How to Monogram and Personalize Cooking Aprons

Custom cooking aprons are an easy way to make a statement in your kitchen. An embroidered apron that carries your monogram or initial is easy to make and looks personalized to your taste and colors. You can use several techniques to monogram your apron. Depending on your skills and time available, use one of these ways to customize your cooking apron.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• A cooking apron (plain or patterned)
• Embroidery thread or,
• 2mm - 3mm wide ribbon or,
• Scrap pieces of cloth
• Needle
• Colorful beads
• Fabric paint
• Fabric glitter, if desired
• Paint brush
• Fabric glue
• Scissors
• Pencil
• Embroidery hoops

1. Decide the monogram that you will create on your cooking apron. Decide the font and style that you will use for the monogram. Calligraphy looks very beautiful and intricate and you can look up calligraphy monograms online and trace them on the apron. Using a pencil, trace or draw the letters on the front of the cooking apron.

2. 
   Paint your favorite monogram on your cooking apron

   If you decide to paint:
   
   Dip the paint brush into the bottle and carefully paint over the pencil outline of the monogram. Go over at least 2 times so that the letter looks legible. While the paint is still wet, sprinkle fabric sparkles over the letters to add a glittery finish.

3. If you decide to embroider:
   
   Thread the needle with embroidery thread. Attach the cooking apron between embroidery hoops. Using a basic embroidery stitch, sew over the outline you traced on the apron.
   
   Use advanced embroidery stitches if you know how to do them.

4. If you decide to do applique:
   
   Draw the monogram you want to use on fabric. Cut the fabric following the outline and use fabric glue to stick the outlined pattern on the cooking apron. Leave to dry or embroider the edges of the letters to enhance the appearance.

5. 
   Embroider aprons on a sewing machine quickly

   If you decide to use a sewing machine:
   
   Select the thread and machine stitches that you want to embroider with. Sewing machines have a wide variety of stitches that you can experiment with. A zigzag stitch outline filled with a satin stitch is an attractive way to monogram a cooking apron.

6. 
   Colorful beads add a unique touch to your cooking apron

   If you decide to use beads:
   
   Thread the needle with embroidery thread or sewing thread. Insert beads on the needle, go over and under the fabric of the cooking apron and stitch beads on the outline of the monogram.
   Use a combination of same or different colored beads to dress up your apron accordingly.

7. 
   Ribbon embroidery is quick and easy

   If you decide to use ribbon:
   
   Use a big-eyed needle and thread it with ribbon. Follow the traced outline of the letter and stitch ribbon over the monogram of your cooking apron.
   Use different colored ribbon to create an easy designer look.

Tips & Warnings

• Use different sized paint brushes to add to the intricacy of the design.
• Use a combination of any of the methods listed above to add to the attractiveness of your monogrammed cooking apron. Use applique with embroidery, or applique and beads or any other combination that you like.

Resources

• Wide range of calligraphy fonts
• Monogram Cooking Aprons from Amazon.com

[ladylynn359]

on 8/3/2009 wow lots of good tips