DIY Child's Barbie Apron with Cricut
Do you know a little girl who loves to play with Barbies? Here is a super cute apron to make for her using Cricut Iron-On Vinyl. She can wear it to help out in the kitchen, when she's playing with her dolls, or just for fun.
For this project, I found an adorable bright pink apron at Hobby Lobby to decorate, and I used a variety of colors and types of Iron-On to make the images stand out. I did not end up using all of the iron-on shown below.
Here is an image of the apron opened up. It is so cute, I'd almost like one for myself.
I also purchased an SVG bundle of Barbie images on Etsy. Unfortunately, Design Space does not have any Barbie designs due to licensing restrictions.
Materials:
Cricut Joy Machine
Joy Standard Grip Mat
Weeder Tools
EasyPress Mini
EasyPress Mat
Heat Resistant Tape
Everyday Iron-On
Holographic Iron-On and Sparkle Iron-On
Joy Smart Iron-On and Glitter Iron-On
Child's ruffled apron
Parchment paper
Design SVGs
I uploaded my desired images into Design Space, sizing each one to allow them to fit on the apron. Most of them were 2 inches high or 2 inches wide, but I made a few a bit larger or smaller.
Some designs were cut on a mat because the Iron-On rolls and pieces I had were not Smart Materials. I used what I had on hand as much as possible.
For the Joy Smart Iron-On, no cutting mat was needed. I loaded the Iron-On into the machine with the shiny side down as usual.
I also matched up some images to cut two of the same Iron-on color or type, so I grouped and attached those pairs to accomplish that.
With my initial designs, I forgot to mirror my images in Design Space before cutting them out. (This always has to be done when working with Iron-on Vinyl). Some of my images could go either way, but the text could not, so I had to recut those pieces. Good thing I had plenty of iron-on to work with.
Once all the designs were cut out, I weeded them using a weeder tool and tweezers. I cut them into individual pieces and laid them over the apron to figure out placement.
I wasn't completely satisfied with this, so I switched up some of the colors and placement on the apron. That meant cutting a few of the images again, which didn't take long. Below are the final images and colors arranged before heat application.
The Cricut EasyPress Mini was perfect for this project, so I could attach each image exactly where I wanted it. I set the temperature at medium per the Cricut Heat Guide. The apron was 100% polyester, and the recommended time was 25 seconds on the first side and 15 seconds on the back side.
This same temperature, time and process was exactly the same for all the different types of iron-on, which made it easy.
My first step was to preheat the EasyPress Mini to medium. Once that was done, I preheated each spot for 5 seconds before applying the design.
Next, I placed each image onto the apron, carrier side up, and taped it down with heat resistant tape. I did not want it to shift during the heating process since I had to continually move the mini press over the design while heating it.
I used a small piece of parchment paper to separate the design from the EasyPress Mini, as the Heat Guide recommended. I removed the carrier sheets after the designs cooled off.
And here is the apron all done!. I am so happy with how it turned out. Luckily, I have a granddaughter the right age and size who will love to wear this.
She even modeled it for me. She is six years old, and it fits her really well. I think it's big enough for her to wear for at least a couple years yet. What a little cutie.
Who would you make a Barbie apron for? Most little girls would love to have one of these. You could personalize it with her name, if you'd like, or select different types of images.
I suspect I may be making more of these aprons, so I saved the cutout images that I didn't end up using for this one. That way any future aprons can be unique. I may even switch them up and use a few different images for each one.
"Wake up and see the sparkle" - Barbie
Leslie
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