How to Make a 4 Pocket Pillowcase Gathering Apron
Are you looking for a more efficient way to bring eggs in from the henhouse and produce from the garden? As a homesteading mom of four who already needs about 5 more hands, I feel your pain! Carrying an infant or a toddler while trying to collect eggs / veggies is difficult enough without trying to lug around a box or a basket as well. After try to use a gathering basket for a while, I finally decided that a handmade gathering apron would be a much more effective option for me. This apron is nothing fancy, but it is simple to make and it does the job. I can’t ask for more than that!
Why You Should Make Your Own Simple Gathering Apron
You can make a simple gathering apron with a couple yards of fabric, a towel, or a standard size pillowcase. This 4-pocket gathering apron can be completed with only 10-15 minutes of your time and about $8 (or less) of your cash!
Using a gathering apron instead of a basket to harvest eggs and produce allows you to have your hands free to feed, water, clean the coop, carry a baby, or anything else you need to do while you are working. I have also found that I can carry many more eggs and much more produce in this apron than I could carry in my egg and harvest baskets!
Supplies You Will Need to Sew Your Own Gathering Apron:
- a couple yards of fabric, a towel, or a standard size pillowcase
- thread (in a color that matches your ribbon)
- a needle
- wide ribbon or canvas straps
- a sewing machine
A Few Quick Tips to Keep in Mind:
- Double-stitch! This will add strength to and help prolong the life of your gathering apron.
- Decide if you want a 2 pocket or 4 pocket apron. If you want only 2 pockets, follow along with the mistake I made in the video. If you want 4, follow the note that I made about it.
- Choose a sturdy ribbon. You don’t want to pick a ribbon that is pretty, but won’t hold the weight of your eggs / veggies/ herbs.
- If you care about the cosmetic details, be sure that your thread matches your ribbon. Mine doesn’t match, but I wasn’t going for beauty with mine.
Are you ready to make your own gathering apron?
You can follow my video tutorial below and check out this step by step written walk through.
*Note–> In the video, I messed up and sewed the top of two of the pockets… I’m blaming it on being camera shy :/ I’ll create a new video one day. There is a note on the video for you. As long as you pay attention to that, then you will have a 4 pocket apron.
You can also read the full written tutorial in this post at Summers Acres!
Have you made a harvest or a gathering apron? Tell me how much you love it!
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I love this!! Really simple, which means I can do it!! Thanks! By the way, I found you on the Homesteader blog Hop. Have a great day!
Thanks!! Simple & practical projects are my favorites!
Awesome post, gathering aprons seem so handy for eggs but I’ve never wanted to spend money on one. I think I might have to make one!
The Gathering Apron ends up with only 2 pockets because when you stitched the ribbon on at the top, you closed the other 2. That’s fine if you want 2 pockets, but to get 4, you have to flip up the open end of the pillowcase to start with, then sew the ribbon across the bottom, closed end of the pillowcase. I watched the whole video to see if you were going to catch this error, but you still stated at the end that there were 4 pockets, when in fact there were now only 2.
Hi Angela! I mention that in the post. In the video, I ended up with 2 pockets, but I tell you in the post how to make it 4.