a child’s apron to make a template. I wanted to make some for my grand babies. Thanks for any help you can give 😃. Wendy Shaw

  41. Lee Anne Fredericks

    Thank you so much for this fabulous idea for re-purposing jeans. I had a stack and this child’s apron idea was just the best to use up a pair! I lined the apron and used the lining fabric to jazz up the pockets. Then I made a matching “Dolly” apron for this little 7 year old mother for mother’s day. Thanks again for the inspiration! Wish I could send you a picture of the results!

    Reply

    • happyhooligans

      You are so welcome, Lee Anne! I’m so glad you gave the project a try. Your idea to make one for your daughter’s doll for Mother’s day is ADORABLE!

      Reply

  42. Kirsty

    Absolutely loved this idea and used it as my first project with a new sewing machine. So easy to follow the instructions. Thrilled with the end results. Thank you

    Reply

  43. Tamar

    I love this! Are you ok with me using this idea to make and sell aprons on etsy? I would definitely give you credit and reference your blog in the item description 🙂

    Reply

  44. Dorene Thurston

    Such a lovely idea! My girls will definitely love it. We are trying to recycle and reuse most of our old and useless stuff and this is one great project for us. Thank you for sharing this inspiration!

    Reply

    • happyhooligans

      Thanks, Dorene! I’m glad you like this idea! They’re a lot of fun to make, and they work so well for us! I hope you love yours too!

      Reply

  47. KATHY KITCHEN

    please post width of apron…across the top, below the armholes. also length. Do not have apron to copy, that is why I want to make one. thank you

    Reply

Trackbacks

  27. […] I stumbled across a post recently, on facebook or pinterest or following a rabbit trail of some kind where a mom had cut off the legs of old blue jeans and refashioned them into aprons for her children. I knew in a moment it must be St. Nick! an idea for some little ones on my Christmas list. You can see the full post that inspired me along with a terrific step-by-step guide at Happy Hooligans where Jackie shows off her oh-so-cute denim aprons. […]

    Reply

  30. […] their hands or a brush if you have one. Oh, and be ready with some newspaper for the floor and an apron for the tiny human. Rock music playing in the background is […]

    Reply

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