Use an old pair of jeans, and your favorite garage-sale material to make a fun, easy apron.

Step 1: Materials

Scissiors
1 pair of jeans
1 yard of material (be really green and use an old shirt with a great pattern!)
Needle & thread
Razor Blade, or good seam ripper

(Just a disclaimer....I didn't invent this. Take some time to surf the web and see all the wonderful versions out there. You can really get some good ideas.)

Step 2: Deconstruction

1. Cut the jeans across the legs.

2. Using a razor blade, or a good seam ripper, detach the pockets and label. Detach the belt loops on the bottom only.

3. Cut the front away from the back, leaving the waistband in tact.
     Cut up the sides of the jeans to the waistband, leaving the seam attached to the front side.
     Cut right up against the bottom of the waistband, carefully through the zipper and to the other
     side.
     Continue to cut along the other side. Cut the front away from the back between the legs.

Cut the zipper away from the front section. You will not need it as a functional zipper. Take the zipper pull off, and cut along the zipper right up against it. All jean material should be off, along with the zipper itself. It should look like a line of metal when you are done. (See more in step 4)

Step 3: Straighten the Front of the Apron

Most aprons on the web have you cut along the middle seam, and then curve it over to the side. I like my seam to be straight down.

Pinch the middle seam up until the jeans are flat and even.

Cut material away from the middle seam, then lay it flat on the front side of the apron.

Using the same colored thread, zig-zag stitch it to the front side. Cut away any excess.

Step 4: Personalize Your Apron

Since this is a Halloween apron, I wanted to make some extra embellishments.
(You will see that I have already done step 6 before this one. I suggest doing this first.)

Cut a pumpkin shape out of the tag. Sew around it onto one of the pockets.

Using the zipper pull as a stem, hand sew it onto the pumpkin. You will notice there are no staright holes on both sides of the zipper pull to run your needle & thread through. Run your needle through the pocket, next to the zipper pull. Loop the thread between the grooves of the zipper pull several times, then run it through the other side through the pocket and tie it off. This will secure it to the pocket.

Cut your zipper pieces very close to the metal slats. Sew it to the bottom/middle of the pumpkin by looping the thread though the slats, and back through the pocket.

Wind the zipper into a small loop, and secure it using the same method above.

Do the same to the other side.

Your zipper has made some vines for your pumpkin.

Step 5: Adding the Decorative Material

Cut the section between the waistband, and where the bottom of the jeans start. This is usually where the jeans begin a "v" shape.

Place the waistband next to the sides of the V to make sure you know where to sew. You should pin this, but the material is so thick, I just did it freehand.

Using a rectangle piece of your material. sew along the V, and the waistband.

Cut the excess from the sides.

Sew the bottoms of the belt loops to the material.

(You will notice, I have already sewn the pockets back on. Please wait for the next step.)

IF YOU WANT TO MAKE A BACKING - PLEASE GO TO STEP 9 NOW.

Step 6: Adding the Fringe

POCKETS
Cut 1 strip of fabric, 2 inches wide, and about 3 feet long.

Fold in half lengthwise, and iron.

There are 2 ways to do this. The first is to baste-stitch along the raw edge - not the folded edge. Tie off both ends, then pull one of the thread ends until you start to see a wrinkle in the fabric. Run you hand down along the fabric until it straightens out. Repeat the process, until you have all the fabric gathered. The problem with this method is that the thread likes to break, and the raw edges fray quickly.

Although it takes a bit more time in the beginning, using needle & thread allows for easy adjustments.

You will need to use about 2 yards of thread for the apron fring, and about 1 yard for the pocket fringe.

Thread your needle and tie both ends together. (You should have 2 strands tied at the end together.)

Weave the fabric across the needle, then pull through. Continue this process until all the fabric is gathered. Tie off the end. Sew the raw edge to the back side of the pockets. Fold the ends over, and sew the pockets back onto the jeans.

APRON FRINGE
Do the same process for the apron fringe.
Cut 3 strips, 4 inches wide, and about 3 feet in length each.
You can easily adjust where you want your gathering to fit around the apron.

(Again, you will see the fringe put on before the pocketwork & the middle fabric piece. It's better to do it the way I explained.)

DO NOT sew the fringe on the apron yet. See the next step.

Step 7: Finish the Apron Edges

Before you add the fringe, you will need to give your apron one final cut. Fold it in half, then cut off any pieces that are uneven. When you unfold it, it should be nice and semetrical.

Iron a very small fold all the way around the apron. (For the corners, make at least 3 separate folds until it looks like a rounded edge.)

Sew around the edge to make a seam.

Step 8: Sew on the Fringe

Now you can sew the fringe to the apron. Make sure to pin it first. The ends of the fringe should be long enough to reach up to the top of the weaistband, even though you won't be using that much.

At this point, you can sew up the edges, trim the excess, and be done with the apron.....but I have another step.

Step 9: Backing

BACKING
You don't have to put a back on the apron. I did it so it could be reverseable, and to cover my no-so-good sewing mistakes.

Lay the apron out on a large piece of your fabric. Cut around the edge of the apron, leaving a 1/2 inch space more.
You will have an excess amount where the waistband goes. Cut the excess off, and fold over until your new seam comes just above the bottom of the waistband.

Fold over your seam, just like you did above, and iron.

Pin, then sew the backing to the back of the apron, wrong-sides together; right sides facing out. Your fringe should be in-between the backing and the front of the apron.

(This step is out of sequence. I wanted to let the maker decide if they wanted to do this or not. IF YOU WANT TO MAKE A BACKING, DO IT RIGHT AFTER STEP 5)

Step 10: One Last Detail... Then We're Done!

Since I have sewn around the edge 3 times, my stitches are a bit messy. I'll go around it one more time using a wide,thick zig-zag stitch. It didn't get all of it, but made it more uniform.

Your button & button hole were left in tact, so you just button the back to secure it.

If you are using an old pair of your jeans that no longer fit, or from someone else's jeans, you can add an extension but cutting the waistband from another pair of jeans. Push the ends ep against each other tightly, and sew with a zig-zag stitch. Go through a couple of times to make sure it's secure.

Wear your nice little apron around the kitchen, or if you're really proud of it, wear it out in public!