Super Mario inspired birthday gift for boy

My son Walter attended a birthday party this past weekend for one of his friends turning six. 

I had no idea what this particular six year old boy might like, so I asked his mom.  Among other things listed, she said he liked Super Mario. 

 Perhaps because That Guy has been offering cooking classes for kids (as well as teens and adults) from our home for the past three months, when I heard "Super Mario" my mind immediately flew to delicious Italian foods.  

So I decided to marry the two ideas and make a Super Mario inspired kids apron and cooking set!

Fortunately a child's apron does not require much fabric at all. I was able to pull the red and blue fabrics from my stash along with big yellow buttons.  Two packages of black biased tape cost about $4 after my fabric store discount. 

First I quickly measured and sewed together the blue and red fabrics. Press your seam open.

I used a cotton broadcloth for this project which comes folded in half on the bolt. I used half of the unfolded width for the width of the apron. 

Blue and red fabrics sewn together and pressed
with seam open

Next I folded the fabric in half and, using chalk, drew on the apron top shape.   Then I cut the fabric along those lines.

Apron shape drawn on the fold.

 I also cut a piece of solid coloured fabric for the backing of the apron.   Cotton broadcloth is a lightweight fabric so I added the backing to both give the apron a bit more weight as well as neatly hide all the seams

Apron front and back cut

 With a bit of the blue fabric scraps I created the straps for Marios iconic overalls. I pressed raw edges under and ran a quick top stitch to keep everything in place.

Overall straps

 I pinned the straps to the apron front and then top stitch those in place.

Straps pinned down

 Next I added the big yellow buttons, and suddenly it was identifiable as Super Mario inspired.

Big yellow buttons on

 I chose black biased tape for this project as a nod to the cartoon nature of Super Mario.  Inside the fold of the tape was both the front and back layers of the apron.  One package of bias tape did the top and the bottom three straight edges.  Do not do the rounded edges yet.  Pin the tape in place with care and use a zig zag stitch to help be sure you are catching all fabric with every stitch.

Almost done!

 Next, open the second package of black bias tape and cut it into three equal pieces. Taking one of the thirds, find its midpoint. place that midpoint in the center of the raw curved edge and pin in place.  This will leave "tails" of bias tape at the top and bottom of the curved edges.  These will be the ties for around the neck and waist. Once you have pinned, zig zag stitch the entire length of your bias tape.

That Guy's cooking classes require that we have certain cooking related supplies on hand. Like chef hats and new wooden spoons and child sized rolling pins. I added a pizza cutter and a mixing bowl that I got at the dollar store for $2 each. Gift total now $8.

I also decided to really send home the Super Mario theme by carefully drawing the logo onto the chef hat with a red marker.  I think it's totally adorable, and the birthday boy loved it!

Taa-daa!